Eliot Coleman on organic farming . . .

Susun Weed on Herbal Medicine

From John Gallagher at Learning Herbs

In July 2007, Susun Weed sat down with me for an hour at the Northwest HerbFest near Eugene, Oregon. What follows is a five part interview. These are YouTube embedded videos (which have a 10 minute limit).Thanks for watching!

Susun Weed Video Interview Series

Susun's Biography
Susun Weed has no official diplomas of any kind; she left high school in her junior year to pursue studies in mathematics and artificial intelligence at UCLA and left college in her junior year to pursue life. Susun began studying herbal medicine in 1965 while living in Manhattan and has written several books on the subject.

• Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year
• Healing Wise
• New Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way
  
• Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way

In addition to her writing, Ms Weed trains apprentices and oversees the work of more than 300 correspondence course students. Her worldwide teaching schedule encompasses herbal medicine, ethnobotany, pharmacognosy, psychology of healing, ecoherbalism, nutrition, and women's health issues and her venues include medical schools, hospital wellness centers, breast cancer centers, midwifery schools, naturopathic colleges, and shamanic training centers, as well as many conferences. Susun has appeared on many television and radio shows, including National Public Radio and NBC News.

The sun is shining brightly . . .

There is heat in the sun as it crosses my hands on the keyboard and it feels wonderful. The seed and plant catalogs continue to arrive. Spring will be here in a blink of an eye. Hope I am ready!

This year there will be a concentration on learning more about the plants here, what parts to use, best growing conditions and what purposes the plants can be put to.

Echinacea will be the first 'under the magnifier' for me. Last month when I felt a cold coming on I used a tincture I made two years age using the Herbal Medicine Making Kit from Learning Herbs. I felt better by morning. I have used the echinacea tincture twice more. I have not been sick yet. Was it the echinacea tincture? Or not. All I know is I have not been stricken so far. There are so many variables and as a gardener of a small plot of land there will be no high priced, scientific testing. Only ardent observations, testing and careful use of the preparations.

As I have been gathering information, I came across this thought provoking blog post by Kiva Rose on The Medicine Woman's Roots called The Core Nature of Plants.

The awesome energy of winter . . .

The seed catalogs have been arriving - a sure sign on Spring!

Hand Sanitizer - Pros and Cons . . .

In an article on using hand sanitizer in a massage practice Nicole Cutler, L.Ac. wrote:

Hand sanitizer dispensers can be found everywhere, from elementary school cafeterias to cruise ships. Despite its dominance of many infection control programs, massage therapists are still advised to clean their hands the old-fashioned way.

If you make your own hand sanitizer she suggests "a minimum of 60 percent alcohol concentration to be effective."

Click here for whole article.

Another gift idea . . .

Book Review

Dan Delion sets out hunting bugs, and discovers a secret that is much too big to keep to himself. He shares his secret with the other Greenhouse Kids, Holly Hocks, Johnny Jump-Ups and Foxy Gloves. The Greenhouse Kids never imagined the mysterious adventure that was about to unfold. Part mystery, part educational, this charming gardening-themed tale will appeal to children aged 8 to 12. Parents might even learn a thing or two!

“Plant life takes on a whole new literary magic. It’s part entertainment, part mystery, part fantasy and educational to boot!”

----Windsor Life Magazine, August/September 2009

Wildcraft!: An Herbal Adventure . . .

Giving a gift of knowledge

Wildcraft: An Herbal Adventure teaches you 25 important edible and medicinal plants and their uses in mostly first aid situations
(Wildcrafting is the harvesting of wild plants)

It also teaches team work, for you will rely on each other’s knowledge of plants and good fortune to make it to the Huckleberry Patch and safely back to Grandma’s.

Wildcraft: An Herbal Adventure is a great introduction to the world of edible and medicinal herbs for children of ALL ages.

The Story. . .

Grandma needs huckleberries to bake a pie. You and your cousins embark on an adventure up the mountain to collect berries as well as herbs she uses.

Will you all harvest the right plants to help with the trouble you run into along the way? Will you make it back before nightfall? The only way to win is by helping each other out.

Wildcraft: An Herbal Adventure is a beautifully illustrated, nature based, cooperative game created in the tradition of the classic board games.

Wildcraft: An Herbal Adventure includes a 20x20 inch game board, instructions, 4 player pieces, 52 plant cards, 52 trouble cards, 25 cooperative cards, and a spinner. It also comes with a downloadable story to enhance the story of the game.

• Made in the U.S.A.
• Box/board made with 100% recycled chipboard.
• Printed with vegetable oil based inks.
• Water based coating on paper, no varnish.
• Forest Stewardship Council certified paper.
• All material is 100% recyclable.

Learn while you play Wildcraft: An Herbal Adventure board game.
Limited time - Special price from December 1 - 3!

Great news for butter lovers!

From Learning Herbs & Herb Mentor!!!

Myths about butter (- oh, I love it! With all those wonderful vegetables waiting to be eaten it has to be butter.)

In the first issue of their Weekly Holiday Series HerbMentor.com's Rosalee de la Foret shares her favorite recipes for herbal butters.

"In the recent nutritional history, butter was considered to be an unhealthy choice. Butter was labeled as a “fat” and it was also believed that all fats are bad for our health. People mistakenly believed that eating butter led to cardiovascular disease and weight gain."

"We now know that healthy fats can be a beneficial part of our diet, and some fats even provide essential nutrients. Many fats like butter and olive oil are actually health promoting. While trans fats like margarine and Crisco as well as vegetable fats like canola oil are best to be avoided."

"Butter, especially organic butter from grass fed cows, is high in vitamins and minerals as well as essential fatty acids."

Thank you, Rosalee!

Where to store the squash . . .

Some squash has been cooked and made into pie.
Some frozen.
But how to store the rest?

We do not have a cellar and an in ground storage option would be a challenge because of a high water table. After reading several books and entries on the web, we have built a wooden box of rough sawn lumber and put it in a corner against the north wall of the house inside the greenhouse. Under the box the floor is dirt with a layer of loose bricks. There is a 'padding' of saltmarsh hay under the box and on two sides of the box. The squash are in the bottom of the box with cardboard covering them. The rest of the box has been filled with the hay with a remote reading thermometer sensor in the chamber with the squash.

So far so good!

Special gifts from the heart & garden . . .

My favorite

A loaf of homemade bread - fresh from the oven packaged in a brown bag with a simple tag is a wonderful gift for neighbors and family. When my children were young and the budget tight we loved making the bread and carrying it door to door.


Other ideas

A collection of herb vinegar, prepared mustard and prepared horseradish - all easy to do and fun for the family to do together.

Hand sanitizer, healing salve, body lotion, bath salts or hand and body exfoliator, any one of which would make a great gift idea for teachers and others who have helped you throughout the year.

If you need herbs or containers Mountain Rose has a wide variety . You will find lots of excellent information, for example:

Sweet Almond Oil

• This is one of the most useful, practical, and commonly used oils. It is great for all skin types as an acting emollient and is best known for its ability to soften, soothe, and re-condition the skin. It is truly marvelous as a carrier oil and is equally superb for addition to body care products. Natural expeller pressed oil from raw almond kernels and exceptionally rich in fatty acids.

• Profile: Botanical Name- Prunus dulcis, Origin- USA, Extraction- Expeller pressed/Partially Refined, Shelf life- 12-14 months, Kosher Certified- No, Notes- Stores well under any condition but extreme heat will lessen the shelf life. This variety of Almond oil is slightly darker in color and richer in scent when compared to what is currently being offered on the market because of its partially refined nature. For cosmetic use only.
• Specifications: Color- Golden, Odor- Faint and characteristic, Free Fatty Acids- 0.1, Peroxide Value- 0.4, Non-Saponifiables- 0.5, Saponification Value-191, Iodine Value- 99, Specific Gravity- 0.915, pH- 4.63
• Fatty Acids: Oleic- 68.4%, Palmitic- 4.8%, Linoleic- 22.4%, Linolenic- 0.1%, Stearic- 2.8%