John Gallagher:
You are listening to HerbMentor Radio by LearningHerbs. I'm John Gallagher.
Tara Ruth:
And I'm Tara Ruth. We usually interview a special guest on the podcast, but today to bring in the new year, we're actually just going to talk the two of us. Oh,
John Gallagher:
Just like last year?
Tara Ruth:
Yes, exactly. Last year. But this time, instead of just talking about winter, we're going to talk about how to plan your whole herbal year, how to think like an herbalist all year long. Nice. And each season gives us the opportunity to harvest new plant allies, work with different remedies, and offer extra support to different body systems. So let's just go season by season and we're going to give y'all the ultimate guide to thinking like an herbalist all year. You ready, John?
John Gallagher:
Well, I'm wondering, it's 2024. We're recording this, but this will work in 2034, right?
Tara Ruth:
I hope so.
John Gallagher:
This is perennial, so to speak. How about 3034? I mean, in 3034, somebody will be digging up an iPod out of the ground and the only evidence of our civilization will be this podcast.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. What would they think?
John Gallagher:
Well, if this is you future person listening to us in 3034, I just want to say greetings and this podcast will work for you as you're learning about the herbal remedies of your time. Or maybe you're from another planet.
Tara Ruth:
Oh my gosh, I don't even think about that.
John Gallagher:
I know, I know. Well, I mean, if you went to another planet, you wouldn't know any of the plants.
Tara Ruth:
It's true.
John Gallagher:
And you'd need a guide,
Tara Ruth:
An expert guide,
John Gallagher:
An expert guide. And this is us. So to the future aliens, a thousand years from now, we are the Earth's authority on edible and medicinal plants.
Tara Ruth:
That's way too much pressure. Oh God.
John Gallagher:
I'm John.
Tara Ruth:
I'm Tara.
John Gallagher:
Welcome to Earth.
Tara Ruth:
Kind of somewhat authority. I like plants.
John Gallagher:
I wonder if there's a language barrier. They're listening through a translator. This is a lot to think of. I think we need to shelf this for another podcast.
Tara Ruth:
You've introduced a lot of variables here, John.
John Gallagher:
It's just a new year. It's full of possibilities. And I should mention to our HerbMentor members, if you are a member of our HerbMentor site member site over there on HerbMentor.com or whatnot, we have a written guide. All of that we're talking about here is written up as a guide that you can go right on the site now and find and read. Right.
Tara Ruth:
And we also include a little extra info about how to tend to your apothecary each season, what you should be thinking about for planning for in the upcoming season. So that's a helpful addition as well.
John Gallagher:
And as an extra bonus, if you should go to another planet, we have that guide too.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, for sure. For sure.
John Gallagher:
So if we're starting the year here, we're at right now recording this. We're in winter. So Tara, what are some plant allies that you're working with this season in winter?
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, so this season, I mean, there's so many, but my top three favorite ones are cinnamon, ginger, and oatstraw. And I'm actually working with ginger today. I tend to work with ginger internally, but I also really like it as a topical. And during the colder season from time to time, I can just wake up with a stiff neck. My body doesn't like the cold weather. And I woke up with a stiff neck today. So in order to rally for this podcast recording, I made a fresh ginger poultice by grating a bunch of ginger and then sticking it on a paper towel and sticking it on my neck.
John Gallagher:
How did it work?
Tara Ruth:
It's working really well. This is one of my favorite topical remedies to make actually all year long, but especially during the winter because ginger is super warming. And so it can be really helpful when there's signs of inflammation, whether it's a bump or a bruise. And then in my case, having this kind of cold, stiff neck, the ginger is also a circulatory stimulant, so it's bringing a lot of warmth and movement to that area of my body. And it's really nice. I can move my neck now, which is amazing.
John Gallagher:
This is an interesting thing that just popped in my mind when you're talking about this, is that if you hear about something like this playing around with herbs, you can try different ways of using it. You actually were putting the actual ginger on, right? Did you put a hot water bottle over that or to heat up?
Tara Ruth:
Honestly, with the ginger, I do this a lot also. I do it when I have a sore back too. I either grate it or take slices of it, and then I find a way to get it stay in place. So right now I'm using a scarf and I just didn't have it in me to hold a hot water bottle there, but I'll leave it for a few hours and within 30 minutes it heats up on its own.
John Gallagher:
What about if you just made a really strong ginger tea and dipped a rag in that, or a cloth, a washcloth and just the warm tea and put that compress on your neck? Would that have been okay too?
Tara Ruth:
Absolutely. Actually, that was the inspiration for the ginger poultice. When I was in herbalism school. We created strong ginger tea, dipped it in a rag, and then tried using that as a fomentation. And I noticed how helpful it was. And so that was what I was originally doing. And then I got excited about the poultice too. So either of those options would work great. Or even doing, if you have a ginger tincture or a ginger vinegar or a ginger salve, applying that topically as well. All work. Super. Well
John Gallagher:
See. It's is fun about it. You can use one or and go deep this year as you're learning and planning and maybe these dozen herbs we're talking about today, you could do one a month and try different kinds of remedies with each one. So you actually get to know the plant.
Tara Ruth:
And it's so fun because the same principles apply with each plant. So with ginger, I'm applying it topically warming, so it helps with if you have spasm and tension in an area of your musculature. And then it also is a circulatory stimulant. And then I can apply all those principles to working with it internally too. If I'm having digestive cramps or menstrual cramps, I can take ginger internally to help with that tension as well. Or if there's just a little digestive stagnation, you can also take ginger because it's warming, it's moving. So it's a really fun way to get flexible with the herbs and see what they can do.
John Gallagher:
Right. Well, what's our next herb you want to show us how to be flexible with?
Tara Ruth:
Yes. My next one is cinnamon. I love cinnamon. So many people are familiar with it as just a culinary herb that maybe you have in a cinnamon bun. I remember going to the cinnamon store restaurant cafe in the mall when I was a kid with my mom. So I really associate cinnamon with that really fun experience with the mall and
John Gallagher:
Medicine at the mall.
Tara Ruth:
Exactly. But gingers cinnamon is also a circulatory stimulant. It's bringing blood flow to an area, and it's also anti-spasmodic, helping to relieve tension. And I really like adding cinnamon to my tea blends. Whatever tea blend I have, I usually just add a little pinch of cinnamon. It helps kind of potentize the formula with that circulatory stimulant action, getting all the medicines circulating. And then also as a tension reliever. It's really nice. I mean, honestly, I have insomnia all year long, but especially during the winter time, it can be challenging for me and a little bit of cinnamon in some warm milk, whether it's a plant-based milk, a dairy milk right before bed can be a really nice way to help soothe the nervous system and your musculoskeletal system and just bring you into a state of nourishment and relaxation so you can get some deep sleep.
John Gallagher:
And even to brush your teeth with a little cinnamon.
Tara Ruth:
Exactly.
John Gallagher:
Powder or tea before bed. I mean, you see, there's all these ways you can use one plant.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. Yeah. Because cinnamon is antimicrobial too, so it brings that great quality to, if you're using it as a little toothpaste, brush powder, I guess is what the word I'm looking for.
John Gallagher:
And that's why you see a lot of natural toothpastes with a cinnamon in it. Aha, aha. You can learn a lot from labels of things like what's in them, even like a herbal blends. And as you're going along this year, you see a tincture blend, you see a tea blend, look at it, what's in it, maybe it says relaxing tea. And you look at it and there's five herbs in it. Read up on 'em and learn a little bit about 'em and why are they in there? And speaking of relaxing tea,
Tara Ruth:
Speaking of it,
John Gallagher:
Oatstraw.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, let's talk about oatstraw. Well, as I say about almost every plant, oatstraw is one of my favorite herbs, but I really mean it when I say oatstraw.
John Gallagher:
Oh my God. Kimberly's too, I got to tell you. Okay, so
Tara Ruth:
Tell me John. Well,
John Gallagher:
We've been together a long time, 27 years or something like that. And she's an amazing, I mean, amazing cook. And then the thing is, I'm the person who cleans up, so that's the deal. And so she is so great. I mean, there's always a lot of dishes in the kitchen after, but when I'm cleaning or sweeping the floor or there's always oatstraw everywhere. It's under the counters. It's in between. It's on thing. It's in the dishwasher, it's on the, yeah. So yeah, I think Kimberly loves oatsstraw just as much as you.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. It's a requirement for working, for LearningHerbs. Actually, it's in the interview process
And for good reason. I mean, oatstraw is amazing. It's this mineral-rich herb. It's the stock of the oat plant, and it's this mineral rich wonder plant that's really soothing and nourishing specifically for our nervous system. So it's great over time to help bring in more of those nourishing minerals for our nervous system tissue in our body. And it's also great for the teary system for our hairs, skin, and nails just brings a lot of deep and slow nourishment, which I really like that about oats. It's a plant that you build a relationship with over time, and that's really nice to bring in that slow quality during the winter time because this is a season, even though our New Year's resolution culture tells us to immediately go, go and accomplish everything within the first month of the year, this is actually a time of a lot of stillness.
If you look at the landscape around you, a lot of plants have dropped their leaves. They're not fruiting, they're not flowering. All their energy is under the ground, being slow, nourishing, getting ready to bloom in spring. So oatstraw, its benefits build over time over the course of at least six months. So it's a great opportunity to practice that slowness. And it also just tastes really good. It's so mild and it's a great one to add. You can even add it to a soup stock or you can add it into a lot of different recipes.
John Gallagher:
So cinnamon, ginger, we all know we can grab those in the supermarket or any market. Where would I find oatstraw? That's kind of weird.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, great question. So you can find oats straw at your local herb shop. You could also order it online. Yeah. I often get my oats straw from Oshala farm where we actually interviewed them a few. Oh, yeah, yeah. Last year. And they have a really lovely oatsstraw. And if you, for whatever reason, you're wanting some nourishment of the oat plant, but you can't get to the herb store or it's taking a while to come online, you can also just pick up oats at the grocery store and you could make yourself a nice oat milk or you could eat oatmeal. But we have an oat milk recipe on the LearningHerbs blog too, that has some, and you could add some cinnamon and ginger to that oat milk recipe for all that nourishment.
John Gallagher:
You could take an oat bath, you could put a bunch of oats in like a sock, put it over the bath faucet and run hot water over it, I think. Right,
Tara Ruth:
Exactly.
John Gallagher:
Yes. That easy.
Tara Ruth:
And then also in at least where I live in California, wild oats grow all around and they're often considered a weed. So if you can find some that are growing near you that haven't been sprayed, that's a really lovely option as well to harvest in the springtime.
John Gallagher:
Sow your wild oats.
Tara Ruth:
Yes, exactly.
John Gallagher:
So let's see. In addition to warming teas or things like that, what herbal remedies are you making this season
Tara Ruth:
In addition to working with cinnamon and ginger and oatstraw? A few different herbal remedies that I like to work with during the winter include garlic, honey, and then also calendula oil. So let's start with garlic,
John Gallagher:
Honey. Yeah. This amazed me. It doesn't seem like it should work. It should be a thing. So anyway, you talk about it.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, let's talk about it. I remember being in herb school and my teacher Autumn Summers casually mentioning how she just chopped up a few cloves of fresh garlic and put them in honey. She let it steep for a few weeks and then would just eat a spoonful of that throughout the winter to support her immune health, because garlic is an immune stimulant. And then also super antimicrobial, antiviral. And then the honey kind of rounds out that pungency for this rounder taste that it's really good and it's more soothing with the honey as well. So it's soothing for our throat if we're having a sore throat too. And it's pretty amazing. It tastes so good. What do you think, John? About garlic,
John Gallagher:
Honey? Yes. And it's another one of those remedies where there's no exact science to making it right. You just chop up a bunch of garlics, push some honey over it, and don't strain it. Just eat the garlic with the honey, right? I mean,
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, exactly. And we also have a recipe for garlic honey on the LearningHerbs blog too. So if you're feeling a little intimidated, you can check out that recipe as well. But it's as simple as John said, it's two ingredients. You don't have to strain it, you just eat it by the spoonful. And then sometimes I even add ginger to it as well for fun.
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Wow. There's probably lots of other things you can put in it, but we'll keep it simple for now. We'll keep it simple. Exactly. What else are you doing?
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, I also love to work with calendula oil.
John Gallagher:
What winter? This is a summer flower. What are you talking about here? What,
Tara Ruth:
Yes. So I'll harvest my calendula flowers in the summertime, and then I'll dry them, and then I'll make an oil with them. I'll infuse them into oil, and then I'll strain it at this time of year. And it's so nice to bring in, at least for me, a calendula oil just feels like an infusion of all the energy of summertime. And it's so nice to bring in that subtly warming and solar energy into my wintertime routine. And I use the calendula oil as a facial serum, and then also to do a little bit of herbal body oiling, which when I first heard those words together, it was like herbal body oiling. Oiling. What does that
John Gallagher:
Mean? What's that? I don't even know what that is
Tara Ruth:
Exactly. And so basically an herbal body oiling, it's actually just what it sounds like. You have some herbal, I
John Gallagher:
Figured.
Tara Ruth:
But you have some herbal oil and you put it in your hands, and then you just massage your body with it. And it's a nice way to nourish your skin during the wintertime when we can be prone to out more. And it also feels really nourishing for the nervous system. It's a great way our joints and our bodies might just be feeling a little stiffer during the wintertime, and it's a great way to bring lymphatic movement and circulation throughout the body.
John Gallagher:
That's important. That's cool. Oh, this is bringing some summer into your winter. Yes. That's interesting. And make it with dried. Of course. If you probably could make oil with fresh, probably a little trickier, right? Yeah. It's a good way to, you could try both folks and you can through your herbal year.
Tara Ruth:
Exactly.
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Yeah. It's all about experimenting, having fun, being creative. It's a way we can express our creativity in this world. Exactly.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. And I'm saying a garlic honey and a calendula oil. But like we were just talking about with the honey, you could experiment with tons of different herbs. You could do a ginger honey, you could do with your calendula oil. You could do St. John's wort instead. You could do rosemary. If you didn't harvest any calendula, you could see what you have in your cupboard. Maybe you have some thyme, some rosemary, some sage, and you could infuse that into an oil, and that could be your lovely winter body oil as well.
John Gallagher:
Nice. I like the idea though, like you mentioned here in winter, just about finished with the winter here. We're going to go into spring, but cinnamon ginger, oatstraw. You want ideas to work with? Play around with one a month. I know everyone's going to have a list of herbs like a mile long that you want. You read in books that you got inspired by on something that LearningHerbs sent you. File that away. It can get a little overwhelming. So a way to keep it simple is just focus on the one, because you know what? Next year is going to come around and you can choose the next three herbs that would be fun in winter, and then so on and so forth. Before you know it, 10 years go by and you've played around with every herb that you've thought about,
Tara Ruth:
Every herb, every
John Gallagher:
Herb, every single one of them
Tara Ruth:
Here on planet earth,
John Gallagher:
Here on planet Earth. And then you can go to another planet and you'll be ready. All right. So let's see. Should we
Tara Ruth:
Dive into
John Gallagher:
Spring? Should we dive into spring? Yeah. So the snow is melting depending on where you live. I don't know how much snow where I live. Tara doesn't ever really get snow where she lives, but some of you have snow melting away or winter's ending. And so yeah, let's get into spring.
Tara Ruth:
Let's get into it. So spring is this time of so much beautiful upward and outward expansion for the plants. The snow has been melting, and the plants are starting to send up shoots. You might even see little flowers. And the sap is rising in the trees, and this is the perfect time as there's all this upward energy to harvest flowers, if they're around, leaves, stems and bark as well, just to get all those aerial parts of the plant really. And with that in mind, some of the plants that I really like to work with during the season include dandelion, chickweed, and plantain.
John Gallagher:
Three of my favorite. I think these are the first three medicinal plants that I learned about on herb walks. One of those spring herb walks. So cute. I'm glad. Yeah. But they are also three plants that I have probably used the most and still probably use the most when it comes to those spring edibles. So yeah, let's talk about 'em.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. Oh, well, I'm so curious what you like to do with them. But yeah, let's start with dandelion. I am pretty sure that everyone knows what dandelion is. It's a very tenacious, often considered a weed by many people I know, right? This very, I like to say resilient plant that against so many odds can pop up in lawns everywhere. And I like to think about that resilience too when I'm working with that plant. And imagine that working with dandelion helps me bolster my own resilience after winter and more hibernation giving me the courage to blossom boldly into the next season. And with dandelion, I love to work with the root. I love to work with the flour and the leaves. I mean, there's just so many different things you can do with this plant, but with the leaves and the root are both bitter, and bitter is a great flavor to work with during the springtime.
And the reason is, is because bitter helps stimulate our digestion. It helps. We have little bitter receptors throughout our GI tract that help release digestive secretions to help us digest our food more efficiently. And during the wintertime, we might be eating a little more heavier, heartier foods that are really nourishing to fortify us through the season. And then spring comes and we're in this upward expansion, and we might be craving different kinds of foods now. And the dandelion, the bitterness of it really helps us in that seasonal transition and that digestive transition into the next
John Gallagher:
Season. It's like looking around you. It's spring when that heaviness of winter is over and the heavy foods, and then there's all these bitter spring greens coming up. So I think nature's worked this out where that's our clue for health is to eat some of these, some dandelion leaves in your cell. Now might be a little too much to make a full salad plate full of dandelion leaves, but you just find some tender ones, not the big ones that later on in the season when they're all jaggedy looking, does it look like something you would eat? That's what I always like. It's just like, does this look like something that would taste good?
Tara Ruth:
Totally.
John Gallagher:
And take a few of those leaves and put 'em in the salad, sprinkle 'em around, or just eat a few off a place. It's not getting sprayed. Or
Tara Ruth:
Over the last few years, I feel like bitters, like bitter tinctures have become more and more popular. But you can also get the same benefits of bitters without the alcohol, which is chewing on a little bit of a dandelion leaf before eating to help stimulate your digestion. And then also making a nice dandelion root coffee, air quotes coffee, can be really nice. And then a dandelion leaf pesto is really good too. And we have all those recipes on LearningHerbs as well.
John Gallagher:
Oh, that's wonderful.
Tara Ruth:
And then if you have some dandelion flowers, people make dandelion wine, you can also make dandelion fritters. So there's a lot of different options.
John Gallagher:
Cookies. Cookies, herb fairies. Our kids program has cookies. And just, if you haven't been on our blog, it's LearningHerbs.com. And then just click on blog and there's a little search thing, and you can search for stuff.
Tara Ruth:
And they're all free recipes too. All free. All free. It's very cool. And then dandelion also that bitter quality is also helping support our livers. So during the springtime, there's this upward expansion. There's the weather's starting to heat up. Our bodies also can have little flares of heat or inflammation in the springtime, and that can happen a lot with our livers. We might get a little flared, a little inflammatory. So the cooling bitter quality of dandelion can really help support our liver health, which in turn helps support our skin health. So if you're finding yourself, for me, a lot of the times during spring I'll be like, wow, I'm having a little more acne or some more rashes, and then I lean back on my bitters like dandelion to really help support my skin health.
John Gallagher:
Well, a little trick is chances are if you're listening to this, you're interested in making a little herb garden, maybe even if it's a little bed, or even if it's a few on an apartment and it's a few containers, chances are there's going to be dandelions coming up there. And that's a great place to, well, you got to weeded that anyway because a garden, so you might as well just take the full plant. It'll be easy to take all the whole root part out and everything, and then make medicine or eat all the parts of the ones that are coming up in your garden. And so roots, I love scrubbing the roots and chopping 'em up and just adding 'em to a stir fry. Oh, yum. It's such a nice roasted flavor. So good.
Tara Ruth:
That's such a good idea. John,
John Gallagher:
You should probably go to another plant. Oh
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, I know. We're a little obsessed.
John Gallagher:
Obsessed. Go on. I mean we love dandelion so much. It's in the logo of LearningHerbs, right? Yeah. Right.
Tara Ruth:
Oh, well, let's talk about chickweed, another iconic LearningHerbs plant, because the first Herb Fairy book is about the herb fairy, Stelaria, chickweed,
John Gallagher:
And Stelaria media, I guess it's media, it's the botanical name, or is it Madea or
Tara Ruth:
Whatever you want it to be, John, for the time capsule that we're creating today,
John Gallagher:
Right? Yes. Right. I keep forgetting, I'm talking to a thousand year from now aliens that are visiting our planet.
Tara Ruth:
Totally.
John Gallagher:
So yes, chickweed folks.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. I love this plant as well, because it also grows as a quote unquote weed. You can often find it growing in a lawn, growing alongside a sidewalk or a path that you may be on. And it has these beautiful little white flowers that look like stars and its leaves are juicy and really nutritive, and they're cooling, and they feel like they balance that kind of heating upward energy of spring to just really help nourish our bodies and balance our bodies during this seasonal transition. Yeah. Why do you like chickweed John?
John Gallagher:
Well, I remember when kids were little and we helped out at a local organic farm. And the farmer there, farmer Eric always was more than happy to let us harvest the quote weeds all around because, and that's a great place, great relationship to make if you do have a local CSA or organic farm, it's just like, Hey, I'm into this stuff. Can I harvest some of your weeds? So I go always, because can never get better than growing under his tomatoes. So I get all this chickweed or lambs quarter or whatever, and it only took a matter of a year or two for there always to be chickweed in the CSA members salad mix. We inspired him. He added a so, and then eventually he added lambs quarter as one of the items in the CSA box. Wow. Yeah, exactly.
Tara Ruth:
You're an inspiration.
John Gallagher:
Well, everyone listening can have that inspiration on their local farmers. And the next thing you know, everyone in the community's eating. Yes.
Tara Ruth:
So good.
John Gallagher:
And it'll be your fault.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. What a good thing to be blamed for. Yeah.
John Gallagher:
But pretty much in our house, I mean, it's more always an edible for me, but, but we definitely made the pesto with that, all kinds of chickweed, grilled cheese sandwiches. Yeah,
Tara Ruth:
It's such a mild taste too. So it's just a really nice one to add into whatever you're cooking, really, whether it's a salad, a pesto, et cetera. And again, with its cooling moistening qualities, it really helps balance signs of dryness and heat in the body. So for example, if you're more prone to getting rashes during the springtime, that might present a little more dry or red or itchy, maybe some eczema, the chickweed can help balance that. Or if you're prone to, for me, my allergies during the springtime, I'll get itchy red eyes. And the chickweed can really help balance that as well,
John Gallagher:
And play around if that's the case. So you have this dry skin condition, eat the chickweed and then mash it up, or chew it up however you're comfortable with, and put it on the affected area.
Tara Ruth:
Exactly.
John Gallagher:
And hold it there for a while, or so many things you can do.
Tara Ruth:
And if you're doing that with the eyes, just to note, you want to do that with a closed eye. Yeah,
John Gallagher:
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. So if you think something feels hot and dry, then chickweed is cool. And obviously moist. Just use your senses. This feels cool, it feels moist, it tastes moist, and then it'll help that opposite effect. It doesn't work for everything, but it does work for most first aid types of things.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, absolutely. And it's just such a cute plant. Just go hang out with chickweed. Yeah,
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Now we're getting into plantain.
Tara Ruth:
Plantain, another plant that often gets called a quote unquote weed, another one of my favorite plants. You can often see it growing in lawns, growing, not just along pathways, but within the path, and then along sidewalks too. It's all over one of my favorite games to play in the city I live. It's like, where is plantain growing? And I often see it just sprouting out of the concrete, another very resilient plant to help us bring that energy into our springtime as we're wanting to blossom forth into the next season. And plantain, I mean, plantain could just do so much. It's an amazing plant. I, I'm like, where do I even start with plantain?
John Gallagher:
Well, I think my first connection with plantain was, I mean, I didn't really know about it at this point, but somebody I was with, we were traveling and we were at this rest stop, and this young person, I was in the early nineties or something, got this wasp sting, and then my friend went and picked some and gave it to her and told her how to chew it up and put it on it. And she did that. And the crying stopped almost immediately. And that was pretty profound. And then of course, I've had many of my own experiences using it for that since, but it's often known as that be staying plant.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, it's super helpful in first aid situations, stings, bug bites too. Also little cuts and scrapes and bumps and bruises. It's great as a poultice, but then also as a salve. Most of my first aid salves have plantain in them because it's a vulnerary, which means it helps heal tissues, and it's also antimicrobial. So it's bringing that quality to the healing salve, which is really nice. And then another one of my favorite ways to work with plantain is adding it to digestive tea blends and also blends for allergies, I think because plantain is so, and it's also very vulnerary tissue reparative. It just is really nice for the digestive system and helping address inflammation in that area. So if I have an upset stomach, I'll add it into a tea blend. Or if I'm just feeling kind of flared in my allergies, it can just be really nice to add to a soothing tea as well.
John Gallagher:
And a little trick for accessing plantain, like Tara mentioned, it comes up in the cracks of the sidewalk. You're going to find it somewhere on your lawn. And what I always do when you have a nice patch, mow around it, keep it there all summer. Just know when you can run out and get a plantain. I know on my yard where the plantain is, where the yarrow is, or all the first aid things are, and they're just growing. I live in a place, it's a milder climate up in the we northwest of Washington. And so usually it's out there somewhere, not plantain, but like yarrow and some other one. You get to know which ones are out there. But in the spring, summer, fall, like need plantain, go get it where it is. And so if it's a little patch in your garden or even on your lawn, just mow around a little spot and just keep a little stash that's not being sprayed or in a weird spot, people are walking on the sidewalk because for nature, the plantain's doing for the earth, what it can do for your skin. So think of that, it's like it's senses when it's disturbed and bad soil and that soil needs healing. Nature sends in the plants that are going to help heal its skin. And a plantain being one of the main ones that you see everywhere, that more soil and whatnot is all disturbed. So a little thing to think about. It's kind of fun.
Tara Ruth:
And it's so nice cultivating a relationship with plants like plantain and chickweed and dandelion, because so often when you're in, maybe you're in a new place, you'll probably see these plants growing around you, and that's just sweet to have a familiar friend nearby.
John Gallagher:
Yeah, absolutely. Well, I feel like it's time to get into summer, summer when the plants are reaching their full expression, flowering, starting to fruit, getting that fruiting and fruiting a little later. Some of 'em in the beginning of the summer, some later in the summer. So Tara, what are some plant allies you'd like to work with in the summertime?
Tara Ruth:
Okay. Well, three plant allies I love to work with are hawthorn, rose and aloe.
John Gallagher:
Aloe.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. Interesting. And we happen to have plant profiles on all these plants, actually all the plants we've mentioned on HerbMentor, by the way. But the aloe one's a little newer, and I love it. It's written by Christa Sinadinos, and I like to work with aloe topically for my skin. That's a plant that a lot of people who maybe don't even identify as herbalists are familiar with. They have it as a houseplant, or they buy aloe at the store to put on their skin after they've gotten a little sunburn. And aloe is just super anti-inflammatory, very cooling. And if we're thinking about the energetics of summertime, we want to balance that. So the summer is often the driest, hottest time of the year, and that can be kind of inflammatory for our bodies heating, if you will. And so bringing in these cooling, moistening soothing herbs, like aloe is really nice. And then I also like to work with aloe internally, just the inner filet, so not the outer part of the outer leaf of aloe.
John Gallagher:
So I have a piece of aloe, I just cut it off house houseplant. I've got a lot of aloe in my house, and even in my office here, there's a junk. It keeps crawling out. I have to re-pot it. Anyway, so I've got this big, so what do I do with that? I cut the one side of it and open it up, or how's that
Tara Ruth:
Work? And there's a whole process basically of draining the latex out of the aloe. And I won't go into all the directions. We actually have those directions as well on learning herbs.com. We have a great blog post on how to harvest that part of the aloe, and it's very easy to do, but you just want to make sure you don't get the outer leaf, because that is Oh, you're
John Gallagher:
Right. We do.
Tara Ruth:
Right.
John Gallagher:
I just hit blog and typed aloe in boom, boom. Yeah, I love that new website we have. It's super fast.
Tara Ruth:
It's so fast. It's so great.
And really wanting to work with that inner filet rather than the outer filet, because the outer filet is very bitter and can cause intense digestive upset. But the inner part of the aloe, once you've followed the simple steps for preparing it, is very soothing and nourishing. And I actually, honestly, I usually purchase my aloe from the grocery store. It's just so easy. So I'll go to my local health food store, get the aloe, inner filet juice, and then I'll just drink a little shot of it daily during the summertime because it's so soothing and cooling and, and I feel like it really helps balance my body during the hot inflammatory summertime.
John Gallagher:
And there's nothing more fun in the summertime than to do aloe shots with your friends.
Tara Ruth:
Absolutely. You'll be the most popular one at the party.
John Gallagher:
Oh, absolutely. Yes.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. I know. If people looked in my fridge, man, there's so many weird things in there now.
John Gallagher:
Gosh, I have been made fun. I still get made fun of by roommates I had 30 years ago. They'll will hang out with me and go, remember that time John had those weird ice cubes in the freezer? I'm
Tara Ruth:
Like, those green ice cubes. Yeah.
John Gallagher:
Think of my jewel weed ice cubes I used to make. Oh,
Tara Ruth:
Nice.
John Gallagher:
I mean, when you live in an area with a lot of poison ivy, I, and I can't get out to the jewel weed. You see how, I mean what I'm saying, this everyone is, because I think like that. I think how can I have the fastest access to plant allies that I like to have the most when something's up? Where's my plantain? Where's my allies? Where's my friends? Where's my
Tara Ruth:
Absolutely. And even if they're ones, not that you're taking in an acute situation, but you want to be taking daily, it's just really nice to have them conveniently located
John Gallagher:
Nearby. So not a cute situation, but acute.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, an adorable
John Gallagher:
Situation. An adorable, when you have an adorable situation, you have to be ready with your aloe.
Tara Ruth:
Absolutely. I'm always ready for an adorable situation. So that's aloe. Do you want to talk about hawthorne? Should we do hawthorne?
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Well, hawthorne was one of the very first herbs I learned about. And it is, I know we're talking about summer here, but there's a couple different, well, I mean, are you intending hawthorn flowers here in the summer for us? They come out in May. Or are we talking about the berry?
Tara Ruth:
I'm talking about the whole
John Gallagher:
Thing. So you put it in the middle. Yes, yes. All right. So in the spring, love gathering hawthorn flowers, and we do that. It's like a ritual we've always done. Every spring, still do, because there are hawthorn trees everywhere. There's different, all kinds of species, wild species, cultivated species. But you strip those flowers off and dry those and use 'em for tea or infusions. And then in the fall, well, again, it depends where you're living and what your tree's doing. But those berries have a lot of uses from tincture for various health reasons, all the way to taking the berries and even making a jelly or something if you wanted to. There's all kinds of things. Cordials, there's many, many things. But Tara, primarily, what is the main when you think hawthorn in our bodies, what is the main thing you think about?
Tara Ruth:
I think about love because I love Hawthorne. I think about the heart, and that's Hawthorne's most iconic gift, is healing the emotional and physical heart. And during the summertime, especially in traditional Chinese medicine, the season is associated with the heart. And the heart can get a little overworked during the summertime. We can think about that from a physical standpoint. We're running around more. We're just being more active often in our fullest expression. And so the heart can just use a little extra soothing and nourishment. And Hawthorne is just so nourishing specifically for the heart, and it's also anti-Inflammatory can be slightly cooling, which just makes it a really lovely ally for the summertime.
John Gallagher:
And there's so many ways to use it. You can use it in, oh my gosh, in lots of different ways. And then get those effects. So you don't have to have a Hawthorn tea every day. Maybe one day it's some Hawthorne heart cordial that you made or something like that. And since you mentioned Love Hawthorne, we'll talk about Rose in a second. Even oat straw earlier, my wonderful, beautiful, amazing wife, Kimberly Kimberly Gallagher, wrote a book called Aphrodisiac that has a nice monographs in there and has some really fun ways to get to know these plants that we're talking about.
Tara Ruth:
Oh, it's such a good book. And I love the Hawthorne recipes in there. And yeah, this plant is just like you were saying, John, there's so many different ways to work with it. So in my freezer, speaking of weird things to have in your fridge and freezer, I have a huge bag of hawthorn berries from the fall that are frozen, and I'll make medicine with them throughout the year, but I always make sure to save some of them for the summertime. And I love to make kind of basically how you'd make a cranberry sauce. But I like to do that with hawthorne berries. So I'll take out the pits and then I'll just simmer them with either some sugar or some honey and water. Sometimes add a little orange peel for fun. And it makes a really nice compote to eat daily. You can eat it by the spoonful or add it to your meals.
And then like you're saying, you can do hawthorn teas, you can do hawthorn tinctures. You can make a beautiful salve with the hawthorn leaves and flowers. There's so many different options, and it's really fun to get creative with this plant as well. Hi, y'all. This is Tara popping on with a little note to say that we got so excited talking about hawthorn, that we forgot to mention a few special considerations when working with hawthorn. So keep in mind that people taking heart medications such as, but not limited to digitalis and beta blockers, should consult with an experienced practitioner before taking hawthorn. And hawthorn should not be used by folks who have diastolic congestive heart failure. Okay. Thank you so much for listening to this little note. And let's get back to talking about hawthorn.
John Gallagher:
I know I talked about taking a month for each of these plants and exploring, but in reality, you could take a whole year on one plant, and that's a good exercise too, to consider. Even if you're doing the monthly thing, maybe there's one that you just really go deep in that whole year. That's actually was a big part of my personal herbal training when Kimberly, and I apprenticed at Raven Croft Garden in Monroe, Washington. They still do an apprenticeships, and I can Google Raven Croft Garden Eagle Song and Sally King were my mentors and Kimberly's mentors. And that was in the Wise Woman tradition. And our big thing was we would just go deep on one plant and at the end of the year do this presentation all the different ways, 50 different ways, dandelion or whatever, plant and Hawthorne, whatever it was. And then you see each other's presentations and you learn so much. So that's another cool thing to do. Your herbal year, maybe one plant really resonates with you in this podcast, and you'd be like, you know what? I'm just going to go deep on hawthorn this year, or rose or something.
Tara Ruth:
And it's really nice too, to do that with herbs specifically, I'm thinking hawthorn or oat straw, because they're so, from an energetic standpoint, they're a little more neutral. Neutral. So they're not super cooling, super heating. So they can be a nice herb to work with all year long and not bring you a little out balance as well.
John Gallagher:
Right. That's a good point. That's why we have HerbMentor and our Forum, and you can check in with us on these things like, Hey, I'm thinking about taking all year to study. I don't know, something strange,
Tara Ruth:
Oregon grape root
John Gallagher:
Oregon grape root. Right? There's only so much you're going to do with Oregon grape root.
Tara Ruth:
Oh my gosh. Okay. Wait, speaking of which, shout out to Oregon grape root. Oh, yeah.
John Gallagher:
I love Oregon grape. I have it growing all over in my, yes.
Tara Ruth:
I, a few weeks ago went on, I went on a trip to visit my grandpa the night before. I'm supposed to fly, I get food poisoning. Oh my gosh. I'm like, oh, no. Am I going to be able to make it through this flight without throwing up? And I had Oregon grape root tincture on me, and I knew that for me, it's very helpful with food poisoning. And as soon as I took it, I felt about 50% better, and I just kept taking it and I made it through my flight.
John Gallagher:
Oh, great. Yeah. Super, super strong liver herb, not the kind of herb that dandelion that you would have maybe every day to nourish your liver, but this is when you need that heavy medicine and you need, and that's why I got it grown in my backyard, because anytime I need it, I can just go make a decoction with a fresh anytime of year. Yes.
Tara Ruth:
For an adorable
John Gallagher:
Situation. I don't even tincture it anymore or do anything. I just go get it when I need it. Yes. Someday I'll write a book on lazy herbalism and
Tara Ruth:
Perfect.
John Gallagher:
I'll be good. It's one thing I can do.
Tara Ruth:
Well, I can't wait to read it, John. If you need an editor, let me know. All
John Gallagher:
Right. Did we talk about rose yet? We
Tara Ruth:
Haven't talked about rose. Gosh, we've been so excited about hawthorn. Yeah,
John Gallagher:
Yeah, yeah. No time limits here. We're just going to talk and talk. Why not? We're going to talk forever. This is your year, folks, herbal year. And for our off planet visitors, this is their introduction to herbalism on the planet. So
Tara Ruth:
Exciting. Wow. Rose. Oh, my heart. I love rose. I don't even know what to say, but I do. Let's dive into rose. Much like hawthorn. I mean, it doesn't take an herbalist to tell you that rose is associated with the heart, right? You think about Valentine's Day. What is the flower that is the best seller of that day? You can
John Gallagher:
See in this image for associated with the heart and love. Yeah.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. A bouquet of red roses. And rose is nourishing for the emotional heart as well as the physical heart. Oh my gosh, I love this plant. And hawthorn, it has the quality of these beautiful flowers, these delicate flowers and these nice fruits. In the rose's case, it's the rose hips. And then also both these plants have these thorns. And I love thinking about the balance of these thorns and then the softness of their beautiful flowers and how we can apply that to our own hearts, having boundaries and then also letting ourselves soften and welcome love into our hearts as well. So these can be great energetic, emotional teachers in that way. And then on a physical level, rose is just nourishing for the heart as well, just like hawthorn
John Gallagher:
So much with rose, but rose petal honey, can you talk about that? To me, that's the number one thing you do with rose. That was if you do this this year, everyone, and you're listening and you find some remedy, you got to try a lot of remedies because every once in a while you come across a one that you're going to make every year, even 25 years later, you're still going to be making this remedy. And this is for us, for Kimberly and I in our household, even my kids, if you ask, and they can't remember a time, a spring without rose petal honey.
Tara Ruth:
Oh, I love that. Yeah. I mean, it's one of my favorite honeys as well. And just like the garlic honey, it's really simple to make you collect your rose petals, your fresh rose petals, and you want to make sure too that you're using roses that haven't been sprayed, so you don't want to use the ones that you'd pick up at the grocery store or other ones that could potentially have been sprayed.
John Gallagher:
And I live in places with lots of wild roses in the Northwest, so it was never a problem getting non-sprayed once because they're wonderful and they're everywhere.
Tara Ruth:
So beautiful.
John Gallagher:
You may not have that.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah. And so if you do have that, you can collect the fresh rose petals and put them in a jar and maybe pack it about three quarters of the way full or to almost all the way full, and then you just pour honey into the jar to cover the rose petals, and then that's good. You let it
John Gallagher:
Steep, you're done. You don't have to strain anything. Yeah,
Tara Ruth:
It's so good. And if you don't have fresh rose petals too, you could also, I like to with dried rose petals, I like to powder them by putting them in a coffee grinder. And then from there, I'll just add them into honey and stir it together, and then it's immediately done. It's a rose petal honey in that way as well.
John Gallagher:
Yeah. I used to wonder when making this why this isn't a flavor. We all don't know what some flavor we all know about. And nowadays the more artisanal drinks and things like that, and in the stores, I'm starting to see people
Tara Ruth:
Rose petal kombucha,
John Gallagher:
Things like that where I'm going, oh yeah, okay. People have discovered rose petal secrets out,
Tara Ruth:
All the secrets, man.
John Gallagher:
And then once you have that honey, there's all kinds of things you can then do with it. You could. There's so much.
Tara Ruth:
And then also as a topical rose is really nice. If you've got a little sun in the summertime and you're worried you're going to get a sunburn or even after a sunburn, that rose petal honey is really nice for soothing the skin as well. Or you could infuse rose into vinegar, which is also nice after a sunburn. Or even making a rose petal tea and then using that as a facial wash or as a wash for a sunburn as well is really soothing and just nourishing to your skin tissues.
John Gallagher:
And don't forget the rose hips. We're talking about rose, which are the fruit. Yes.
Tara Ruth:
The rose hips.
John Gallagher:
Oh yeah, the rose hips. And you live out where I do in a wetter area. You kind of have to harvest them when they look like they're ripe and make a vinegar or do something with them. But if you live in a dryer place, I remember in the east coast growing up in New Jersey, the little ones after that first frost, you could just eat 'em off the bush and they're just tasted like this little chewy candy. But out here, if you do that in the winter, it'd be like mush. But it depends on where you live.
Tara Ruth:
And rose hips are super rich in vitamin C. When they're fresh off the rosebush, they often have more vitamin C per weight than an orange.
John Gallagher:
Wow.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, it's pretty significant. And they're great in a syrup. Great in a vinegar. Great. In a tea,
John Gallagher:
You scoop out all the feed. You'll go through the extreme. You might only do this once because it's really laborious, but if you do scoop out all the seeds in them, you can also put them in honey and just eat them in the honey. It'll sort of candy it, and that's really good too. Great way to get that vitamin C and that tangy vitamin C burst in your mouth. Oh, so good.
Tara Ruth:
Delicious. Oh, well, those were our plants for summer. Or should we talk about a few other remedies?
John Gallagher:
Did we talk about St. John's wort?
Tara Ruth:
Well, we talked about some hawthorn heart cordial. We mentioned that. And there's a recipe for that on the LearningHerbs blog as well that you can check out. Has some apples in it too.
John Gallagher:
Everyone just look into St. John's wort later on their own too. But that's a good summer one. We'll get to that next year, and now we're coming into the season of autumn, and the energy is descending into the earth and into the roots, and there's seeds and later fruits and all of these. So anyway, let's talk about fall. Let's
Tara Ruth:
Talk about fall. Yeah.
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Very serious. When we talk about fall.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. We're very serious.
John Gallagher:
Descending. Yes. Descending. Yeah. And people get a little more that time of year, we start to concentrate our energy and we going back to school and start learning things, and it's the end of your garden. You're tidying it up, you're getting ready for winter, and this is where the energy of the plants is going to. So while we're getting ready to hole up for the winter, so are the plants.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, they sure are. And a few plants that I really like to work with during this season are elderberry and garlic.
John Gallagher:
Sweet.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. Let's talk about elderberry first. A very, I mean, this plant has become so popular in recent years, which makes me excited for a lot of people who I can still talk with them about elderberry, and they've at least heard that word before.
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Another one of those plants where 25 years ago, and I was using it and making syrups and drinks and wines. I was like, why doesn't everybody know about this? Now again, you go into the co-op and it's like they have the drinks, have elderberry in it now, which means I went into the wrong business,
Tara Ruth:
And that's what we're here to talk about today. This is actually an intervention, John,
John Gallagher:
Thanks.
Tara Ruth:
No problem. Here to help.
John Gallagher:
Anyway, elderberry isn't enough about me. Oh,
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, elderberry. Well, elderberry is most well known as an antiviral, so it can help strengthen the immune system if taken over a long period of time. It's great to work with elderberry daily, especially during cold and flu season. And then also if you feel like you're starting to get a bit of a cold or flu, you can increase that dosage and get a little more elderberry in your body to help stimulate your immune system further. I like to work with elderberry as a syrup mostly, but it's also great to just make into a tea as well. Sometimes I don't want all the sweetness of the syrup, so I'll just make a decoction, which is when you boil and then simmer herbs in a pot on the stove, and then add a little bit of honey. We also have a great elderberry gummy bear recipe on the blog, which is really nice. And yeah, there's
John Gallagher:
Just not those kinds of gummies folks.
Tara Ruth:
Yes, you're right, John.
John Gallagher:
I know what you're thinking.
Tara Ruth:
Yes, they're very innocent gummy bears that are really helpful for your immune system. And then elderberry is less for being really anti-inflammatory, but it also is anti-inflammatory and really helpful for eye health and skin health as well.
John Gallagher:
I drink like this, that kind of refrigerator syrup, like you said, the decoction adding a little honey. We have that recipe on LearningHerbs. I'm sure we do. I have a big splash of that. And every morning in the winter months for sure, fall through spring. It's a big one. I harvest a lot and keep them in the freezer. And some people like to get dried. Some people prefer the dried berry syrup to the fresh, and I don't know, it depends on your personal taste, but either one's fine. Sometimes it's a lot harder for people, especially if you can't find fresh berries. But if you do and you have a tree and you have a place you gathering your berries, this is one where you don't tell your friends where the tree is because don't go on an herb walk and show your secret spots where you have places that you gather. Exactly. Especially on fert. I did that once and oh my God,
Tara Ruth:
Regrets
John Gallagher:
My whole area. That was all wiped out by somebody that was on an herb walk with the hand. I was like, oh,
Tara Ruth:
Damn.
John Gallagher:
Which shouldn't be the case because when you harvest, just to put a little note after wildcrafting, learn about wildcrafting, and actually there's a book that we have written by Rosalee de la Forêt and Emily Han called "Wild Remedies," and I love that book because it roots your harvesting in ethical and sustainable, and if the, I've seen stands of things, people just wipe it out. You got to harvest in a way that makes sure that the tree is going to be healthy, the area is going to be healthy, that there's a lot left for the birds and the animals. That's just elderberry I'm talking about. But when harvesting any wild plants, you definitely want to take into consideration what sustainability is important. So
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, for sure.
John Gallagher:
Little shout out for sustainability.
Tara Ruth:
Shout out. Yes. Yeah, that's what I have on elderberry. I mean, there's so many different things you can do with this plant as well, with all the different plants we've mentioned, but this is just a great way to get started and then you can explore from there what you want to make with this plant.
John Gallagher:
You can do a lot with the flowers in the springtime. You can do, yeah, there's a lot of things that you can do with elderberry. It's one that I just, yeah, it's just one roses that I definitely harvest every year and have for a long time. All right, so let's talk
Tara Ruth:
About
John Gallagher:
Garlic. Garlic, yeah,
Tara Ruth:
Garlic. Well, we already talked a little bit about garlic honey, and I do love to eat that in the winter, but it's also a great one to work with in the fall as well. And garlic is antiviral. Antimicrobial great during cold and flu season for helping to prevent colds and flu, and then also to help support the body if you do get a cold. I also really like garlic in moderation for digestive health. Sometimes it can be a little too much on people's digestion, so I like to just cook with a little bit of it here and there. And that's the main way I like to work with garlic. You can probably get a capsule of any of these herbs we've mentioned, but a lot of these herbs taste really good, and garlic tastes great and makes a great culinary addition to most dishes. So that's how I like to work with this herb. Or also, I like to make a fire cider with garlic in it. And that's, yeah, fire cider for me can be too intense to just take shots of, so unlike my aloe shots, so
John Gallagher:
Don't mix.
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, right. Oh God, that's horrible.
Yeah. Well, it was full body response for me. Yeah. I really like to add my fire cider into my cooking. So maybe I add it into a stir fry, add it into soup, or include it in a salad dressing. And that's a nice way to experience some of the medicine of garlic and whatever else you put in your fire cider. And by the way, we have a great fire cider recipe that Rosemary Gladstar, she walks through step-by-step through how to make it. It's on YouTube, that video, and then we also have it on the blog.
John Gallagher:
Yes. Thanks for that. And how about any other remedies for the fall?
Tara Ruth:
Yeah, one other one that I like to shout out during this time in general are respiratory steams. So during the fall, our lungs can be a little vulnerable. There's more colds and flus happening. It's also, there can just be some lingering dryness in our bodies from the summertime. And really bringing hydration and nourishment to our respiratory systems is a great way to keep them strong and healthy. And I love to make a respiratory steam with herbs like chamomile, rosemary, so many different culinary herbs that people often have, like sage and marjorum, thyme are great as well. And to make a respiratory steam, at least how I do it, I just boil some water, put it in a little pot, and then I put it on the table in front of me. I sit down and I put my herbs in the pot, and then I put a towel over my head while I breathe in that steam. And I do that for about 15 minutes or so. I take breaks if it feels too, don't
John Gallagher:
Don't forget the box of tissues next to
Tara Ruth:
You. The box of tissues, the most important ingredient. Why, John? Why would someone need a box of tissues?
John Gallagher:
Oh, I don't know. You'll find out.
Tara Ruth:
Yes, there's a lot of releasing.
John Gallagher:
You'll expectorate.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. Emotional release of your, yeah. And chamomile especially is great if you have a stuffy nose. So one of my housemates just had a cold, and this was what I recommended to her actually. And she was starting to get a sinus infection and nothing was working. And then we did the chamomile steam, and then the next day she was fine. It was pretty remarkable.
John Gallagher:
And to be ready for these things, didn't try them. Like I said, I had my elderberries frozen in the freezer, or if you're using dried, you'll have a jar of 'em. But I think always having a jar of dried chamomile flowers in the kitchen is important as anything else to have in the kitchen.
Tara Ruth:
And I love making remedies with things like chamomile too, because often maybe you're traveling or you don't have all your herbs on hand for whatever reason, since chamomile is such a popular beverage tea, you can often find it at the supermarket, even if you don't have your full apothecary on you. You might not be able to find hawthorn and plantain at Safeway or wherever it is. But chamomile you can usually find,
John Gallagher:
I used to have a little video series called Supermarket Herbalism where I went around and just like, Hey, if you're traveling and you don't have your herbs with you, what can you get here? And it's usually the medicine is found in the produce aisle.
Tara Ruth:
Yes. Garlic, ginger.
John Gallagher:
Yeah. Onion. And you can get, and in the tea, I mean, yeah, it's not ideal with all the tea bags, but if you're stuck, there's always going to be chamomile tea. There's always going to be peppermint tea. Your aloe is going to be over in the first aid section by the sunscreens, things like that. So yeah,
Tara Ruth:
Cinnamon in the spice section.
John Gallagher:
And it just kind of gives you comfort that if you know ways to use all these common plants like that, whether you're at someone else's kitchen or their yard or you always have access. So that's really, really important. Yes.
Tara Ruth:
And just to, again, one of the guiding principles that's really leading us as we're talking about your herbal year, is balancing whatever's showing up each season. So in wintertime, it's cold. We're thinking about warming, nourishing herbs. In the springtime, there's this kind of rising heat and shedding our emotional, physical layers from the wintertime, we're thinking about herbs that can help us in that transition. Bitter herbs in the summertime.
John Gallagher:
Greens, greens, greens in the spring. And exactly
Tara Ruth:
In the summertime, we're thinking about cooling hydrating herbs during the dryness and the heat of the summer. And then in the fall, we're thinking about herbs to relieve, help support any lingering dryness in the body, and then help support us during cold and flu season. It's
John Gallagher:
That simple. Yeah. So if folks want to learn more tips for planning their herbal year ahead, Tara, where can they go?
Tara Ruth:
Yes, people can go to HerbMentor, where I've made a guide to planning your herbal year with all these tips and tricks on how to prepare and move in harmony with the seasons.
John Gallagher:
And if you are not an HerbMentor member yet, you can, well, you can go check it out on LearningHerbs.com. Actually go and look it through it and whatnot, and you can just see if that's for you. But often we have a little discount on if you just go to HerbMentorradio.com, just type that in and then you might find a little discount right there.
Tara Ruth:
Yes, a great discount. And thank you so much everyone, for listening, and I just hope you all have a very sweet, nourishing herbal year ahead full of so much plant magic.
John Gallagher:
Absolutely. And before you go, everyone just stick around. We just might have a little Herb Note here for you. Woo. Yay. Well, happy New Year everyone, and we look forward to bringing you a lot of great interviews and awesome herbal information all year long. Thank
Tara Ruth:
You. So many great interviews.
John Gallagher:
Thank you so much for being part of our community. We appreciate it. Thank you. HerbMentor Radio and Herb Notes are 100% sustainably wildcrafted podcasts, written, performed, and produced by Tara Ruth and me, John Gallagher, sound Engineering by Zach Frank, can you do us a quick favor? Look up HerbMentor radio on your favorite podcast app, like Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and rate and review us. We'd really appreciate it. Also, visit HerbMentorRadio.com to find out how you can be part of HerbMentor, which is a site you must see to believe HerbMentor Radio is a production of LearningHerbs.com LLC. All rights reserved. And thank you very, very, very much for listening.
