GRATITUDE2017: 25% off SALE at Homestead Herbals this month

We are offering a special sale at Homestead Herbals this month, in gratitude for the support we have seen from our friends, family and customers this year.  Thank you for supporting the work of Little City Farm and our herbal project Homestead Herbals (where we make natural soaps, herbal remedies, salves, bitters and more using organic and wild-harvested herbs, many from our own property!)

We are offering 25% off everything in the Homestead Herbals shop, until December 23!  This sale applies to Canadian customers only (sorry, right now we are only able to ship in Canada).

Use the coupon code: GRATITUDE2017
to receive 25% off your entire purchase
(AND for local orders we will refund you shipping charges if you wish to pick up in person)!

This is the time to stock up on our popular calendula salve, calendula soap, post-partum bath herbs, baby bath herbs, healing balms, and other natural soaps.  Also, in our shop you'll find new varieties of soaps, new salves, elderberry syrup, elixirs, herbal chai blend, unscented herbal deodorants, herbal first aid kits, digestive bitters, shrubs (sipping vinegars), tea blends, and more!

Whole Plant Echinacea Tincture

For the past few weeks I have been in awe of the bees in our garden.  The flowers are at their peak, and bees are simply everywhere, bees of every description.  We have seen mason bees, sweat bees, bumble bees, small wild bees, honeybees, squash bees, and many more varieties that I am not yet familiar with.  It feels good to be able to provide this host site for so many foragers, and see them buzzing around with gorgeous pollen on their legs!  Did you know that some bees, such as bumble bees and honeybees, have pollen "baskets", or corbicula, on their hind legs to carry the pollen back to the hive?  You can spot it when the baskets are full, sometimes with yellow, blue, purple or pink pollen, depending what flowers they have been visiting.  Amazing!

When making my whole plant echinacea tincture, it was a beautiful start to see the bees covering the echinacea patch when I went to harvest my flowers and leaves.  I knew this was going to be a potent tincture, ready in time for our family to use this winter.  Just look at the rich yellow pollen in that first photo of the echinacea flower.

How & why to make a whole plant tincture?
Tinctures are plant extracts, commonly made of leaves, flowers, roots or berries, steeping in food grade alcohol such as vodka or brandy.  Raw apple cider vinegar can also be used, but does not provide as long a shelf life for the tincture as the alcohol.  An alcohol tincture, if properly prepared and stored, can keep for many years.

Traditionally tinctures are made by steeping the fresh or dried plant material in a clean glass mason jar, covered by at least 1-2 inches of liquid (aka. the "menstruum") so that the plant material stays submerged at all times during the steeping period.  Steeping, or infusing, takes a minimum of 2 weeks, and better yet upto 6-8 weeks.  Then the plant material is strained, and the liquid reserved - that is now your finished tincture.  Bottle (ideally in a dark glass bottle), label, and store in a cool dark location until time of use.  Tinctures are taken by the droperful, in a glass of water.  They are ideal for preserving herbs such as echinacea, which can be used for boosting the immune system and warding off winter colds and flu.

Whole plant tinctures are ones made with not only one part of the plant (e.g. the leaves, or the flowers, or the roots), but the entire plant.  They create the most potent tinctures available, as they make use of all aspects of the plant's medicinal qualities.  The various parts are harvested for the tincture throughout the growing season, when they are at their peak, and then discarded after the infusing period is finished.  For example, the leaves are harvested just before flowers are budding on the plant.  Then the leaves are strained out of the tincture, and the flowers are added just as they have opened.  Then the flowers are strained out of the tincture after they have infused for the necessary period, and next the echinacea roots added.  Roots are usually harvested in the fall, after the flowers of the plant have died back.  So for making this whole plant tincture, echinacea is the perfect plant to experiment with and makes a potent tincture every time.  It takes some attention to make a whole plant tincture, as you need to follow the process throughout the growing season, but the effort is well worth the finished result.

Whole Plant Echinacea Tincture*
Yields: aprox. 6-8 ounces of finished tincture

You will need:
1 clean glass mason jar (250 ml) and lid
fresh echinacea leaves (handful, chopped)
fresh echinacea flowers (3-4 flower heads, whole)
fresh echinacea roots (handful, chopped)
vodka or brandy (food grade)

Method:
1) Fill jar with fresh echinacea leaves that are harvested from the plants before the flowers have formed.
2) Add vodka to within 1-2 inches above the plant material.  Make sure plant material is covered completely by alcohol through the whole steeping time.  This is important, otherwise you risk mold growing and ruining your tincture.
3) Label the jar with ingredients, location of harvest, date.
3) Let steep in a cool dark location for at least 2 weeks, preferable 4-6 weeks.
4) Then strain out the leaves, reserve the liquid.
5) Add echinacea flowers, just as the flowers are fully opening.  Again, cover with at least 1-2 inches of vodka.  Steep as before.
6) Strain out the flowers, and reserve the liquid.
7) Finally, add chopped up fresh echinacea roots, that are harvested after the flowers have died back from the plants in the fall.  Use roots from plants that are at least 3 years old.
8) Steep again, covered by at least 1-2 inches of vodka, for at least 2 weeks.
9) Then strain out the roots, and reserve the liquid.
10) Bottle into dark glass bottles with tight fitting lids.  Label and date.  Store in a cool, dark location until time of use.  This tincture should keep for at least 1-2 years if prepared and stored properly.

* a little tip, to make the most potent tincture, always harvest from several of the most healthy looking plants in your garden, rather than from one plant only, and infuse with love and good intention

Practical Home Herbalist wrap-up

A few weeks ago we had our last session of the 4-part Practical Home Herbalist series.  For this spring series, we had  a great time meeting with 10 wonderful participants, to learn about home herbalism in a hands-on small-group learning environment right here at Little City Farm.  Each class we tried to use herbs from the garden, or wildharvest from nearby, then turn these seasonal herbs into remedies to last all year round (salves, tinctures, syrups, infusions, decoctions, sprays, liniments, and more).

For our last session we tackled remedies for winter care, including making tinctures and glycerites, elderberry syrup and throat lozenges (pastilles).  To end the final session of the Practical Home Herbalist we always share a potluck lunch, with a beautiful spread of herbal-inspired goodies featuring herbs we talked about in the classes.  This time participants made dandelion pesto, lavender-infused cupcakes, nettle dukkah, lemon-thyme scones, mint-chocolate flourless cake, nettle-kopita...mmmmm!  Thanks to all of you who participated in this spring series, and thanks to Natalie Nunn for the amazing photography.

FALL 2017 SERIES - PRACTICAL HOME HERBALIST: For those who want to learn more or enroll in our upcoming Fall series of the Practical Home Herbalist please visit the Little City Farm website here.  There is limited space as we want to keep this a small-group learning environment.

Wild Violet Syrup Making - a spring ritual

Making violet syrup with wild flowers is our favourite spring ritual.  We've been doing this for a few years now, usually in mid to end of April when the violets are in full bloom and ready to be picked.  They are abundant, so there is no great worry about overharvesting, though care should still be taken when wildharvesting so that we leave enough to be enjoyed in another year. 

Here is our recipe for Wild Violet Syrup!  When it's made with sugar the syrup turns a bright light pink colour - but honey does not give it this colour (though the honey version is much healthier and also just as delicious).   We serve our syrup with sparkling water as a refreshing floral spring tonic.

How to make Violet Syrup
You will need:
4 cups fresh violet flowers (not washed)
4 cups water that has just boiled
2-4 cups sugar (or honey)
8 Tbsp lemon juice

1) Place fresh violet flowers into a glass jar or measuring cup.  Cover with water that has just boiled, and place a lid or plate on top.  Steep this infusion for 24 hours (covered).

2) After 24 hours, strain the infusion.  Compost flowers, reserve the infused water.

3) Put infusion into a stainless steel pot, add sugar and lemon and bring to a boil.  Then turn down heat and simmer until sugar (or honey) is dissolved and syrup starts to thicken.  Stir constantly until syrup coats the back of the wooden spoon.  This can take from 15-30 min depending on how thick you want your syrup to be.

4) Bottle in glass jars, cap and store in the fridge.  Keeps 3 months in fridge.

5) To use:  add about 1/4 cup syrup to a glass, top with sparkling water and add fruit or ice cubes.  This is a delicious sweet and refreshing tonic to lighten your heart and put a spring in your step.

Rose Water - with local organic roses

We got a bouquet of lovely deeply scented roses from our local organic fruit & flower buying club (check out The Good Peach if you live in our area!).  We don't usually buy cut flowers, for many reasons - they are expensive, they are usually not organic and fair traded, and we grow many flowers in our own garden to supply summer bouquets. 

However, these roses were gorgeous and from a local organic farm, so to have them in vases around the house during a birthday week was a treat.  But once the blooms were open it seemed a shame to simply compost these blossoms, which were still incredibly vibrant in colour and scent.  I separated all the petals and dried them on old window screens.  Then steeped them in witch hazel to make a rose water, to be used as rose water toner or added into a facial lotion.   After only a day the witch hazel was already glowing with a vibrant deep pink colour.  Simple, lovely, great way to quickly preserve roses before they neared their end.

I large bouquet (12 roses) made 1 full litre of rose water.

Rose water is a beneficial facial cleanse and skin toner that has been used for centuries.  Rose water has anti-inflammatory properties, aids in healing skin irritations, eczema, dermatitis, hydrates dry skin and also tones oily skin, helps reduce the signs of aging on the skin, and so much more.  It also helps with gently healing cuts, scrapes, scars and scratches.  It's cooling on a hot day as a facial mist and leaves you feeling refreshed.  Rose water is so simple to make and great for any skin type.

Making Rose Water

You will need:
1 litre mason jar, lid and ring
1 dozen fresh roses
witch hazel (1 litre)

1) Separate rose petals from the stalks (ideally when flower blooms have just opened).  Let wilt or dry slightly. 
2) Gently pack into clean mason jar, cover with witch hazel by about 1-2 inches.
3) Shake jar gently to infuse and distribute.  Add more witch hazel as needed to cover petals.
4) Let stand on kitchen counter (out of direct sunlight) for at least 2 weeks.  Shake jar every few days.
5) When infused, strain witch hazel and compost flowers.
6) Store in dark glass bottle with mister top (to use as rose water).  Or add rose water to lotions.
7) Keeps indefinitely.  Label your jars FOR EXTERNAL USE ONLY.

Herbal oils (solar infusion) Summer Medicine Making

These gorgeous medicinal herbal oils have been infusing for just over a month.  Instead of infusing them in our sunny kitchen window as usual, I decided to set them into the sunny greenhouse and see what the difference would be.  Such incredibly vibrant colours!  Luscious vibrant oils, making potent medicine here.  Pictured are calendula (orange oil), mullein flowers (yellow oil), and st johns wort (the red oil).

Solar Herbal Oil - Medicine Making Method
You will need:

• clean glass mason jar with lid and ring
• herbal flowers (organic dried, or freshly picked but slightly wilted) to fill jar by half
• olive oil to cover flowers by 1-2 inches

1) Place flowers in clean mason jar.  Fill jar about half way full.  If using fresh flowers, let wilt slightly first.
2) Cover flowers with olive oil by about 1-2 inches.  Let oil settle, then top up as needed.  Flowers need to be covered to avoid mold growth during steeping time.
3) Shake jar gently to disperse oil throughout flowers, and dislodge any air pockets.
4) Set on a tray (to catch oil drips) and into sunny window.
5) Let infuse for at least 4 weeks.  Shake jar every few days so herbs don't settle on the bottom.
6) When infused, oil should be a rich vibrant colour.  Strain oil, compost herbs.
7) Store finished oil in dark glass bottles in a closed cupboard (cool, dry dark location).
8) Use in making herbal massage oils or medicinal salves.

Practical Herbalist series - session 2

Last week we had our second gathering here with our current Practical Herbalist students.  The theme this month was summer blossoms, and it was a chance to work with flowers as our healing allies.

In the first session the students were introduced to methods of ethical wild harvesting, basic plant identification, and making herbal infusions, herbal oils and herbal salves.  This month we worked on several new methods for extracting herbal properties - including using witch hazel in a liniment, and making first aid poultices. We shared a delicious Summer Blossom tea (see recipe below), then made sore muscle liniment (using arnica blossoms), and healing oil (with lavender blossoms).  Together the students made plantain salve using the oil that had been steeping since the end of June. 

We also talked about various other methods for preserving herbal flowers, which each have their place depending on intended final product, use and length of storage:
- drying (e.g. lavender), to use in oil or water infusions at a later time
- honeys (e.g. chamomile), can be added later into infusions, foods, cough syrups, etc
- pestos (e.g. basil flowers, oregano or mint flowers) - for eating food as medicine
- candied (e.g. violet petals) - this only has a few weeks shelf life
- carrier oils (e.g. red clover, mullein, st johns wort flowers) to use in massage or salves
- alcohol tincturing (e.g. calendula flowers - where alcohol extracts the resins well)
- liniments (e.g. arnica blossoms) using witch hazel or rubbing alcohol (for external use only!)
- flower essences (e.g. feverfew, rose, comfrey flowers) - very subtle extraction of the vibration and essence of the flowers
- hydrosols (e.g. lavender) using a distillation method

The day also included flower herb mandalas to inspire us and remember the beauty, grace and spiritual element of our herbal allies.

Summer Blossoms Tea
1 handful fresh calendula blossoms (1 part)
1/4 handful fresh lavender (1/4 part)
2 handfuls fresh chamomile (2 parts)

1) Place flowers into a large tea pot or 1 gallon heat proof mason jar.
2) Cover with water that has just boiled, and fill the jar/tea pot with water.
3) Let steep for at least 20 minutes.  Longer steeping time extracts more goodness from the herbs.
4) Add honey or maple syrup to sweeten if you like.

Practical Herbalist series - session 1

The first of this season's 4-part Practical Herbalist workshop series brought 14 eager participants to us today.  Over the course of 4 months (June-Sept) we are meeting one Saturday morning per month as a group. 

The goals are to provide hands-on practical experience in herbal medicine making, including harvesting and using leaves, berries, flowers, roots, bark, seeds (each as they come into their prime in the Little City Farm garden); wild-harvesting plants with the emphasis on local nutrient-dense "superfood" wild plants to be used as both food and medicine; and also helping each participant to develop a deeper relationship to medicinal plants while learning in the simpler tradition (i.e. building a relationship with plants that is hands-on, locally focused, creating simple remedies made by hand together). 

There is "homework" to be done each month between get-togethers, so that participants have the chance to practice what was talked about during the session; and also herb journals/or herbariums to work on - we will be covering 22 locally available plants so the hope is that each participant will have a good working knowledge of how to best prepare these plants for use, and how to use safely and effectively in their home for first aid and general minor ailments. 

It's a lot to pack into four short sessions, but with the month time between each workshop the participants can work as extensively as they are interested or able, to further their knowledge as we go along.  My role is facilitator and guide, helping as they develop their own personal path for herbalism.  I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with such a wonderful and interesting group of participants in this way over the summer.

Today we worked with peppermint, lemon balm, nettle, red raspberry leaf, and plantain (Plantago major)- harvesting and processing these plants to make a plantain solar-infused oil; and a solar-infused sun tea (equal parts nettle, red rasp leaf, peppermint and lemon balm).  We also made a delicious nutrient-dense green smoothie with plantain, mint and lemon balm.  I especially love using locally wild-harvested herbs as food, (i.e. free "food as medicine").  Plantain is high in B vitamins, protein, Vit C and Vit K, and fatty acids.

Plantain Nutrient-Dense Green Smoothie
(adapted from a recipe by Rosemary Gladstar)

You will need:
2 cups pineapple or pear juice, organic and/or fresh
1 large handfuls of fresh plantain leaves *
small handful fresh peppermint leaves (a few sprigs)
small handful fresh lemon balm leaves (a few sprigs)
1 banana
3-4 icecubes
water to adjust consistency

* fresh plantain can be interchanged with other fresh nutrient-rich herbs like red clover, or red raspberry leaf

Method:
1) Blend everything in a blender until smooth.  Stir to mix in the foam which will form on top (delicious!).
2) Drink iced, immediately.
3) Very refreshing on a hot day!
4) Serves 6-8 people.