Herb Garden Days 2023

Herb Garden Days are back! Join us on the farm this summer to grow your knowledge and be in herbal community.  All friends of Old Ways Herbal are welcome to join. Apprentices and online students are particularly encouraged to come in order to contextualize developing skills. Connect with nature in community: tend the gardens, harvest … Continue reading Herb Garden Days 2023

Intentional Farmcraft: Garden Planning from the Heart

Garden Planning from the Heart Take time this month to make an intentional plan for garden projects for the season.  Now that the ice has melted and the mud has dried up, the growing season is upon us in full. I choose 1-2 projects per month, whether that's rebuilding a trellis or spreading mulch, and … Continue reading Intentional Farmcraft: Garden Planning from the Heart

Preserving Water-Soluble Magic Beyond the Growing Season: Herbal Ice Cubes

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 Medicinal Plants from Seed

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

Homegrown Tea

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

Bark Harvest & Ethical Wildcrafting

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

Make Your Own Herbal Allergy Syrup

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, then waste the rest of what would otherwise be a lovely, productive day sacked out on the porch with a … Continue reading Make Your Own Herbal Allergy Syrup

Nettles, Burdock, & How to Make Tinctures That Actually Work and Don’t Taste Like Death

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