Self-Sufficient Herbalism. Lucy Jones

      

      SELF-SUFFICIENT

      HERBALISM

      A Guide to Growing and Wild Harvesting Your Herbal Dispensary

      Lucy Jones

      First published in 2020 by

      Aeon Books Ltd

      PO Box 76401

      London

      W5 9RG

      Copyright © 2020 by Lucy Jones

      The right of Lucy Jones to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with §§ 77 and 78 of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988.

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

       British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

      A C.I.P. for this book is available from the British Library

      ISBN: 978–1–91280–705–5

      Printed in Great Britain

       www.aeonbooks.co.uk

      Contents

       Acknowledgements

       INTRODUCTION

       PART ONE:WHY SELF-SUFFICIENCY?

       1Environmental benefits

       2Quality of plant medicines

       3Connection with plants

       4Continuity of supply

       5Favourable business model

       PART TWO:HOW TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT

       6Wildcrafting

       7Planning your herb garden

       8Cultivation and growing

       9Harvesting

       10Drying

       11Storage

       12Processing

       CONCLUSION

       THE HERBAL HARVESTING YEAR

       Calendar for 108 herbs

       Early spring

       Mid- to late spring

       Early summer

       Mid-summer

       Late summer

       Autumn

       Winter

       END NOTE

       Index of herbs

      Acknowledgements

      With deep gratitude to Chöjé Akong Tulku Rinpoché for his consistent encouragement and for showing me the true meaning of being a healer.

      With humble thanks to my Tibetan teachers, Khenpo Troru Tsenam, Sonam Chimé, and Thubten Phuntsok, who overcame significant obstacles and travelled many miles in order to bring the very precious Tibetan medicine teachings and lineage to our little group of Western students. This teaching was truly life-changing, and its benefits continue to radiate out far beyond our own personal horizons.

      I am also greatly indebted to my Western herbal medicine teachers, especially Edith Barlow, Barbara Howe, and Ifanca James, without whom I would not have been able to tread this path. Edith, in particular, has been a very great support to me throughout my time in herbal practice. I am enormously grateful to her for generously sharing her knowledge and experience.

      I am very fortunate to have had so much help and support from the wonderful team at Aeon Books. Without them I could not have brought my thoughts and experience into a form that could be shared with so many others.

      With much love and appreciation to my husband, Mark, and my children, Andrew and Bex, who have supported me throughout this herbal journey and have never once questioned my calling.

      I am truly blessed.

      INTRODUCTION

      This is a guide to being more self-sufficient in your herbal practice. I have been in practice since 2006, and I have always felt that to grow and gather my own herbal dispensary is one of the most wonderful aspects of being a medical herbalist. It connects me with the plants that I work with, the ancient traditions that I come from, and the land where I am settled. It grounds and nourishes me. It provides balance to the demands and challenges that I face while carrying out patient consultations. I thoroughly recommend it.

      Whether you are an established practitioner with a full patient list, newly qualified, someone who uses herbs at home to treat family members, or a small-scale herbal processor, you will find that this book offers a clear and practical guide to being more self-sufficient in terms of your herbal dispensary. Over the years I've learnt such a lot. Sometimes the learning was joyous and smooth, at other times it was the result of mistakes that seemed like frustrating obstacles at the time, but I know that the mistakes that I made have helped me to learn how to do things better. Much better, in fact. I want to share all of this hard-won knowledge with you. Within these pages I have included down-to-earth, practical guidance about