Y’all know I try to stay positive in my practice and communications. But I can’t ignore the fact that the world political situation is full of uncertainty right now. You can argue (somewhere else, please) about who’s to blame, but the fact is that something like 40% of the world’s fuel and fertilizer are not able to be shipped right now. This is raising concerns about the availability of food in the coming year.
I am offering a series of gardening workshops this year, and on April 19th at 2pm, the topic will be Grocery Gardening. If you are feeling the need to “garden like it matters” this year, this is the workshop for you. I’ll cut the fluff and get right to the heart of what it takes to grow (and store) a lot of food, fast.
What you can reasonably expect to grow and how much space you’ll need
High-yield vegetables
Getting garden-able soil fast
Modular garden plan with plant lists, varieties, and equipment needed
I will also be offering a mini-version of this workshop online soon.
Note that I garden in southern Michigan, in USDA zone 5b-6a, so this will be most applicable to similar areas. If you live in a very hot area, some of the generalities may be helpful, but you’ll want to seek out local advice for dealing with summer heat and overwintering crops.
I’ve designed my Flu, Flu+, and Viral Exposure herb kits to be super simple to assemble at home. You’ll need:
The herb kit of your choice (80 grams of dried herbs)
400 mL (about 1 3/4 cups) of alcohol (80 to 100 proof or 40-50% ABV – I like 100 proof spiced rum for these)
A 16oz jar with a tight lid, like a pint canning jar
A strainer
If you’re using a pint (16oz) jar, put in the herbs and fill the jar to the neck with alcohol.
I’ve sized the herb kits so you don’t even need to measure the alcohol. Just put the herbs in a pint canning jar and add enough alcohol to top up the jar. If you want to be more precise, measure 400mL of alcohol to go with the 80g of herbs in the pack.
Label your lid clearly with:
What formula this is (e.g., Flu+)
The alcohol you used
The date you assembled it (i.e., today’s date)
The date you should strain it (about six weeks from today)
Then just set it in a cool, dark place for at least four and ideally six weeks. Shake it every couple of days, especially for the first couple weeks.
Note: if the herbs soak up all the alcohol in the first couple days and look like damp coffee grounds instead of herbs floating in liquid, transfer everything to a larger jar and add another 100 mL of alcohol. (The very first packs I made had 100g of herbs instead of 80g and need extra alcohol.)
Here’s a slightly more involved video showing all the steps. I used a larger jar and measured out the exact amount of alcohol for this version.
Straining your tincture
After 4-6 weeks, you can strain your tincture into a clean bottle so it’s ready for use. It’s ok if it sits for more than 6 weeks as long as it isn’t showing any signs of spoiling (which would be really rare for something made with dry herbs and covered in alcohol).
In the video below, I’ll show you how to strain your tincture and “wash” the leftover herbs (the “marc”) to get all the goodies out without diluting the final tincture too much. It also describes what to do if your tincture looks dry, instead of like herbs floating in liquid.
If you’re curious about what happens if you wash the herbs a second time, here’s an image showing the first washing (left) with the second washing (right). You can see that the tincture is getting diluted. I would go ahead and mix this half-cup of “second wash” into the main jar, but at this point I’d compost the marc.
Finished tincture (left) and the diluted “second washing” (right)
How much should I take?
I follow the standard tincture dosages suggested by Thomas Easley and Steven Horne in their absolutely fabulous (and 0% AI-generated) book The Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine-Making Guide. Take 1-2 dropperfuls (30-60 drops = 1-2 mL) every hour for the first day; then you should be feeling somewhat better. Continue with 1-2 dropperfuls every 2-4 hours for the next couple days as needed. You can also take 1 tsp. every 3-6 hours (6 tsp/day max), if that’s more convenient. You can add the tinctures to a small amount of water, tea, or juice to improve the taste. You could also add honey to the tinctures, but do use the higher doses then to account for the dilution of the honey.
Note: The Viral Exposure herbs contain echinacea, which works on contact with viruses in your throat. It’s important to let it trickle down your throat slowly to extend the time it’s in contact with your throat.
Thank you to the 15+ people who attended the Gentle Seated Yoga class today! It made my day to see so many of you there.
I was able to record and edit the session – see below. I’m making this one free to download, so you can have it locally on your device and re-watch as often as you like. I apologized that it doesn’t have captions – hopefully following along visually gives you the gist.
You can do this session from the floor or in a chair!
I’m hosting a free, SUPER GENTLE yoga class 2pm US Eastern Time (UTC-5) New Year’s Day! Suitable for any body that can sit in a chair for 30 mins without feeling dizzy. Come join me for half an hour of seated stretches and expansive breathing to start of the year with a few minutes of calm and flexibility. 2024 is going to need it…
I spent a lot of 2023 wondering what direction(s) I wanted to go with Fenhaven Wellness. I dedicated time to Fenhaven in a way I’d never done before – half of my working hours or more starting in mid-September. I consulted marketing experts, got a new logo that I LOVE, and made a few starts at blogging, videos, and Instagram, which didn’t really “take.” I attended the Great Lakes Herb Faire to get a sense what ways people weave herbs into their lives. I started seeing new bodywork clients again, and found I’d really missed hands-on healing. Almost reflexively, I planted herbs – and what what seemed like an extraordinary amount in April now looks like a tiny patch to me!
The 2023 herb garden. Clockwise from the big leaves at 1 o’clock: elecampane, tulsi, lemon verbena, scallions, skullcap, calendula, hibiscus, anise hyssop, plus more things hiding from view!
Another key moment of ’23 was releasing myself from the thought that I should – or even want – to make my living solely with my wellness business. I like my “day job,” and it gives me many useful things: financial security, colleagues I like, a different flavor of job challenges, and external direction. (Self-employment can be very tiring when you have to come up with “what should I be doing today?” as well as doing the work!)
When I let go of trying to “grow my business,” several things happened. I started doing what sounded fun, instead of doing what marketing folks told me I should be doing. And by following fun, I fell in love with making tea.
Festive Digestive tea steeping with a view of the fen
As you’ve probably noticed, teamaking totally took over my brain, my heart, and my hands in the last quarter of the year. I haven’t had that much fun with plants in years. It’s just so freaking satisfying to put together a tea that is tasty and functional and then share it with others. Tea Club has been an absolute blast the last few months! I put together holiday gift boxes, and I have thoughts for two new ones (one for when you have The Crud and one for people dealing with grief). The spate of strictly tea-related ideas is slowing down, so I wonder if the honeymoon of teamaking might be passing now – or I might just be tired from/of pushing the commercial side through the holidays. In 2024, I know I’ll be exploring what my tea interest wants to mature into.
Gorgeous deep color, thanks to a boatload of turmeric!
I also started having more ideas of things to do in the wellness realm. Savory Better Broth (one of my favorite herbal blends) was a small step from teamaking. Sourcing large quantities of local herbs has me thinking about collaborations with local farmers and cafes. Conversations with friends and my own bodyworkers has me thinking about hosting my own super-gentle somatic yoga class online. And my interest has rekindled in developing a “resilience curriculum” around skills for food/health/mental health/community that would be a self-paced exploration for adults and teens (especially homeshoolers).
So there’s a bit about my thoughts as 2024 approaches. Now, your turn!
