Submitted by Del Bachand of Generations Healing Center in Oxford, MA.

Blueberry bushes yield more than just fruit….their leaves, though not as tasty as their berries, have medicinal properties that are far more useful.

A tea made with blueberry leaves can help to regulate, or even lower, blood sugar in diabetics.  A simple cup in the morning before breakfast, and a cup in the evening before dinner, can make a world of difference.  The key is to drink the tea on a daily basis – make it part of your routine.

We are fortunate to live in the northeast as both highbush and lowbush blueberries are plentiful in the wild.  Two of the most common species found in our area are Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush) andVaccinium angustifolium (lowbush).  While the two varieties typically prefer different soil conditions it is not unusual to find them growing side by side.  The leaves of both varieties can be harvested at any time between May and October, and while mature leaves are perfectly fine, I prefer the new tender leaves that sprout at the ends of the branches.  Not only are they a bit lighter tasting but ‘pinching’ the new leaves encourages new growth.

Small bundles of leaves still on their twigs can be hung to dry in a cool, dark, and well ventilated place.  I find it takes much less time if the leaves are removed from the twigs and laid on a screen to dry.  Either way, once the leaves are completely dried they should be stored in an airtight container. You would normally use 1 – 2 teaspoons of dried leaves for each cup of tea,  steeped for a minimum of 5 minutes.  If you want a stronger tea, or are making a large batch to be refrigerated, you may want to steep it for 15 to 20 minutes.

Perhaps plain old blueberry leaf tea is not robust or sweet enough for your taste buds?  No need to add un-natural sweeteners….a pinch of stevia leaf, a dash of cinnamon, and a blueberry or two is all you need to make a decidedly different yet delicious cup of tea.

Stevia is another herb that is a “sugar challenged human’s” best friend.  It is naturally sweet (just 1 teaspoon of powdered stevia leaves equals ¼ cup of sugar) and can be used not only in tea, but in coffee, cookies, jams, pies and more.

Stevia rebaudiana is native to the sub-tropical areas of South America and has been used for centuries by the Guarani.  The plant, though bearing a resemblance to mint, grows to 2-3 feet in height and makes an excellent plant for small areas or containers as it is a slow spreader.  It is relatively easy to grow by ‘rooting’ the stems to form new plants.  The leaves should be picked before the plant blossoms and simply laid out to dry.

Blueberry and Stevia – two more of nature’s gifts.

Since her youth Del has had an affinity with the natural world and spent years expanding her knowledge of North American and European herbs, with an emphasis on working with plants native to New England. Del has taught herbal workshops for the past 10 years atGenerations Healing Center and for many groups throughout the northeast. In addition to teaching she is a consultant, speaker at holistic venues, and writes herbal columns for several publications. Del will be teaching her class, Mother Nature’s Medicine, on Sunday June 9th at Herbstalk.

Submitted by Ryn Midura of The CommonWealth Center for Herbal Medicine

Often, discussions of “women’s health” or “men’s health” are limited to the reproductive systems. When I teach about men’s reproductive health, I like to include an overview of common problems for men, because sexual function is dependent on the vitality of the rest of the body. But even before I get to that, I start with a discussion of the place of men in society today, and how it is problematically different from our ancestral patterns. There are several elements to this, but one of the most important has to do with cycle.

Men don’t menstruate, but they do have cycles, little-recognized and less-studied though they be. You can identify them in your own body and mind, tune into them, and learn something useful about yourself – if you’re willing to do the work. The thing is, this work might not look like “work” as understood today. It’s about perception, and reflection, and connection; awakening your senses and directing them with intent, building skills of memory and pattern recognition.

It’s also about recognizing things that are right in front of your face. One of the most important cycles we live through is that of day and night, activity and sleep. In a culture of grey cubicles and electric lights, where is our contact with the blue sky at midday and the stars at night? What are the consequences of that absence on all our other cycles? On the physical level, sleep debt and melatonin dysregulation have direct and measurable effects on health, including hormonal disruptions that can impact physical performance and sexual function.

On a deeper level, this is a symptom of our homogenized experience of time: we expect all our employees to produce the same amount of work in the dead of winter as the height of summer. We expect our salesmen and spokesmen to go out and sell or convince or cajole, no matter if they’re feeling overtaxed or irritable or simply tired. Nothing in nature works this way; our bodies don’t work this way. When we expect them to, we invite disappointment.

As a culture we claim to value self-reliance, but we don’t teach it and we don’t make allowances for it. We have to choose to pursue it. Start by going to the forest (or the nearest approximate greenspace), alone, with nothing but a notebook and a knife, and staying as long as you can – even if it’s only twenty minutes. There are well-researched physiological benefits to this act of “forest bathing”.

Look at trees. Listen to birds. Breathe. You’re not here to do anything, you’re just here to be here. If this is difficult, examine the difficulty. Where does your mind go? Where does your body twitch? This will show you your habitual patterns of imbalance in a context where you can’t ignore them by clicking on another link or refreshing Facebook.

Are you reliving a difficult conversation or a fight, thinking up clever arguments that would have shut down your opponent, getting angry and hurt all over again? Drink some yarrow infusion, or take tincture; yarrow releases pent-up heat and frustration, and provides emotional armor.

Are you tensing up your muscles, gritting your teeth, clenching your butt, unable to enjoy where you are? Take kava. It relaxes muscles and lightens the mind without sedation.

Are you feeling your heartburn act up, just about to pop an antacid? Drink some catnip tea, or eat a leaf right off the plant. Catnip is great for anxiety rising from the stomach; it releases the gaseous and psychological pressures that contribute to reflux.

Are you floating away in abstractions, visions of spreadsheets dancing in your head? Take wood betony; it’ll drop you down into your center and root you there.

Just as you can’t truly rely on a work partner without recognizing their limitations, you can’t be self-reliant if you don’t know your own limits and imbalances. What you’ll find will be your own, but whatever it is, there’s an herb out there that can help. Start by recognizing these patterns, and you’ll be ready to put the knowledge into action when it presents itself to you. On that note, I’ll see you at Herbstalk!

submitted by jes morgan of good4you herbals

dandelion , burdock + yellow dock are known to be super beneficial for spring detoxification . i love to combine these three and make a root tincture to take daily before meals . but they offer us so much beyond this capstone remedy …as the roots give us their deep healing gifts , their leaves give us rich amazing food . in this short blurb i’ll give u guys the low down on impressing ur hipster friends

yellow dock leaves on the right + dandelion leaves + flowers on the left


all about the roots ::

i like to harvest the roots either in the fall of the first year of their cycle or in very early spring of their second year cycle . all these plants are biennials, meaning they live for two years . i personally like to wait for the spring harvest to obtain the meatier second year roots . in order to do this, u have to remember where these magical beauties grow, so u can go back and harvest the roots before they start producing leaves . once the plants start producing leaves, the energy of the medicine tends to go upward . i like to harvest the roots at the full moon in pisces in march . here the energy is all the way up in the roots and not so much towards the ground . but honestly, if u get the roots before they start producing leaves, u are golden (just like color of yellow dock roots,  lol) . each one of these plants offers us amazing medicine . yellow dock root specifically is excellent for detoxifying the liver . the best way to intake the plant in this fashion is through a tincture . obtain the fresh yellow dock root or dried if u can’t find it fresh . fill a pint size of quart size mason jar up to almost the tipity top with the roots . pour any type of alcohol u’d like over it . if u like vodka … then go for that . rum or anything that u like to enjoy on those wild nights . as long as the alcohol percentage is 40% to 50%, u are fine . fill all the way to the top of the jar with alcohol . shake everyday + strain in two weeks or when the plant material looks like all of it has been absorbed in the alcohol . yellow dock root will yield an amazing yellow color . you can do the same with burdock + dandelion root or combine all three to make the magical herbal bitters triad tincture ! dandelion root is specifically excellent for the liver as well . burdock is amazing for purifying the blood . these three roots together make an excellent bitter tonic . i like to take a dropper full of the triad 15 minutes before meals to help with digestion ! it is amazing amazing stuff .

all about the leaves + flowers ::

as far as the magical leaves go , i love harvesting the leaves of dandelion to make all sorts of creations . my favorite thus far is herbal pesto . just replace the basil in ur pesto recipe with dandelion leaves and u are good to go ! i love using yellow dock leaves to make food that requires cooking a little longer . yellow dock is a little less tender than dandelion leaves – so i like to add yellow dock leaves to recipes like lasagna, omelets, etc . all these greens can be used in recipes that require greens like kale, etc . creativity goes a super long way . definitely be confident about yellow dock leaf identification because there are a few toxic look-a-likes !  i also enjoy using dandelion flowers to make fritters ! play around with the consistency to from a paste and voila ! u can impress ur hipster friends for ages to come . don’t forget in the fall u can harvest yellow dock + those velcro like burdock seeds to grow some in ur back yard for many years to come . btw, did u know velcro was inspired to be invented by burdock seeds ? nature is the greatest gift giver  .

dandelion flower fritters


find these plant gifts in my etsy shop ::

with these three amazing plant friends of mine i have created a few products for my herbal co. judge not tea is my blood purification spring tonic . it features dandelion leaf + root, burdock root and yellow dock root . i also offer the amazing bitters tincture i mentioned above as well as a DIY tincture kit to make ur own at home . happy harvesting + creating !

Submitted by Jade Alicandro Mace of Milk & Honey Herbs

Making wild salad can easily become a cherished spring ritual.  It’s relaxing and fun, and I’d say that collecting your dinner is a medicinal act in itself, not to mention the benefits of eating it!  I like to grab a big basket and lay out my harvest, mostly for the aesthetic value, but a paper or cloth bag will do just fine. Enjoy the quiet, meditative act of harvesting, and the special opportunity to observe the plant’s features, characteristics, and habitat of choice.  The trick to making a palatable wild salad is to collect these plants when they are young, in the spring.  As the days get warmer and the plants get older and begin to put more of their energy into flowering, many of these species become too bitter or astringent for most palates. Hence, they are a delicacy to be enjoyed each spring!

Wild Salad


Here’s how to make it:

Wild Salad
1/2 Organic Mesclun Greens
1/2 Wild!

For the wild part here’s what I like to use, in any combination…I usually go pretty heavy on the chickweed and dandelion…..

Wild Strawberry leaf (Fragraria vesca)
Dandelion leaf + flower (Taraxacum officinalis)
Oxeye Daisy leaf (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Field Garlic leaf (Allium sp.)
Yellow Dock leaf (Rumex crispus)
Wild Carrot leaf (Daucus carota)
Bee Balm young tops (Monarda didyma)
Violet leaf + flowers (Viola sp.)
Cleavers Herb young tops (Gallium aparine)
Garlic Mustard leaf (Allium petiolata)
Chickweed herb (Stellaria media)
Day Lily young shoots (Hemerocallis sp.)
Plantain leaf (Plantago lanceolata or P. major)
Chicory leaf (Cichorium intybus)
Mugwort young tops (Artemesia vulgaris)
Sheep Sorrel leaf (Rumex acetosella)

Mix all together, add in your favorite dressing, and enjoy!

Uses:
In addition to being delicious and incredibly good for you (many of these species are off the charts in vitamins and trace mineral content), wild salad is gently detoxifying, as many of these herbs are classified as liver tonics and/or alteratives, also known as blood purifiers.  I consider wild salad to be a spring tonic. The bitter and sour flavors stimulate our digestion and help the liver work optimally to clear the blood of toxins and other unwanted substances.  On a side-note, the liver and gallbladder also happen to be associated with spring in Traditional Chinese Medicine, definitely not a coincidence!  And alteratives, or blood purifiers, help the body break down and remove metabolic waste, both through our digestive system and urinary system, and are often considered to be all-around “tonics” that promote vitality and good health, so eat up!

Basket o’ herbs


It’s easy to take advantage of the wide distribution of many of these edible plants. Chances are, you’ve got some growing within walking distance of your home, even if you’re in the city!  It is of course important to consider a few guidelines anytime you’re doing any wildcrafting.  First, stay away from roads!  I try to be at least 25 feet away and do my best to avoid gathering from roadsides at all for obvious reasons.  Other areas to stay away from are along railroad tracks, areas often used for dog walking, and areas where you suspect the soil may be contaminated.  And lastly, be sure you know what you are harvesting! Try to attend local herb and edible plant walks in your area and get to know your field guide.  Peterson’s makes a nice Edible Plant guide. Be sure to see the list of resources included at the bottom of this post.  So, where to harvest?  Local organic farms and CSAs are a great place to start- they will be psyched that you want to eat their weeds!  The same goes for any gardeners you know who use organic methods…they will be happy you want to dig up their dandelion.  Many of these plants like recently disturbed areas and edges and you’re more likely to find them co-habitating with humans than deep in the forest (which is potent food for thought when you think about it).  Also, searching for and finding favorite patches of wild edibles is part of the mystique of foraging…so enjoy the hunt!

Favorite Resources:

Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and not so wild) Places
By “Wildman” Steve Brill

Botany in a Day
By Thomas J Elpel

Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region
By Melvin R Gilmore

How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine & Crafts
By Frances Densmore

Invasive Plant Medicine
By Timothy Lee Scott

Edible and Useful Wild Plants of the United States & Canada
By Charles Francis Saunders

Stalking the Wild Asparagus and Stalking the Healthful Herbs
By Euell Gibbons

Peterson’s Field Guide to Edible Plants

Submitted by: Stephanie Elson of The Benevolent Bee

Hooray for spring! Didn’t this past winter seem to last forever? I don’t know about you, but in our house, the cold and the snow, and the virus-after-virus-after-virus all seemed like it would never end.  Every time our toddler picked up yet another cold to generously share with us all, we would top off the jar of homemade honey-ginger-lemon syrup, and get ready to start the healing process. When we are feeling under the weather, drinking a warm tea with honey produced by our own backyard bees feels like one of the most healing, healthful natural remedies we can provide for ourselves. 


honey citrus syrups (photo credit: Laura Jane Brubaker)


Did you know that bees can travel up to 5 or even 6 miles from their hive in search of nectar? This means that today, our bees could equally be visiting witch hazel in Fenway gardens, forsythia in Forest Hills Cemetery, or the blooms in front of your apartment.  In our urban environment, we all share a backyard – especially from a bee’s perspective. The parks, gardens and other green spaces that brighten our streets and connect our neighborhoods create a collective urban feast for Boston’s honeybee residents.

Our family has a small apiary in Jamaica Plain, MA, where we harvest honey; collect and make things out of beeswax; and observe, learn and teach about bees and bee behavior. This summer, we will be the caretakers of six hives —  some in our backyard, and a few additional hives on other people’s property in Jamaica Plain.

Right now, the bees are just waking up from their winter slumber. In the winter, bees huddle together to keep warm, and only venture out of the hive out to stretch their wings on the rare warm day. There is no nectar for them to collect in the winter, so they rely on the honey and pollen that they collected and stored during the summer months. The life of the beekeeper in the winter is indoors as well – in the kitchen melting down wax, making candles and other beeswax products, and honey infused culinary delights. Now that the weather has turned, however, we are all heading outside more frequently. The bees have nectar and pollen to collect, and we have to check on them – making sure that they have the space they need, and that they’re healthy and happy. This summer, each hive should produce about 50 pounds of harvestable honey (although if it’s a sunny and bloom filled summer, like last year, they can produce much more – up to 250 pounds!). We will harvest this honey at the end of the summer, making sure to leave enough in the hive for the bees to survive on over the winter. Wax is harvested with the honey, when we crush the honey comb and strain the honey out.


A frame of honey


Using the products of our hives, we run The Benevolent Bee, selling small-batch, handcrafted creations.  We combine our own beeswax with herb infused oils that we craft ourselves, and make balms and salves that soothe, nourish and heal; we infuse the honey itself, and create delicious and healthful nectars; and we make a wide variety of 100% beeswax candles. 

St. John’s Wort Salve


And, since our bees could be collecting their nectar and pollen from throughout the Boston area — including from the flowering plants in your yard – our honey is some of the most local honey you can find. Stop by our table at Herbstalk for a free copy of our recipe for a healing honey-ginger-lemon syrup (so delicious, even when you’re not sick!) and pick up some bee products from your backyard benevolent bees!

Bee well and happy spring,

~Stephanie, Emile and Clara Bruneau

In choosing borage to be the Herbstalk plant of the year, I did not know how deeply I would be needing its healing gifts. After last week’s events, those of us living in the Boston area were grieved by the violence occurring in our beloved city. Like so many here, my heart has been heavy from sadness. When I first heard news of the bombings, I went home, mixed borage leaves with hawthorn, linden, and violet, and drank the tea with some dear friends. I can’t say that it lifted the shock and sadness that we all felt, but it was certainly comforting and calming to sip the tea.

Taking borage flower essence is also helpful in times of distress, fear, or worry since the essence offers a sense of safety and courage, and helps to chase away depression.

Dried borage leaf and flower essence


If you do not yet have borage in your life, then consider adding this bright, cheery flower to your yard or garden containers. It is very easy to grow, adapts to many soil types, and bees adore the flowers. Borage will self-seed readily, so plan on having it around for years to come (or forever….)

Here’s a few ideas on how to use borage:

• Mix the dried leaves with other herbs such as violet, tulsi, linden, oats, or hawthorn to create a heart-soothing and nervine tea.
• The leaves and flowers have a refreshing cucumber flavor and can be added raw to salads. (The younger leaves are preferable).
• Do as the British do, and add the leaves or flowers to a Pimm’s cocktail: beautiful and refreshing.
• Or, for a non-alcoholic treat, place fresh chopped leaves and flowers in cold water and let them steep overnight. You will end up with a refreshing and restorative infusion with a pleasant cucumber flavor.
• The young leaves can also be cooked into borage soup. Here’s a simple recipe to try.
• Steep dried or fresh borage in wine for a day or two to create a merry beverage. It’s even better if you float a fresh flower on top.
• Due to its cooling nature borage leaves may also be used externally as an anti-inflammatory poultice on itchy skin, rashes or eczema.

Cautions and considerations: Borage, like its family member, comfrey, contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which in very high doses over long periods of time can effect the liver. Like many foods and medicines you do not want to over-do it: please enjoy borage in moderate amounts and treat the plant with common sense and care.

One final thought: fittingly, borage is also called Star Flower. I think this is a significant part of its medicine, for just gazing at the brilliant blue celestial flowers reminds me that we all are made up of the same stuff as the stars of the sky. And that no matter what earthly events may shake us to the core and cause us sorrow, borage offers us solace and hope.

Young borage plant

Ego Borago Guadia semper ago.
I, Borage, bring always courage.




For this year’s Herbstalk we decided to choose one herb to feature throughout the event.  We wanted an herb that is uplifting and joyful, spirited and beautiful, one that would serve as a symbol for the whole gathering. And so what could be more appropriate than the happy-spirited, star-flowered, and prolificly-growing borage plant?…

Borage (Borago officinalis) is native to the Mediterranean and Middle East, and is also commonly grown and used throughout Europe. Here in the U.S. it is widely known for its lovely flowers, but is not so well known for its medicinal properties. By choosing borage for Herbstalk we hoped to shed some light on its many healing virtues since this bright beauty has many gifts to offer, and favorably acts on both the human body and emotions.

Borage is traditionally known to be a plant of gladness, with a unique ability to bestow not only joy, but courage. Floated in the wine cups of Crusaders before they went off to the battlefield, borage was believed to help overcome fear and embolden the heart.

Borago officinalis. Watercolor by Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (about 1568).


Though most of us are no longer galloping off into battle, borage can be very useful for our modern-day battles, and particularly for urban stresses and worries.

The leaves of borage are very nutritive and contain silicon, potassium, and calcium. Just tasting the tea gives a clue of its mineral content – the salty, mineral-rich taste is quite perceptive. Because of this mineral content, borage, like many other deeply nutritive nervine tonics (i.e., nettles and oatstraw) have a rebuilding and tonifying effect on the whole nervous system. As Mrs. Grieve writes in A Modern Herbal, “It is to these saline qualities that the wholesome invigorating properties of Borage are supposed to be due.”

Borage also assists people who have become burnt-out or exhausted by over-work and stress. It is calming, cooling and restorative.  And although it is not a traditional use, I feel that borage is a good herb for city people to turn to when there are too many auditory stresses. Borage seems to be good for soothing sensitive folks who are surrounded by sirens, horns, traffic noises, and electronic rings. The way that borage nourishes the nervous system is effective in soothing frazzled nerves in an over-stimulated and noisy environment.

The English herbalist John Gerard referred to borage’s uplifting and antidepressant properties, writing that: “The leaves and floures of Borrage put into wine make men and women glad and merry, driving away all sadnesse, dulnesse, and melancholy.”


Borage: Part II, will be posted on Wednesday….



Submitted by Steph Zabel of Flowerfolk Herbal Apothecary.

Submitted by Michael Blackmore of Mad Crow Herbals



Hello Herbstalkians!…? Herbstalkites? Herbstalkers? ….Oh, just Hey You!

Welcome to the Herbstalk blog where we’ll be presenting posts from the folks who run Herbstalk, the vendors, and the teachers.

Last year, I had the privilege of teaching one of the first classes taught at Herbstalk, on honey, and by popular demand I’ll be teaching an expanded version again this year. And in the year in between I’ve been having a blast teaching, writing and exploring all kinds of herbal wonders including tree medicine, essential oils, and salves – and of course even more about honey. But one of the things I’ve been having the most fun with lately is Oxymels.

Sometimes I think the name Oxymel sounds like 50’s children’s show puppet. (“Oh, Oxymel when will you learn?”) But what it is actually is a mixture of honey and vinegar that has its roots all the way back in ancient Greek medicine.

A plain Oxymel can be as simple as mixing 4 parts honey with 1 part of vinegar (apple cider vinegar being the preferred one in most herby circles) or just 1 part of each and take that as a simple tonic. It’s refreshing, energizing, and good for fevers and respiratory issues. You can gargle with it for sore throats and coughs. Or use it as a base for cough syrups.

But Oxymels can also be used as the menstruum (solvent for extracting) for plant medicines just like tinctures but with Oxymel instead of alcohol/water mixtures. They are great to use for folks who can’t have, or don’t want, alcohol. Even though I work with alcohol-based tinctures regularly (and make some pretty amazing ones) I tend to philosophically like the non-alcohol ones better. The body as a whole treats alcohol like a toxin and the notion of not adding to that toxic load when healing has a lot of appeal to me.

I’ve been focusing lately on make nourishing Oxymel tonics like these:

 

The one on the left with the lovely dark color is brewing a seaweed mix of digitata kelp, alaria, and longicruris kelp. Seaweeds are just amazing nutritional powerhouses packed with vitamins and minerals. But frankly, I find most seaweed (other than dulse) pretty unpalatable. Straight up seaweed vinegars are great for extracting that nutritional goodness, but are very much an acquired taste that I haven’t yet acquired…. but an Oxymel is another matter and should make for a wonderful nutrient-filled health tonic.

The one on the right with the lovely golden color is brewing a mix of Red Clover, Dandelion leaf and Nettles which I’m thinking of as a spring cleanse tonic. Red Clover and Dandelion are classic spring herbs to cleanse the system and Nettles are a classic bit of nutritional support with some cleansing power as well – making this a great spring cleansing tonic.

How I made these was to mix equal parts of honey and apple cider vinegar in a big measuring cup and stir until well blended. Since I was working with dried plants, I filled each pint jar about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way full with the respective plant materials, added the Oxymel to the top of the jar, and stirred well to get out any air bubbles. You can make larger sizes of course, but I like using pints for my first round of experiments. Then I put some wax paper over the top and screw the lid on – because the wax paper will help protect the metal from the vinegar and prevent rusting. And of course I label them with the ingredients and the date they were made. Now I’m letting them sit for about 4 to 6 weeks, shaking gently every day. Then in early May I’ll press out the liquid and enjoy the magic.

I hope this is wetting your appetite a bit for the wonders of Herbstalk in June. I’m looking forward to seeing you all there! 

Welcome! Herbstalk 2013 is taking place on June 8th and 9th in Somerville, MA.