Planting!

Many of these posts require exclamation points in their title because spring is springing and this is exciting stuff and I want to shout about it.

Planting. Something that I never anticipated falling in love with, well, okay I had my suspicions. Oh how I love to be near the baby plants, whisper little wishes of growth upon them, and watch them grow. Around here in production farm land, we use a tractor. There is a driver (full time farm crew job) and there are the planters (generally the job of us interns). Two little seats on the back for us to put the babies from their nursery flats into the earth, all while the tractor makes holes and pours fertilizer (sea bird guano, yes, it smells fishy). One person follows the tractor to make sure everyone is all tucked in and planted. When everything is in line this works so well. And maybe I can compare everything to juggling, but this really is so much like passing clubs to me. Fast action, doing multiple things at once with both hands, anticipating the next couple of moves, hand-eye coordination, crazy overwhelming at first, and then after a while you can have a conversation with the person sitting next to you without dropping. It is exhilarating. And, you are helping to put plants into the ground that are going to grow big and strong and be good medicine for people.

These photos are from the very first planting that I did, chamomile! Since then I have planted echinacea, wormwood, calendula, valerian, lobelia, hyssop, goldenrod, skullcap, celandine, and plantain. Ooh, and lavender too, but that was by hand.

The littles go into the rubber pads and off they go to the soil.

I am going to be honest with you and tell you that this is a staged photo, but the real thing looks just like this. Oh, the joy.

These photos are courtesy of my friend Masha.

Violet Harvest!

Violets, those little tiny beauties that appear in our yard in Bend as a weed that I love so dear. Turns out...beauty is often medicinal.

Viola Tricolor: Violet, Pansy, Heart's Ease, Johnny Jump-Ups

Parts used: Leaves and flowers

Actions: Soothing, demulcent expectorant and diuretic. Lowers fevers. Mild sedative. Gentle and effective alternative for babies and young children, always check dosage.

Uses: General infections, fever, colds, flu, coughs, and congestion. Skin eruptions, hives, eczema, cradle cap, milk-crust, impetigo, and scabies. Smelly, staining or burning urine. Violet is especially indicated and very safe for babies and young children. Good for children's digestive complaints such as stomach ache and constipation. A tonic and pain relieving to the heart.

Make syrup, soup, and put them in your salads. Of course, always know your source, look out for fertilizers and pesticides.

Violets grown by your doorstep offer you powerful spiritual protection and ease for your heart.

No known contraindications.

Everything in moderation. Listen to what your body wants.

This is one of the incredible views that we see daily, our office and our backyard.

Getting ready to go to the production facility to make a fresh liquid extract.

Sources:

~Herb Pharm's "Therapeutic Herb Manual" by Ed Smith

~Wise Woman Herbal: Healing Wise by Susun S. Weed

Essential Oil Distillation...with steam!

About a year ago, at Tierra Learning Center in Leavenworth, Wa I was harvesting a whole lot of delicious organic lavender. Abundant good-smelling magic. I have got this strong kid-like desire to know where things come from, to grow them myself, and make the things I need from there. So, I was wondering how hard is it to make my own essential oil and of course, wanting to do it myself. And last Friday, with the help of our teacher, the fabulous Dagmar, my girls, and a $500 steam distiller I made essential oil!

Over a pound of dried lavender in the flask.

Beginning the boil. The steam rises up through the lavender and condenses as a hydrosol (extracted water soluble plant materials with volatile oils) and essential oil.

The essential oil rose and the hydrosol sank.

It's all done and the lavender is brown.

Lavender Essential Oil! Over a pound of herb made only 1/2 oz of essential oil.

The yield is different for each herb each time depending on the situation.

Here is a crazy fact: It takes approximately 30 Rose buds to yield 1 drop of rose essential oil! So most things that are rose scented are not actually true rose because it is freakishly expensive.

Ode to the Fairy Slipper

I fell head over heals in love... with a flower. A tiny deliciously sweet smelling orchid that is native to these parts. We first met in the Enchanted Forest and her name is Fairyslipper: Calypso Bulbosa. I swooned for her again today alongside the Umpqua River, near the hot springs. I couldn't resist a photo shoot. You see, she is a special lady, delicate and only to be appreciated in her own environment where she grows. She is so little and so delightful that is is quite easy to trample her or want to take her from home. Her root system is delicate and a slight tug can break her, making it difficult to transplant her as well. She is endangered. So pay attention when you are in the woods, if you do see her, get down on your belly look at her sweetly, smell her perfume, and pretend to be a fairy.

Here is some lore as described by "plants of the pacific northwest coast":

"Calypso, the goddess daughter of Atlas was Homer's beautiful nymph hidden in the woods and found by Ulysses when he was wrecked on the island of Ogygia. Calypso means 'concealment.'

Cytherea, is another name for fairyslipper and for Aphrodite: the goddess of love, beauty, and marriage. "

Here she is...

Dandelion and Stinging Nettles.

Root washing outfits. Maya, Monica, and me.

We work Monday through Thursday on the farm from 8am-4:30pm. Some evenings, Fridays, and some Saturdays we have classes which range from medicine making, nutrition, essential oil distillation, the uses of seaweed, wild edibles, botany for herbalists, plant walks and more. Our days are packed with plants.

Nearly every moment of every day here is filled with most things that I want to fill my life with for always, working outside soaking in fresh air, rain and sunshine (especially sunshine), using my body, nourishing plants, seeing their daily growth, listening to their teachings, preparing food, eating healthy delicious food that comes from this land or that of our neighbors, learning how to heal my self and my community, making medicine with brilliant women, and taking classes. I feel like a 3-year old to our teachers, farm and landscape crews and my roomies. “What this? What is that? How come? wow! cool!”

We are surrounded by wisdom and healing, most of us just forgot how to listen and understand it, thankfully some remember and are kind enough to share readily and freely.

I have fallen head over heels madly in love with plants.

I found the following words by Richo Cech, who used to work for Herb Pharm, lives down the street, and runs Horizon Herbs (more on that later). Something nice to think about. Next time you see a plant, say thank you. :)

“We humans owe plants our very existence. For starters, we are completely dependent on plants for every breath we take. Plants are the primary producers of oxygen, the byproduct of photosynthesis. In addition, we are completely dependent on plants for every bite of food we eat. Either directly or through the food chain, we nourish ourselves solely by consuming plant-produced carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Also, plants give us fresh water, humus, building materials, fuel, fiber, cloth, dyes, and don’t forget shade (and shelter).” -Richo Cech

Last week we harvested dandelions and weeded rows of stinging nettles. Plants are food. Plants are medicine. There is no such thing as a weed, only a plant that is growing in a place that you do not want it to.

Dandelion harvest. Some rows still to be uprooted

Separating dandelion roots before washing.

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Dandelion wash.

Dandelion. Taraxacum Officinale.

Parts Used: leaves (diuretic), root (hepatic), flowers, seeds

Can be used to treat: liver and gall bladder disorders, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, anemia, type 2 diabetes, hypoglycemia, kidney infections, breast tenderness from PMS, menopause, osteoporosis, acne, stomachaches and more.

A classic spring tonic. All parts of dandelion are edible.

The main benefits of dandelion are exerted upon the function of the liver. It has the capacity to clear obstructions, stimulate, and aid the liver to eliminate toxins from the blood. Dandelion root helps decrease high blood pressure, thus aiding the action of the heart. It contains inulin and mucilage which soothe the digestive tract, helps friendly bacteria thrive and inhibits the growth of unfriendly bacteria. It helps to benefit digestion, assimilation, and elimination.

Although dandelion leaves are diuretic, they have large amounts of potassium and other minerals which replace lost minerals making it one of the safest and most effective diuretics available.

There is a reason it grows everywhere.

I got this information from our teacher Mark and The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra. If you are going to use it as food and medicine, don’t just listen to what I say, do you own research. Most importantly, ask your body what it wants.

Weeding stinging nettles.

Hazel.

You can visualize me being the one on the left.

Today, I am Hazel. Meaning, I am the house mommy, the “sweet little old lady” who gets up before all others, has breakfast on the table as everyone awakes. I clean and cook b-fast and dinner for my 13 ladies on their first day of working in the fields. And...I get the whole house to myself...wooohooooo. We all take turns doing this for one another and our teachers are super protective over this job, it ain’t easy finding alone time when you live in a house with 13 other women. And that means that when I am working someone will cook breakfast when I awake and dinner when I return from the fields! So awesome. Like a 1950’s housewife, only we each have 13 wives and the stay-at-home mom rotates. I am the first Hazel on the first day of work, so I went down to the fields to meet the 7 other field and landscape workers (6 burly men, 1 burly lady) and to get a lesson on how to properly shovel, move a wheel barrow, lift things, and use a hula hoe all while loving your back! It really is kind of a hilarious sight, me giggling silently. These burly dudes who do farm work on the daily teaching us cute (and badass) young women with some to no farm experience how to work it. We’re pretty rad. After the demos, I quietly made my exit. It was just like ditching school on the first day, only I kind of wanted to stay to have solidarity with my ladies. So my lovelies are out there weeding the heck out of the echinacea fields while I am cleaning house, eradicating a flying ant population, studying herbs and making notecards, harvesting some wild plants for salad fixings and writing some words to ya’ll. And I have got to say, it is pretty freaking awesome. I love my life.

oh, here is a far better picture. This is more like it.

Beginnings.

Henderson's Shooting Star

Here are some words in an attempt to describe the indescribable. Look out! It is an adjective explosion!

We are dreamers, healers, artists, writers, singers, meditators, instrument players, yoga practitioners, travelers, explorers, acrobats, heart-full nurturers, farmer gardeners, students, and teachers

who are inspired, in spirit, vibrant, brilliant, eclectic, well-rounded, interesting, badass, creative, feisty, filled with sparkles, excited about living, learning, and sharing in this pulsing life, like tiny children, carrying the embedded wisdom of grandmamas,

beautiful.

Women who believe that we can inspire change, that we can be the hope of the world. That by being with, eating, communicating and loving plants we can not only nourish our bodies and souls but that of those we love.

And that this magic can radiate outward.

Coming here I was terrifyingly filled with anxiety, but not from fear alone. From a similar fear that I had when embarking on travels to India, a silent knowing that the upcoming experience was going to profoundly change my perspective, forever. The fear that comes from something that I know in my heart is the exact right thing that I ought to be doing in this very moment.

At our intern house we have the most phenomenal herbal library, more herbals than I have ever seen, more than even Powell’s :) I was flipping through a book by Matthew Wood in which he discusses black cohosh and read:

“There is an inherent desire in the human being to “cross the river”: to grow, change, and transform. There is also a fear which holds us to the safety of the known.”

We are held until we are ready to cross. “Fear is tied up with desire. What we want we fear. Crossing the boundaries of our world is an ultimate desire, while doing so is an ultimate fear.”

I have wanted to do this internship for as long as my sweet lovely friend Kelli Mae told me about it. It represents so much of how I want to live in this life. Yet, it is scary to dive into the exact thing that I have wanted for so long, farming, gardening, growing, cultivating, making my own medicine from the earth and wildcrafting my daily salad. Questions of self-doubt mixed with hopes of grandeur filled my mind before my arrival. And now I know that Now is the time for my river crossing.

I am blessed. I am full of gratitude. And I am saying thank you each day to the plants, to the wild turkeys, geese, and songbirds, to this space, to these women, to the Herb Pharm and all of the incredible folks that enable this process. Thank you.

Check it out, if you’d like.

http://herb-pharm.com/herbaculture.html

Herb Pharm Interns Spring 2011

(the before picture)

yes, there is snow on the ground and yes, we are all ladies.

The Bleeding-Heart

I know a bleeding-heart plant that has thrived
for sixty years if not more, and has never
missed a spring without rising and spreading
itself into a grassy bush, with many small red
hearts dangling. Don't you think that deserves
a little thought? The woman who planted it
has been gone for a long time, and everyone
who saw it in that time has also died or moved
away and so, like so many stories, this one can't
get finished properly. Most things that are
important, have you noticed, lack a certain
neatness. More delicious, anyway is to
remember my grandmother's pleasure when
the dissolve of winter was over and the green
knobs appeared and began to rise, and to cre-
ate their many hearts. One would say she was
a simple woman, made happy by simple
things. I think this was true. And more than
once, in my long life, I have wished to be her.

-Mary Oliver

This was read to us on our first morning together by Sara Katz, one of the founders of Herb Pharm. Oh, Mary Oliver how I love you.