It's been so long..............

I have been waiting to have fresh St. John's Wort flowers again for 2 years.  Two years ago all my plants died so I replanted.  Last year the plants got really big but hardly any flowers so I think I got 4 ounces of oil from them.  Hardly enough to keep an herbal business running for a year.  This year they are in early and back with a passion!  I had already started an 8 ounce jar last week but here is what I pulled today:

And we have only just begun!  I filled a QUART jar and topped it off with the small jar I already started.

This should be ready after 2 weeks in the Kentucky sun.  If I get another quart (which I think I easily will) I will be set up well for the year!  And I saw this while I was gathering my flowers:

A ladybug napping on my clary sage, surrounded by yarrow flowers.  I will be distilling clary sage this weekend.  Probably right before I go to bed. 

And I need to gather elder flowers this week and run the lemon balm.  I am going to be busy!

December Sales Incentive

Rather than having a normal sale I have decided to do a lottery of sorts for the month of December.  On the 31st I will draw names from everyone who has placed an order between Nov 30th through Dec 30th.  The lucky winner will have the cost of their order refunded back to them via paypal.

Also, I am nearing 500 sales so I will have an extra special gift for my 500th customer!

And here's a special coupon code for my blog readers.  GBHBLOG for 20% off your orders until December 23rd.  This coupon will be good in all of my stores.

Spring Fever

I definitely have a severe case of Spring Fever today.  Not only has it been a long, and I do mean LONG winter, we are forecast to have very Spring-like weather this week.  It is beautiful outside-warm and sunny.  The rest of the snow may even melt today. 

I started my first batch of infused herbal oil today and it's warm enough in the sun that I even put it outside.  I hope to be able to put it out every day this week so I have a good head start on it.  The herbs are similar to my sleep oil blend-roses, chamomile, calendula, comfrey root, wood betony, hops, lavender and valerian root.  I can still use this as my sleep balm base, but I want to use it as a base for some "female" balms or creams.  It could also work as a muscle rub with the addition of some other infused oils.  I'll keep you posted on this but I would like to have several formulas for female troubles.  You ladies know that our cycles can vary greatly from month to month, even day to day.

I start back at my old job, new hours tomorrow.  Wish me luck!

Veterans Day Special

All orders over $20 will get free shipping!  This applies to all my stores for orders placed on Thursday November 11th.

Birthday Giveaway

On August 1st I will be turning 35-Again! I should be in a bad mood since I know how old I REALLY am but I'm not. This is the bag that will be loaded with goodies for the July giveaway, to be given away on my birthday. It doesn't look like much now but by the time I'm done with it it will have deocorative stitching and be loaded up with stuff made by me! I will have at least $20 worth of stuff in it.

To make it more exciting, I will not be posting it to etsy giveaways and I want to include more chances to win. If you look to right you will see links to my stores, etc. Here's how you can get multiple entries........
1) Visit my stores and tell me what you would like to see in the bag if you win. Who knows-it may just show up in there.
2) Follow me on twitter and make a post here telling me you did.
3) Subscribe to my youtube channel-again leave a comment to tell me you did.
4) Make a purchase from any of my stores for 3 entries. Leave 3 comments.
5) Post this giveaway to your blog for an entry and post a link in your comments.

So you can have up to 7 entries! Also, I am nearing 150 sales in my etsy store so lucky customer 150 will also receive a free gift. Good Luck! The contest ends at midnight July 31st and the winner will be chosen and notified while I am having my birthday coffee (Dunkin Donuts).

Marshmallow

I have uploaded a new herbal video about Marshmallow. I love this plant, the leaves are soft and fuzzy and the whole plant contains a soothing mucilage. this mucilage coats and soothes wounds and inflammations both internally and externally. It loves soil that is NOT well drained, however, as you can see from the photos, it can adjust even to Kentucky clay if you keep a watchful eye on watering. My Marshmallow is planted in front of a 6 foot fence so you can see it's quite happy in my garden.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbFM5q1iOR4

New video

I managed to get my St. John's Wort video uploaded. Check it out-this plant is amazing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKqpGVI80_8

Lemon Balm

I have a video up about Lemon Balm. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRzC29mtC8g

Happy Thursday!

I am enjoying a peaceful lunch hour, inside where it's nice and cool. It has been very hot and humid in Kentucky already and it's not even Summer yet! However, it was like this last June then we had the COLDEST July I have ever seen in my life! It was really nice but the trade off seems to be big ice storms in January and I don't want that.

I have officially run out of St. John's Wort oil but I have several of the salves made up. Fear not-my plants have already started blooming so I have more oil going already. It should be ready in 2 weeks and I have until about mid-August to keep harvesting flowers.

I will probably do a video on this wonderful plant and post it this weekend. If you haven't looked at any of my videos you can check me out on youtube. I have a link under my favorites on this blog. Don't forget to subscribe-this is a BUSY BUSY time of the year for the herbalist! I generally don't make an appearance on the videos because I am filming on my cell phone early on Sunday mornings while my neighbors are asleep and I haven't gotten dressed or even brushed my hair yet. I am not used to this but they are getting better. I may also post about echinacea soon because my coneflowers are big and bushy and I am getting TONS of flowers!

I will talk to y'all on youtube on Sunday!

Arnica video

I have a new video on youtube-this time Arnica. I will have more coming over the Summer and Fall. Still to come goldenseal, ginseng, lemon balm, marshmallow, echinacea, roses, peppermint, spearmint, plantain, clary sage, helichrysum, St. john's wort, Yarrow. So stay tuned to learn more about herbs that you can easily grow in yourself and use for natural health and beauty.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_Yjxt4p0DE

Lavender Video

I have a video up about Lavender with a discussion about the essential oil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyscNZcKR1c

New Oils

I have been sick all weekend and still feel a little yucky. I have managed to get a couple oils infusing today since I 'm starting to feel better. First, I am infusing a full quart jar of chamomile oil. I have been selling some cold cream like crazy this week so I have run out of oil. I also harvested some fresh peppermint, rosemary, marjarom and arnica to infuse in olive/sunflower oil to make a nice sportsy massage oil. It should be ready in a couple weeks unless I decide to double infuse it.

Comfrey

I posted a video about comfrey on you tube. Here's the link....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTLR7rjo5Hs

Vital Earth Traditions

You may think I'm crazy to buy products and post a review of a "competitor". The truth is all herbalists have their own style, and even though I could make similar products for myself, it's nice to buy something that was made just for me :).

While reading a review on www.handmadebeautyreview.blogspot.com I decided to check out the website for Vital Earth Traditions (www.vitalearthtraditions.com). The proprietress is a professional massage therapist named Kelly Lynch Ring and she makes a wonderful array of natural herbal/aromatherapy products. I was impressed by the Therapist Sample Pack so I ordered one. I received 4 2 oz bottles of herbal massage lotion (arnica, lavender, chamomile, and unscented), one 2 oz bottle of herbal massage oil, 1/2 ounce jar of peppermint foot cream, a 2 oz jar of herbal muscle and joint cream, a 2 oa jar of herbal massage cream, plus a free bar of her recycle soap. She uses the leftovers from old batches to make these pretty bars that she sends with orders and donates to charity.

I am loving these products. I received my surprisingly heavy box Friday. The first thing I tried was the muscle and joint cream on my legs, which were sore from running around like a maniac for 10 hours at work that day. Boy, did I feel better! On Saturday morning before work I used the foot cream on my feet BEFORE work to get the circulation going. The peppermint is very cooling and stimulating. I have also used the Lavender massage lotion on my neck, the arnica massage lotion, and the herbal massage cream. The massage cream is really nice when you want to work the muscle instead of just applying a product. It has enough slickness, or glide, so your hands move smoothly across the area you're working yet it absorbs well into the skin after you're done.

I stand behind my products 100% but I also highly recommend Kelly's products. It does take a little while to receive your order because she makes everything fresh when orders are received and she is BUSY because her products work!

Infused Herbal Oils

As promised, I will give very basic instructions on how to make an infused herbal oil. These are general guidelines-every herb may be different so do some research or feel free to contact me if you have questions.

If you are trying this for the first time, I strongly suggest you use dried herbs. If you want to gather herbs from the wild or your garden, then lay them out overnight to partially dry (called wilting). This helps to get rid of excess water which may cause mold to form. One exception to this rule is pictured above-St. John's Wort. This is one of the few plants where only fresh material will work. The hypericum diminishes pretty quickly. This is the active healing constituent of the plant and gives the oil its' blood red color.

As for as which oil to use. you want to pick the more stable oils with long shelf lives. Olive oil is usually used but you can also choose coconut oil, sunflower oil, jojoba oil. Fragile oils like grapeseed will not last very long but it would be a nice choice if you intend to use your oil quickly and want a very light, easily absorbed oil.

I use a clean, dry canning jar and fill it with the desired amount of herbs. For comfrey, calendula, and other gentle herbs I usually fill the jar 1/2-2/3 full. For Arnica I use 1 part herb to 5 parts oil-again do your homework on every herb because they are all different. Then I fill the jar to the top with oil. This time of year when it's warm and we have lots of sunlight, I like to set the jar out in the sun during the day and let nature do the work for me. I leave it in the sun for 2 weeks (bring it in the house at night). If I want a really strong oil I will strain out the herbs and infuse it with another fresh batch of herbs for 2 more weeks.

You can also use a double boiler in the house if you want an oil in less time. I use this method in the winter. The key here is to not let the oil get too hot. I make sure the water in the bottom of the double boiler doesn't boil but is at a gentle simmer and I use a kitchen thermometer to monitor the temp of the oil in the top. I like to keep it at about 110 degrees but no more than 120. I try to let it simmer for 45 minutes or an hour then I turn off the heat and move the pan to a cool burner, then I put the lid on the top and let it continue to infuse while it cools. You can always strain and reinfuse with fresh herbs but I think once is enough here.

After my oil is infused and I am ready to bottle it I always double strain it. First I line a wire mesh kitchen strainer with layers of cheescloth and set over top a BIG measuring cup. I pour the herbs and iol into the strainer and let it drip until it won't drip any more. Then I line a funnel with muslin and pour the strained oil through the funnel into a clean amber or cobalt blue bottle. This gets the biggest chunks of herb out.

Make sure you label your bottles with the herb and date you made it. Store them in a cool dry place, away from direct sunlight and it will keep for about a year.

Medicated Oil

I have a small amount of medicated oil back in stock. It is slightly different than the original batch since I was working with all dried herbs. There is no all-heal in it and I added some wood betony. It smells very close to the original and the addition of the wood betony will make it more relaxing.

I will be able to make more very soon as many of my plants are starting to peak above the soil. We are forecast to have warmer temps for the next week-let's hope it stays that way and Spring is finally here! We have been warming up a little but we have had so much snow this year that some of it still hasn't melted! So every now and then you see a batch of snow on the ground while you're driving around.

Man am I ready for Spring!!!!!!!!

Comfrey

It's time for another educational post and I haven't done an herb in ages-so today I will be talking about one of my absolute most favorite herbs ever. Comfrey. As you can see from the pictures I have 2 varieties of Comfrey in my garden. On the right is russian comfrey. The russian variety is the easiest to find and is marketed as true comfrey but it's actually a sterile hybrid. It is good medecine. To the right is the true species of comfrey. It is much larger than the russian, and it produces tons of flowers and seeds. You have to be careful with the seeds. I pull up all the little seedlings I find because once comfrey gets established in a spot it's permanent. It has a very deep root system and if you try to kill it by chopping up the roots, well-lets say you'll have an ugly surprise because all the pieces of chopped up root will make a new plant. It's best to choose your spot very carefully if you put in comfrey. If you don't want the seeds to spread you can just remove the flowers as they appear.

Comfrey is one of my "miracle" herbs. I say that because the healing powers of this plant are just hard to believe. It will completely close wounds overnight. I always recommend caution with comfrey on an open wound because it will seal in infection or debris. It contains a substance called allantoin (also present in plantain). which is a cell proliferant. This explains the healing power. Comfrey will strengthen any body tissue it's used on. It has been used to treat broken bones and I have had miraculous results using comfrey on tendonitis. It's also wonder ful for sore muscles, sprains, bruises, to strengthen the skin, and to alleviate eczema and psoriasis. There is a great controvesy over the internal use of comfrey because of the (potential) presents of dangerous alkaloids that have been alleged to have caused liver damage. This is based on about 5 cases (in hundreds of years of use) and at least 2 of the people involved were taking enormous amounts of powdered comfrey in capsules. My opinion is that you should do your research and decide for your self. If I had a broken bone I would drink comfrey tea every day. But with people who have comprimised livers, I wouldn't risk it.

Another cool thing about comfrey is that makes great food for other plants. If you can't decide what to do with your comfrey, try making a tea with it and use it to water your other plants.

On a later post I will teach you how to make an herbal oil.

I do read comments so if you have questions you can just post it as a comment.

Infused oils and the Joys of Customs

Today is my youngest nephew's birthday and the Feast Day of John the Baptist. USUALLY, on June 24th I know I can start harvesting my flowers from my St John's Wort. This year the harvest has come early, probably because we have had tons of rain this year. So, as you can see, I already have 2 jars of oil going. The large jar on the left I started right before I took the picture and the smaller jar I started a week ago. You can tell the oil is changing colors already. But I still have at least 3 more weeks to go before it's ready. This is one oil that I make sure I always have on hand. It is nothing short of miraculous on burns, inflammed muscles, cuts, and to repair damaged nerves. I always include it in sports rubs to help heal sore muscles.

I had gift certificates for my hyena cart store in the June spotted box. I had a customer email me about my body balm she wanted to try but she said she is not crazy about essential oils except for peppermint. So I told her I could do that for her, and she emailed me back and said she would like a citrus mint if I could do that. So I was kinda nervous and excited at the same time. I pulled my bag of citrus oils out of the fridge and started smelling them, smelling the peppermint and playing with a blend. I decided on peppermint with a little bergamot, lemon, and steam distilled lime. Well, I got an email from her yesterday after she received it and she is absolutely in love and wants more plus a cream with the same blend. She said she wanted to swim in it! This is why I love doing custom orders. It gives me a chance to get to know people, use my imagination, and hopefully make a customer incredibly happy. The feedback she left me was awesome-I couldn't have made up better feedback myself.

I have decided to keep up the monthly giveaways. I haven't decided if July's will end early or late since I will be out of town at the end of the month on vacation. I will let everyone know later.