Foraging
How to Make an Herbal Sugar Scrub (and Jar It for Gifts)
An herbal sugar scrub takes ten minutes and three ingredients. Here's how I make mine with dried herbs and jojoba oil, and how to keep it…
Foraging
How to Forage and Use Blackberry Root in the Mountains
Blackberry canes crowd every mountain fence row. Here's how to dig the root in winter, avoid the poison ivy beside it, dry it, and prepare it…
Foraging
Best Gifts for a Home Herbalist This Winter
The gifts I actually want as a home herbalist — real supplies I use every season, not another mug that says 'wild woman.' A short, honest…
Foraging
Fresh or Dried Roots for a Tincture? The Mountain Way
Fresh vs dried root tincture: which to make, how the old mountain method differs for each, and the jar-and-cheesecloth steps I use for burdock and dock.
Foraging
How to Make an Herbal Poultice the Traditional Way
An herbal poultice is the oldest preparation there is. Here's how to make one the traditional way from fresh plantain, and where a poultice stops being…
Foraging
How to Forage and Use Sitka Spruce Tips in the Pacific Northwest
Learn to find, harvest, and use Sitka spruce tips in the Pacific Northwest: how to identify the tree, avoid yew, and make spruce tip tea, honey,…
Foraging
How to Forage and Use Ground Ivy in the Southern Mountains
Learn to identify, harvest, and brew ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea) the mountain way, how it differs from English ivy and poison ivy, and who should skip…
Foraging
How to Label and Date Your Homemade Herbal Preparations
Learn how to label herbal preparations so you can trust them months later: what to write, what holds up on glass and tin, and a simple…
Foraging
How to Forage and Use Solomon’s Seal in Appalachia
Learn to forage Solomon's seal in Appalachia: how to know it from deadly look-alikes in spring, dig the rootstock with care, and prepare it the old…
Foraging
How to Forage and Use Fireweed: Spring Shoots and Summer Tea
Learn how to forage fireweed in the Pacific Northwest: tell spring shoots from look-alikes, dry the leaves for tea, and store a winter's supply properly.