Sweet Herb Medicinals, LLC

Monthly Farm update #3, Spring 2013

Herbal CSA Newsletter

June

Homegrown
We are always striving to grow flowers, herbs, and produce that are superb in taste. Always using and picking the goods at the peak oft the season.

Quality
The herbals you receive in your monthly share have been lovingly prepared with the most supreme ingredients.

Style
Awareness or delicate perception, especially of aesthetic qualities. We love the hand-made look and feel of our herbals & hope you have too!

Let them eat cake or flowers, herbs and sweet garden harvest!
The spring season has blessed our garden and us with abundance. We continue to feel grateful, humbled and joy-filled as we create these herbals.
Our cherry picking was a family activity that everyone had great fun doing together. I think this may be partly why the cherry jam turned out SO delicious. We used black tartarian cherries, which are very deep, ruby red and taste so very sweet. In sort of following a recipe, I realized that I am continually finding myself using WAY less sugar than called for. The cherry jam you find in your CSA share was combined using local honey, agave nectar and less than the called-for sugar. Enjoy it on everything! Just RELAX! And when doing so, take a bath and use these very silky, nottoo-drying bath salts to help ease the soreness of an aching body, a buzzfilled mind, or all the beautiful chaos that might be in your life. Using freshly harvesting catnip, we combined the glorious pink Himalayan salts to make that sweet, oh-so Spring-like purple and pink must have. Chamomile essential oil is excellent for the nervous system as well as the gastrointestinal system as it can be quite bitter. Calming all around.

Sweet Herb Medicinals, LLC

Monthly Farm update #3, Spring 2013

If you listen, they will teach you. - United Plant Savers

Antibiotic Salve: We have combined a few of our favorite powerhouse herbs including comfrey, plantain and goldenseal along with a couple of essential oils to create this supremely healing ointment. It is packed with a punch to really fight whatever funky stuff may be ailing your skin. Because it can heal so rapidly with the fresh harvested comfrey leaf, be sure that you do not apply to a severely deep wound, as it may seal the skin before the wound has completely healed internally. You will also want to be sure the wound is completely clean before applying the antibiotic salve. Even though our standard salve receives rave reviews and provides a small challenge in keeping it on the shelf, I wanted to provide a salve that could help those nasty little (or, not-so-little) skin problems and grimy skin irritations. So, do not hesitate to slather it on your dog, cat, or human friends you know who may need this extra bit of good, healing, fast acting balm. Because Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) is on the endangered species at-risk list, we are sure to only use organically culitvated varieties. Our garden does not have old enough root to harvest yet, but one day, it will, for sure! Feverfew: Tanacetum parthenium such a sweet daisy-like blossom that contains a multitude of flowers on each stem. It makes you smile because it just seems so content and cheerful. It is a fragrant, ornamental plant that has traditionally been used to treat migraine headaches. However, if one is prone to migraines, feverfew works best by helping prevent or at initial onset of migraine. Feverfew can also be used for reducing fever, infertility, irregular menses, anemia, earache, cancer, muscular tension, and stabilization of the equilibrium. It truly has a host of benefits, and I feel this is an important herbal to have in ones arsenal. Lastly, it is easy to grow, can be found all over town and in many old-timer gardens. Grow some of your own and enjoy the physical connection with this beautiful flowering herb, feverfew.
You will find that in our final share for the Spring season, I have included a little something extra special from the garden. The lavender sache can be used many ways. You can use (and re-use) it as a dryer bag. You may also draw a nice bath and infuse yourself and your bathroom with the lovely aroma then use as a loofah to exfoliate. Perhaps place it in a clothing drawer or hang it in the closet. Endless opportunities

Basketful of freshly harvested cilantro, squash blossoms, nasturtiums, and calendula flowers. Our version of an authentic South American marinade, we have created a very fresh, pesto-like, twist on the age-old parsley chimichurri. The label says it all, but if you would like to make a fresh batch of your own, this is what you will need. Enjoy! 2 cups fresh cilantro (&/or parsley) 3-6 cloves garlic 2 Tablespoons chopped onion cup olive oil 2 Tablespoons red wine (optional) 1 Tablespoon lime juice (optional) Kosher salt & red pepper flakes to taste per batch, add a few nasturtium and calendula blossoms and 1 fat squash blossom. Pulse onion & garlic first, then add all the greens & flowers last add spices & liquid.