Self-Sufficient Herbalism. Lucy Jones

I have first-hand experience of this from my time spent running a small sheep dairy farm in North East Scotland.

      

      Nowadays I no longer need to make hay, but I do need to provide the best possible quality and the most effective herbal medicines for my patients. The principle is the same. The time lapse between cutting and drying makes a huge difference to quality, as do the many ways that plants are handled and treated during processing and storage.

      Let me give you a couple of specific herbal examples to illustrate the difference in quality between home-grown or wild-harvested herbs and those that have been mass-produced. When I first started on the road to self-sufficient herbalism, I noticed significant differences in scent and efficacy between batches of Cramp Bark or Guelder Rose (Viburnum opulus) that I had wildcrafted compared to batches that had been purchased from herbal wholesalers. Cramp Bark should ideally be harvested in early spring, just before the buds burst. As its name suggests, it is the bark that is used for medicine since it contains the highest concentration of medicinal constituents such as valerenic acid. In early spring, the potency of the medicine is at its peak, and the bark is much easier to strip away from the stems. The Cramp Bark that I gather consists of pure bark. It is fragrant and musky, smelling slightly of Valerian due to the valerenic acid present. It consistently works quickly and effectively when I use it to treat patients. Once, when I purchased a batch of Cramp Bark from a large-scale wholesaler, I was shocked to see that it consisted not just of bark but of small bark-covered branches that had been chipped. The bought-in batch looked totally different and was much milder in aroma than my own Cramp Bark. My batch had a very pronounced fragrance; the bought-in batch had the same fragrance, but it was considerably fainter. I cannot tell you how well it worked therapeutically, because I could not bring myself to use it. After much thought, I decided to gather additional Cramp Bark, even though it was the ‘wrong’ time of the year. It was harder to remove the bark, but after drying I found that the end product still seemed far superior to the bought-in batch. I resolved to harvest a greater volume of Cramp Bark the following spring.

      A sample of bought-in Viburnum opulus on the left, and one of home-grown bark on the right.

      Home-grown and carefully dried Agrimony being weighed for a prescription blend.

      The second example is Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria). Agrimony is a member of the Rose family with a beautiful subtle lemony fragrance. I never like to admit to having favourite herbs, but what I can say is that Agrimony is one that I know very well and use often. Its lemony scent makes it a delight to work with, and I feel that this aromatic element is an important part of its therapeutic action. Every time I open the storage box containing my own dried Agrimony, I smile because I smell its gorgeous fragrance. I use my Agrimony frequently in teas and prescriptions, and I think it is fair to say that I find it very effective. I have never bought in Agrimony from a wholesaler, but I have handled and inspected Agrimony from different wholesale sources on a number of occasions. Each time the bought-in samples belonging to fellow herbalists had a completely different appearance to my own home-grown stock. Instead of being a bright green colour consisting of whole leaves and flower heads, the bought-in Agrimony was a pale greenish-brown colour, and it had been cut quite finely, so it was not possible to see the individual plant parts. It did not smell lemony, or if it did, the scent was only extremely mild, almost as though I was imagining it because I was searching for it.

      In these two examples, differences in the way batches were handled and prepared had a significant impact on their resulting fragrance and appearance. In the case of the Cramp Bark, there was less of the desired plant part in the sample, and other factors that came into play during processing may have reduced its overall potency further. In the case of the Agrimony, the fact that the lemony scent was absent or very faint would indicate that the volatile components had been lost or considerably reduced. This can happen when the drying period is prolonged or has been carried out at too high a temperature. It can also be the result of poor storage, or of exposing too great a surface area of the herb to degradation by cutting it finely before drying. It can also be due to stock being old and past its best. The fact that the colour of the samples I looked at was pale green or brownish could have indicated either poor drying practice or old stock.

      I have never gone as far as carrying out laboratory testing, such as thin-layer chromatography, to prove that my home-grown or wild-harvested herbs are superior to bought-in stock. I do not see that as necessary or helpful, especially as it would entail considerable financial cost. Every batch will vary, and the quality of herbs from different suppliers in different years will vary, just as the quality of my own herbs will vary to some extent. In the two examples above my aim is to illustrate the differences that can arise from the way in which herbs are handled. It is my consistent experience that home-grown or wild-harvested herbs that have been dried carefully have a superior appearance and fragrance to those that have been bought in from bulk sources in a finely cut form. I have been using my own herbs in therapeutic practice since 2006, and I have always been delighted by how well they work. I think that it is completely justified to assume that fragrance and appearance are very good indicators of medicinal potency, but if you have doubts, then I would encourage you to try for yourself and form your own conclusions.

      In addition to issues of physical quality, I firmly believe that each person who comes into contact with a herb will have an energetic impact on the quality of the medicine. Tibetan medicine teaches that the attitude during harvesting and the preparation of medicines is a very important factor in their eventual effectiveness. A gatherer who is struggling to earn enough to feed his or her family and who feels exploited and underpaid is going to find it hard to infuse the plant material with loving and healing energy when it is picked. Equally, if herbs are handled by stressed or overworked members of staff within a herbal wholesale business, I believe that this could have a negative energetic effect. We, as small-scale self-sufficient producers, can make the picking process into a beautiful, healing, positive experience if we feel so inclined. We can avoid harvesting or processing if we are feeling out of balance or unwell. We can be careful of our state of mind even when just handling our herbs. Once herbs become simply an ‘economic product’, disconnected from their end use, there is an increased risk that they have been handled by people who are feeling fed up, resentful, or angry.

      Personally, I think that the best way to preserve maximum quality in the herbs that we work with is to source them from small batch production systems. This may mean growing or wild harvesting our own, or it may mean herbalists working together in small collaborations to source their own herbs. We may not be able to be self-sufficient in all of the herbs that we need, but we can at least be aware of the potential issues surrounding variability in quality and the factors that influence that. If we need to buy in herbs, we can choose herbal suppliers who take extra care over safeguarding the quality of the herbs they produce or trade.

      The picking process can be a beautiful, healing, and positive experience when we harvest our own herbs.

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      Connection with plants

      When we grow or gather our own herbs, it is inevitable that we develop a warmth and familiarity towards them. In the case of growing our own, we have to source our plants, perhaps buying in from a nursery, taking cuttings from a friend's garden or growing from seed. We tend them, watch them grow and mature, water them during dry spells and go out anxiously after high winds or hail to see if they have escaped without damage. If we gather herbs from the wild, we have to seek out each species that we need, quartering the area months before the plants are ready to harvest. As we get to know the area in which we live and practice, we build up a mental map of where to find various plant medicines. Hours of pleasurable time exploring green lanes and wild habitats are rewarded by a deep sense of understanding