The Southern Herbalist

Grafting class tomorrow is being rescheduled due to spring break conflicts. I'll post when a date is set.

The process of making a Traditional Southern Salve (In this case, my Tommie Bass Salve), begins with oil of choice (Lard in this case). Next, you begin to "boil" your woody and juicy herbs. The first plant going in the pot here is Poke Root. If you notice the frothy material in the upper left - these are saponins, the powerful antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, skin healing chemicals found in my favorite medicinal/edible plant next to Yellowroot. I'll show some of the other plants later.

Trout Lily, one of my favorite spring plants found in my wildflower garden.....

The Mayapples are up in my yard. Getting excited about Spring......

I am about to send out Chaga. Those of you who got on the list, PM me (Not post here) your mailing address so I can figure shipping costs.... I am going in the order in which it was received and when I run out, will have another batch in shortly. This is what a pound of it looks like.....

New shipment arriving Friday. Those of you coming to the syruping class Saturday, let me know if you want to pick up one then.

Made the last couple of dozen jars of Elderberry/Sassafras syrup. 8 ounce jars. PM me if you want some.

spring is thinking about beginning. Trout Lily in my yard today.....

For those of you attending the Tree Tapping (Syruping) class this Saturday - We will meet at Noccalula Falls in Gadsden at 10. We will initially be in the second pavillion behind the wedding chapel on the campground side of the falls. Should be a pretty day but keep an eye on the weather as we will be headed out to set taps.......

Address: Noccalula Falls Rd, Gadsden, AL 35904
Phone: (205) 549-4663
Website: http://www.noccalulafallspark.com/

Home Gadsden, Alabama NOCCALULA FALLS VISIT US

FYI= Those of you attending the Syrup/Tree Tapping in the South class next Saturday need to plan on coming to Noccalula Falls in Gadsden. We will initially meet in a pavillion on the campground side before going to the field to tap trees. The campground is on the opposite side of the creek from the Jack's Restaurant. I'll meet everyone in front of the Wedding Chapel. You can see the wedding chapel in the background of the photo. 10 A.M. sharp!

In the spirit of The Southern Herbalist being out of FB Jail, here is your mystery plant of the day. First correct guess gets a can of Tommie Bass salve...... Just now popping up here in N. Alabama. Very good for urinary issues...... And yes, there are clues in the photo along with the "urinary issues".

Test

For some reason, FB says this page is unpublished. If you can see this, please let me know.....

Let's play a game, shall we? First person to correctly answer the following questions wins a can of Bass Salve..... (Photo taken Feb.1)

1. What is this plant?
2. Where in Alabama?
3. What are the uses - Edible/Medicinal?

Kitchen smells really nice today. Elderberry/Sassafras/Wild Ginger syrup and Wild Ginger syrup....

Had a great day harvesting.......? Making a new batch of Elderberry syrup and these are an integral part of it....

Gauging the need. If you are interested in high quality Chaga, let me know. It is $25 a pound and comes out of Maine from a friend.

Yellow Dock pancakes with a special Chaga syrup - Going to be a fun workshop in Goodwater tomorrow......

FYI- All of you attending the workshop in Goodwater this weekend will be receiving an email with directions and some housekeeping info for the class. If you do not receive something by this evening, please message me. We will start at nine each day and end at three with a working lunch. Plan for the weather as it is going to get a bit rainy on and off.

Finally got this rescheduled....

Some of today's finds......

Here is what Eastern Cottonwood buds look like in comparison. Obviously, the nice fat terminal buds are what most people are after but don't discard the smaller lateral buds as they work just as well. A bit more time consuming but the idea is to not waster anything when harvesting.....

Frozen (Last Winter) versus Fresh (Today) Eastern Cottonwood buds.

Nothing like harvesting Rabbit To***co on a 20 degree morning.....

First test of the year.... What all do you see and the what for is the big question......

One of my favorite photos taken on a cool morning. Chicory is much more than an ingredient in Louisiana coffee. It is a wonderful bitter tonic good for the liver, gallbladder, heartburn and to increase the strength of the immune system to name a few. It has many common uses with Dandelion. Naturalized all over the South, the blooms open with the sun in the morning, only to close as the sun begins to sink. It is a plant with great medicinal power and great beauty.

I hope you like plant photos because I am finally getting around to pulling off a ton from all my cd's so I can get them organized...... :)