Should you grow your own herbs?

Here’s the situation. You're at work, trying to look busy while pondering your coworker Bobbie's cough. 

Ooh, I hope that’s not contagious.

Should I start some Echinacea just to be sure? 

Crap, is my Echinacea in my purse, or did I leave it at home?

Have you been there? 

Then Bobbie is in front of you. You keep your head down. You're not unfriendly, but is it necessary for her to breathe on you?

She waits for you to look up. She has her hand over her mouth, and her chest is heaving. She's struggling to hold back a cough you hope doesn't spray all over you.

"Do you have anything for a cough?" she croaks.

Maybe.

You have the perfect herb at home but worry there might be a problem. You bought it from a really popular seller…

But you've been wondering if that's what any herb is supposed to look like. Or smell like? Because the package you opened had little to no smell. And it looked grey. 

So you technically have it, you just don’t know if it’s any good.

"I'm desperate," Bobbie whispers, breaking you out of your mental meanderings. "I'm willing to try anything."

You're a little offended, but try not to show it.

Why does everyone have to add that little disclaimer? Then it's like you're in a contest with Theraflu for the next few days, and this is soooo not you.

But what if you were right? What if that herb you bought was old, or worse yet, the wrong herb?

 What if Bobbi has some weird reaction to it? What if she sues you? 

 Okay, you remind yourself, get back on track, and make a decision. 

What would you decide? 

How many times have you searched for medicinal herbs online? How many reviews have you read, hoping to find the best herbs for your family?

Who supplies the best herbs?

You.

Your herbs are the best you will find.

Let’s look at a few reasons why.

Quality 

1. The herbs you grow will be fresh or much fresher than the ones you buy. If you've never grown and harvested herbs, you will be shocked at the difference you see.

Here’s an example of Chickweed I purchased from a top-rated seller (top) and Chickweed I dried. (bottom)

Sidenote: Have you ever read that Chickweed doesn't dry well? With the proper technique, you can dry any herb beautifully.

Control of Environment

2. We're all slightly worried about where our herbs come from. How were they grown? What kind of soil was it? Was there a factory next door dumping waste into the water source? Do they have strict guidelines on handling? 

Sometimes you'll see the country of origin on your herb package. One odd question that always pops into my mind is, "Are they required to wash their hands??" (Must be the after-effects of the CDC's Covid recommendations!)

The bottom line is to remember that plants take the good and the bad out of the soil. So when you're in charge of growing conditions, you don't have to ask, "is this organic?"

Connection

 3. The third reason is the connection with your plants. There are a lot of herbalists out there who believe the plants you grow are more in tune with your needs. Whether you believe that or not, you’ll still benefit from spending time with your plants. It’s a way to slow down and destress after a long day.

Nature is the best medicine.

My perennial plants give me hope during the darkest times. I see little signs of my plant friends waiting to return when winter days are short and nights are long. My plants remind me that rest is just as important as work.

Gardening has made me more resilient. Seeing my plants weather the storms of life puts things in perspective and helps me weather my storms.

There are so many lessons to learn in your herb garden. I hope you’ll consider growing a few herbs this year!

Until next time, happy gardening!

Shifting from curing to improving - taking the pressure off as an herbalist.

When I first thought about being an herbalist, I was afraid I would be in many situations I couldn't fix. I feared letting people down, not learning enough, or not knowing the right things. Initially, I worked on myself, tried remedies, and took mental notes. (I am always so happy to find that occasional physical note where I wrote down what worked instead of assuming I would remember!) After seeing some positive effects on my health, I began looking for ways to help my family. I studied every ailment they had. Sore throat? No problem, I would take six hours of classes on that and still feel I was missing something. I suffered from wanting to be overly prepared. My mom was a professional Girl Scout; that motto is always in my head. Be Prepared. I didn't want to give anyone the wrong herb. Can you relate?

Do other herbalists begin this way? I want the first experience with an herb to be positive, much like you hope to make an excellent first impression. I suffered paralysis by analysis. At some point, I looked at my herb closet - now more of an herb room - and realized it was time to share. I’d been making medicine but keeping it all to myself.

Sometimes, we can point to a specific event that changed us in the best way.

For me, it was a phone call about my grandson. Leo had a terrible diaper rash, and nothing was working. His little bottom was almost bleeding. Are you a grandma? You can feel the pain that went through me. You might relate to the fear I felt. The knowledge there wasn't time for six hours of classes and that my kids needed me. I have to add that Leo spent the first 80 days of his life in the NICU, so I was very paranoid about experimenting.

But being a parent brings out that risk-taker in all of us. We will try anything to help those we love. So I gave myself 15 minutes to think about it, made up a simple combination salve,  and took it over. 

I saw the doubt on my son’s face when I whipped out my salve container. 

My daughter-in-law Jessie said, “wow, it’s like…really green!” 

Here’s a pic of the Chickweed oil I used as a base.

I took a deep breath and changed Leo’s diaper.  Then I said, “if this doesn’t improve things in 24 hours, we’ll try something else.” I felt a little happy when he didn’t scream as I put my salve on his poor bottom. We all watched in awe over the next few hours as his skin improved. We were ecstatic the next day when his bottom was barely pink.

Why was this small victory such a big deal? 

It made me take a step back. I realized I’d put myself in the position of thinking I had to solve all the problems I faced. I’d not considered the value of making things better.

I now look at herbal medicine as a process:

1. We can try different approaches until something improves.

2. We can work with people to find solutions. 

3. Natural healing becomes a journey, not an outcome.

I  switched my focus to the little problems that come up daily instead of herbs for COPD or Epilepsy. (Let’s be honest, those people would not come to me for help, thank goodness!)

Lots of little things feel big. Think of the pain of a bee sting or the itch of poison ivy.  Think of your last round of hay fever or sleepless nights.

People don’t like to suffer. Finding success with little things has built my confidence. It’s also helped my family develop an appreciation for plants. Now it’s not unusual for Jessie to call and ask, “Do you have an herb for…?”

What’s your favorite way to use your herbs, or what would you like to learn?

Are Medicinal Herbs Hard To Grow?

Hello my herbal friends! Today we look at a common question about medicinal herbs.

Are they hard to grow?

That's a good question, but a bit too broad. Herbs can be like people. Some of them are high maintenance. (You know the type!). Some seem to thrive wherever you put them. Some may never be happy to grow for you.

If you're new to this, two good questions are:

1. Which herbs are easy to grow?

2. Which herbs do you want to use the most?

If you are new to gardening or feeling a little shaky, I suggest starting with native plants. What are the native plants in your area? Get out and take a drive. Are you looking at Red Clover in fields along the way? Do you see Butterfly Weed growing happily on the banks of the interstate?

The weeds in your region usually grow easily in your yard.

Did I say weeds?

Yep, all of our medicinals were weeds somewhere. Think of the dandelions that sprout enthusiastically in your yard year after year. Did you know someone is out there planting dandelions and fretting if they don't grow well? As crazy as it sounds, it’s true.

So back to your drive, another thing to observe is location. For instance, you might see Butterfly Weed or Chicory on the roadside, where you know the soil has to be terrible. What does that mean? Dry soil? Full sun? But then you see great thickets of Elderberry bushes in the partly shady ditches. Part shade? Damper ground?

Trust your observations. Make a point of matching the environment of the healthiest plant you see. Is your ground full of clay? Does it hold water for a long time after it rains? Consider herbs that love moisture, or change your soil by adding sand to help drainage.

Another consideration is your region. If you see that a particular plant takes full sun, ask some questions. Where does this plant grow as a weed? (If you Google the name and use the word “native,” you will see a map of where the plant occurs naturally.)

Your plant might feel a little toasty in Florida if it thrives in full sun in North Dakota. If it is a native plant to a cooler zone, you may want to offer some shade.

Finally, my favorite part. Listen to your plant. As your medicinal garden grows, so will your attunement to your plants. Some plants will be thriving. They are in the perfect spot. Some may be doing okay, but never spreading, or getting bigger. Maybe they rarely bloom. I call this surviving. Move them. We will look in-depth at how to move your plants safely in another post.

As your relationship with your garden grows, you’ll develop an intuition about when and where to put your herbs. The best part is that you’ll be growing your own medicine and feeling good about your progress. Take the first step today!

Plant Confidence

If you’ve landed here, you likely have an interest in growing medicinal herbs, using them, or both. Maybe you’re a beginner. We all start there. Maybe you’re a professional. If so, you might have some tips for the rest of us!

Maybe you’re like me, somewhere in between, looking for some company on the way.

Unfortunately, these days the world can be hard to predict. On the one hand, people seem desperate to regain some control, and there is a growing interest in plant medicine. But, on the other hand, it’s kind of scary to offer anything medicinal to anybody without a good insurance policy.

What brought you here?

I can tell you what brought me…

I’ve loved nature and plants for as long as I can remember. When I began to study medicinal herbs seriously, there was SO much information and SO many opinions.

Have you been there? Who’s right? Who’s wrong? How do you decide?

I was also confused by the number of ways to make plant medicine. Many of my classes focused on formulas that took weeks to complete.

What if you need something sooner? How do you anticipate the medicine you’ll need to start months ahead of when you may or may not need it?

Some formularies I studied called for using a lot of plant material. This gets expensive quickly!

I began looking at ways to make herbalism more accessible.

Can you make a high-quality tincture in less than six weeks? Yes.

Is there a way to stock your herb closet without breaking the bank? Sure.

Is this the right place for you?

I think herbal medicine should:

1. Fit a busy schedule. Six-week tinctures are great but only sometimes practical. So we will look for ways to speed the process up when what you need can’t wait.

2. Be a process. We’re not going to be perfectionists. We will gain confidence as we practice and gain competence.

3. Be hands-on. You will find many things to try that are safe and fun.

4. Be empowering. That’s the essential part for me. You are learning and connecting with your plants in a way that fulfills you.

If this sounds good to you, please join me. We can help each other along the way.