Honorably Harvested, Carefully Grown, Effective
Sourcing well-grown, effective botanicals can be hard work. Once it arrives in stores in pill, tablet, or tincture form, you have no idea what conditions it was grown in, how it was harvested, or processed.
Many botanicals are rejected after being tested for heavy metals or pesticides, if they are tested at all. And some are not the herb they are identified as.
Small growers are beginning to change that by growing Chinese and Western Botanicals as part of the general regenerative and organic movement. In 2020, I began testing which plants tolerated the conditions in my little valley. Happily many thrive here and planting can begin in earnest!
Many of the medicinal varieties take a few years of growth before they are ready for harvest, whether it is the leaves and flowers or the roots that are used.
Many botanicals are rejected after being tested for heavy metals or pesticides, if they are tested at all. And some are not the herb they are identified as.
Small growers are beginning to change that by growing Chinese and Western Botanicals as part of the general regenerative and organic movement. In 2020, I began testing which plants tolerated the conditions in my little valley. Happily many thrive here and planting can begin in earnest!
Many of the medicinal varieties take a few years of growth before they are ready for harvest, whether it is the leaves and flowers or the roots that are used.
Farm Grown Part Used Year First Available
Chamomile, German - Matricaria recutita Flowers 2023
Chamomile, Roman - Chamaemelum nobile Flowers 2023
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale Roots & Leaves 2023
Echinacea purpurea Leaves & Flowers 2023
Self Heal - Prunella vulgaris Leaves & Flowers 2021
Chamomile, German - Matricaria recutita Flowers 2023
Chamomile, Roman - Chamaemelum nobile Flowers 2023
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale Roots & Leaves 2023
Echinacea purpurea Leaves & Flowers 2023
Self Heal - Prunella vulgaris Leaves & Flowers 2021
Wildcrafted Part Used Harvest Month
Achillea millefolium Leaves & Flowers June - July
Anaphalis margaritacea Flowers June - August
Arnica cordifolia Flowers June - July
Capsella bursa-pastoris Whole Plant June - July
Cornus canadensis Fruit August - September
Linaria vulgaris Leaves & Flowers July
Spiraea densiflora/betulifolia Leaves & Flowers June - August
Thlaspi arvense Leaves & Flowers June - July
Thuja plicata Leaves Year Round
Thuja plicata Fruit June
Achillea millefolium Leaves & Flowers June - July
Anaphalis margaritacea Flowers June - August
Arnica cordifolia Flowers June - July
Capsella bursa-pastoris Whole Plant June - July
Cornus canadensis Fruit August - September
Linaria vulgaris Leaves & Flowers July
Spiraea densiflora/betulifolia Leaves & Flowers June - August
Thlaspi arvense Leaves & Flowers June - July
Thuja plicata Leaves Year Round
Thuja plicata Fruit June
Harvesting Practices
Honorable harvesting can be different for different people. The most complete guidelines I have found are from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. These are the ones I follow, even on the farm.
~ Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
~ Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
~ Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
~ Never take the first. Never take the last.
~ Take only what you need.
~ Take only that which is given.
~ Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
~ Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
~ Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
~ Share.
~ Give thanks for what you have been given.
~ Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
~ Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
Honorable harvesting can be different for different people. The most complete guidelines I have found are from Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. These are the ones I follow, even on the farm.
~ Know the ways of the ones who take care of you, so that you may take care of them.
~ Introduce yourself. Be accountable as the one who comes asking for life.
~ Ask permission before taking. Abide by the answer.
~ Never take the first. Never take the last.
~ Take only what you need.
~ Take only that which is given.
~ Never take more than half. Leave some for others.
~ Harvest in a way that minimizes harm.
~ Use it respectfully. Never waste what you have taken.
~ Share.
~ Give thanks for what you have been given.
~ Give a gift, in reciprocity for what you have taken.
~ Sustain the ones who sustain you and the earth will last forever.
My History with Medicinal Plants
I do not consider myself an herbalist as it takes many years of study to claim that title, but I do have a long history with plants and specifically medicinal plants. [aside: When I use the term ‘medicinal plants’, I don’t necessarily mean specific plants that are the only ones used as medicine, but when any plant is used medicinally (plants have many uses). That can be plants that are considered ‘food’, ‘tonics’ for general use, and plants used only under acute conditions, or ones that could be considered toxic. Western Colonial modalities have a much more limited definition of what is medicine than Eastern or Indigenous modalities. So ‘Medicinal Plants’ means whenever I’m using (or asking to use) a plant for healing purposes. Intention plays an important role when interacting with plants. (see Harvesting Practices)]
My first introduction to plants was through their medicinal uses from my father. He is a Traditional Chinese Five Elemental Acupuncturist and Herbalist and every plant was introduced to me with it’s name and it’s known uses for humans, be that as food, medicine, or poison. Yep, he taught me the potentially dangerous ones too!
I often helped him wildharvest the ones he used to make his ubiquitous ointment, teas, and tinctures and I sometimes watched him chop them up and process them into the form of ‘medicine’ that was appropriate, but truly I loved most being out among the plants. I thrived off of visiting them, observing where each grew, the conditions they preferred and where they didn’t like it, and the health of them over the years we took what they gave. Every new place I’ve been, the first thing I do is buy a field guide to the plants of that area so that I can introduce myself to them and learn their names.
Eventually, I worked at KW Botanicals, a wholesale manufacturer of premium botanical extracts while I cared for my elderly Grandmother. It was a job I was particularly suited for since we processed over 900 herbs from Chinese, Western, Ayurvedic, and Indigenous medicinal modalities. From my studies I know the scientific names and properties of many plants and from my childhood I know the modalities of Chinese and Western herbal practices. There I learned about the processing, macerating, straining, and extracting methods that produce the best medicine possible and I saw the need for more domestic growers of all the plants, but especially the Chinese medicinals because growers using organic methods on the farm or honorable harvesting practices in the wild is hard to find. Thus, I’ve started planting and wild crafting some of the most important medicinal plants that grow in my region. Some are to help heal the human community, but some are to heal the forest community because they have been over-harvested in the wild and are disappearing from our forests. I grow them so no more need to be taken and maybe some can be returned.
I do not consider myself an herbalist as it takes many years of study to claim that title, but I do have a long history with plants and specifically medicinal plants. [aside: When I use the term ‘medicinal plants’, I don’t necessarily mean specific plants that are the only ones used as medicine, but when any plant is used medicinally (plants have many uses). That can be plants that are considered ‘food’, ‘tonics’ for general use, and plants used only under acute conditions, or ones that could be considered toxic. Western Colonial modalities have a much more limited definition of what is medicine than Eastern or Indigenous modalities. So ‘Medicinal Plants’ means whenever I’m using (or asking to use) a plant for healing purposes. Intention plays an important role when interacting with plants. (see Harvesting Practices)]
My first introduction to plants was through their medicinal uses from my father. He is a Traditional Chinese Five Elemental Acupuncturist and Herbalist and every plant was introduced to me with it’s name and it’s known uses for humans, be that as food, medicine, or poison. Yep, he taught me the potentially dangerous ones too!
I often helped him wildharvest the ones he used to make his ubiquitous ointment, teas, and tinctures and I sometimes watched him chop them up and process them into the form of ‘medicine’ that was appropriate, but truly I loved most being out among the plants. I thrived off of visiting them, observing where each grew, the conditions they preferred and where they didn’t like it, and the health of them over the years we took what they gave. Every new place I’ve been, the first thing I do is buy a field guide to the plants of that area so that I can introduce myself to them and learn their names.
Eventually, I worked at KW Botanicals, a wholesale manufacturer of premium botanical extracts while I cared for my elderly Grandmother. It was a job I was particularly suited for since we processed over 900 herbs from Chinese, Western, Ayurvedic, and Indigenous medicinal modalities. From my studies I know the scientific names and properties of many plants and from my childhood I know the modalities of Chinese and Western herbal practices. There I learned about the processing, macerating, straining, and extracting methods that produce the best medicine possible and I saw the need for more domestic growers of all the plants, but especially the Chinese medicinals because growers using organic methods on the farm or honorable harvesting practices in the wild is hard to find. Thus, I’ve started planting and wild crafting some of the most important medicinal plants that grow in my region. Some are to help heal the human community, but some are to heal the forest community because they have been over-harvested in the wild and are disappearing from our forests. I grow them so no more need to be taken and maybe some can be returned.
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