Catnip Tea Anyone?

(photo source: Wikipedia)

Catnip, Nepeta cataria, the beloved herb of felines, also makes a soothing, if not particularly tasty, tea for humans.  Adding lemon balm and honey will make it more palatable. 

Catnip is said to be calming, as well as helpful in lowering fevers, relieving the pain of teething and toothache, and a restorative digestive aid for issues such as indigestion, diarrhea, and colic. 

From Back to Eden, by Jethro Kloss- "If every mother had catnip herb on the shelf, it would save her many a sleepless night and her child much suffering." 

Catnip is easy to grow if you can get it established before a cat discovers and destroys it.  This advice from days past does seem to work-

If you set it, the cats will eat it.

If you sow it, the cats won't know it. 

I'm sowing catnip seeds today, and we'll just see how long it takes the cats to discover it.  Hopefully, I'll be able to harvest enough for a pot of tea, and perhaps a catnip mouse or two, before they pounce on it!  (I do have dried catnip in the herb pantry, just in case the cats beat me to it!)

Catnip tea anyone?