New Membership Area!

I believe that every household should have a well stocked medicine cabinet including homeopathy, supplements and herbs. My goal with this group is to educate people in which plants, foods, herbs and “weeds” can be a welcome addition to that medicinal cabinet.

We will look at how to use all of these plants and foods to help support the body’s natural healing processes, to support the body during acute illness and be part of a preventative health care plan.

We look at common foods such as:

• lemons

• garlic, onions, ginger

• fermented foods and drinks

• broths, soups

• honey

• olive oil, vinegars

• common culinary herbs like sage, basil, rosemary, parsley, thyme, etc.

• and much more

We will look at how to safely use common “weeds” like:

• calendula

• plantain

• chickweed

• lambsquarters

• stinging nettle

• clover

• yarrow

• goldenrod

• and much more

We will also look at plants you can forage, such as common tree parts- flowers, leaves, buds, sap and pollen.

You will be able to get a lot out of this group with minimal essential equipment. There’s always the option to acquire much more, but start with what you have and add to it slowly as you become more aware of the production that you want to make.

What you’ll need:

• Jars! lots of them, all sizes- this is where hoarding jars begins! Jars for storing herbs, for making concoctions in

• a saucepan or double boiler

• heat safe glass dish, measuring cups or a double boiler

• oil of choice for making oil infusions- olive oil, grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, etc. We will discuss which oils are best for which applications, so you don’t need to buy this before we begin

• 40-50% alcohol (80-100 proof) like vodka- which has no flavour or other alcohols like rum or brandy for other tinctures. We will discuss which solvents are best for which plants in the group.

• scissors or a knife

• Something for straining plant matter: cheesecloth, thin fabric, sieve, strainers, etc.

• somewhere to dry herbs- a basket, a cooling rack, some string to tie bundles if you want to hang herbs to dry

Other tools that may be useful:

• stand mixer or hand mixer for making skin care products

• lots of bowels, stainless steel or glass

• something to crush herbs with- mortar and pestle, mallet, hammer, rolling pin, your hands

• essential oils of your choice

• witch hazel, various vinegars

• a variety of oils and butters like shea, cocoa, jojoba, apricot, rosehip

• beeswax

• vitamin E oil (as a perseverative)

This group will start in May and run through October or November with lots of short videos, some informative posts, lots of pictures and resources as we go through my processes for growing, harvesting, foraging, identifying various herbs, weeds and other plants to use for your home natural health products. Posts will be made often but not on a specific schedule as this is seasonal work. I work with plants as they are available during the season and will also do demonstrations using previous years stores to give you more ideas of how to use the plants.

I will walk you through the process of preserving through drying, making emulsions, tinctures, teas, skin balms, bath products and other items through videos and photos.

I will share my favourite resources for supplies, books and online resources so that you will confident in building your own natural health supplies.

I will show you how to make a Materia Medica (collection of information about each plant, how to identify it, when to harvest it, how to use it and which parts of the body it works well on) and share a few pages of my personal one.

We will focus on plants native to central Saskatchewan, ones that are easy to grow, easy to use and readily available. We will discuss common and unusual uses for the plants.

I will be sharing some of my favourite recipes and methods for making natural health care products such as skin care products, teas, salves, compresses, inhalations and other home remedies.

We will discuss safety, precautions and responsible foraging.

By the end of this group session you should feel comfortable enough to make your own medicinal herbal teas, tinctures, salves and other skin care products for your own personal use.

This members area section and the Facebook group will be active only until the end of the year. That means that I will no longer answer questions and post new information after that. You will still be able to access all the information, but not able to post new questions. The Members area of the website will be accessible up to December 2024. That way you can revisit the information as often as you like. You can join anytime during this time period, but to get the most out of it, to be able to ask questions and interact, I do recommend signing up early.

*The information provided is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice.