Old Ways Herbal: Juliette Abigail Carr, RH (AHG)
Women & Children's Herbal Clinic, Vermont Herb School, & Ramblings on Family Herbal Wisdom
This thing happens kind of a lot when you live in a place with significant seasons: you harvest some wonderful medicine, enough to last you a while--maybe all year--but then you have to actually do something with it while it's still good, knowing you can't get more until next year. Most people's gut reaction is … Continue reading Preserving Water-Soluble Magic Beyond the Growing Season: Herbal Ice Cubes
Starting seeds is a cornerstone of my herbal practice, not to mention my sweet sideline as homestead queen. I highly recommend growing this skill, as it quintuples your access to strange and interesting plants. There is a great, wide, green world of herbs and flowers out there beyond the garden center, and it can be … Continue reading Starting Medicinal Plants from Seed
As the snow piles up and icicles grow from the eaves, tea becomes a central part of my life. Drinking a steaming, fragrant cup of last summer’s bounty in front of the woodstove on these long winter nights is a cold weather ritual that resonates to my bones. I love the seasons; I love how … Continue reading Homegrown Tea
Autumn is the season for bark harvest, one of the most fulfilling medicine making tasks. A walk through the woods on a crisp fall day followed by several hours in the sun as the days grow shorter and the world goes to sleep—it is definitely worth the effort, and a few trees will provide a … Continue reading Bark Harvest & Ethical Wildcrafting
This article was originally published in The Country Grind Quaterly, an excellent rag full of fabulous articles. Check it out. Seasonal allergies can destroy an otherwise beautiful day, especially among those of us who have done a lot of travelling or have moved from one bioregion to another. Many folks turn to Benadryl in desperation, … Continue reading Make Your Own Herbal Allergy Syrup
This is an excerpt of a longer article originally published in Country Grind Quarterly about spring tonics and tincture-making. Much more info here about making weight-to-volume tinctures, and some gems here on troubleshooting tinctures. If you're in Vermont, come to the tincture-making class in June! Info here. Spring is the time to start making your own herbal medicine, or get … Continue reading Nettles, Burdock, & How to Make Tinctures That Actually Work and Don’t Taste Like Death
Herbal tea is the backbone of herbal medicine. It is often one of the easiest ways to get herbs into your daily life, just by having a nice cup of delicious whatever in hot water as part of your routine. However, not all herbal teas are prepared using the same method. In herbal medicine making … Continue reading How to Make Herbal Teas
This article is part of the series “Basic Recipes for Kitchen Witches,” which is in response to students’ requests for me to post recipes online. The goal of these articles is to give you the how-to-ness, the essential mechanics of creation, as a basis for your own future creativity. You can let your little light … Continue reading Infused Honey, Syrups, & Elixirs for Winter Colds
North America is a big place. Every region has its own potent medicines that fulfill humans’ biological needs. Coevolution is a beautiful thing, as is biodiversity. There is no reason to believe that the newest trendy superherb from South America, India, or anywhere else is going to do something for us that we can’t accomplish … Continue reading Bioregional Herbalism, or “Go Outside”
First, Some Basics Marc: solid matter in a tincture; the plants Menstruum: liquid in a tincture; the alcohol and water (or vinegar, glycerin, honey, etc.) Solubility: whether or not something dissolves in a particular liquid. Think of sugar in tea--soluble--versus sugar in cold water--insoluble. Constituents: compounds that combine into a plant’s chemical makeup Precipitate: solid or … Continue reading Making Weight-to-Volume Tinctures
