My Healing Yard

If you have ever wandered up my driveway to socialize, have dinner, perhaps a healing session or a holistic class, or maybe an evening campfire, you know my yard's wildness!  The first 2/3's, moving up my driveway, is wild and free.  My backyard is overrun with wild plants.

When my Dad visits he always asks: "Do you want me to come over with my lawn tractor and help you mow this place?" He loves to taunt me about my weeds.   (Shhh, never call them weeds to their "blossom." Such rudeness hurts their feelings!)

My yard, a disaster to my Dad, is a healing oasis to me.  I nurture wild plants that will heal asthma to zits, cancer to psoriasis, provide birth control options, heal your body's inflammation, and everything in between. Annoying weeds they may be to most, to me they are my humble, healing friends that I protect with the gentle fierceness of a mother. And, they graciously feed butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and so many more wild creatures!

(All of the healing hints I will give, below, for my beloved weeds are but the tip of the iceberg for what each magical plant can be used for. Every plant has so many healing uses!)

Here we have Mullein (It is the tall plant with the yellow flower stalk), an amazing healing plant for asthma and your body's glands.  Mullein oil can be rubbed over the thyroid, the ovaries, the testicles, or any gland and you can take mullein tincture to nourish all your glands from the inside of your body.  

Yeah, I have a few cats about the home who like to get into the photo ops!  The Milk Weed, hanging out here with my friend Mullein, is also good for asthma, constipation, and is reputed to be anti-fertility by the Mohawks.  Milk Weed makes a fun, pink jelly for smearing on winter toast... don't forget the butter! 

Got zits?  Try Dandelion leaf and root tea.  Add some Burdock Root and Red Clover flowers to this mix and you have a gentle liver and skin nourishing blend.  

Of course, I would add my best friend Stinging Nettles to the above and every healing herb recipe. It just makes good nourishing sense to add nettles!

Red Clover Blossoms!

Dandelion's useful parts: leaf, flower, root.  Burdock Root.. you have to dig it OR buy some from The Kent Family Growers or Birdsfoot Farm!

Dandelion leaves... and underneath the leaves, for fall harvesting, are the roots.

Cancer?  The above blend does wonders to cleanse/nourish the liver and blood so your immune system can do its job in healing and removing cancer from the body.  Add some peppermint (below) as its healing oils and chemical constituents are amazing healing energy for digestive tract issues!

Thank you, Robin, for this wonderful mint variety.  Seems the deer like it too!  Smart animals.

Want to increase fertility and your ability to conceive?  Try a tea (medicinal strength infusion) of Red Raspberry leaf (below), Red Clover Blossoms (picture above), and Stinging Nettles (below). The link above has a "recipe" for a liver detox infusion.  Follow the same principles when making your "Fertili-Tea."  No simmering of the infusion is needed as you are using all leaves and flowers. Just steep the infusion overnight.

Red Raspberry Leaf, while you are collecting leaves for making tea... eat the berries!

Stinging Nettles, nestled up against my home.

Want to decrease fertility? Chicory Root tea (below) decreases sperm count.  Milkweed (see above) decreases female fertility.  Queen Anne's Lace, Wild Carrot (below), decreases female fertility and prevents pregnancy.

Red Raspberry Leaf (above) nourishes the uterus and reproductive tract throughout a female's life cycle.  My plant intuition says it has to be nourishing for males as well.

There are many herbs to control fertility, enhance pregnancy and birthing, and nourish the reproductive tract. That is a whole book waiting to be written OR grab a copy of Susun Weed's Childbearing Years.  This is a great place to start in learning female reproductive herbs.

Chicory:  the root is used as a medicinal infusion to decrease sperm count.

Queen Anne's Lace flower head: the seeds are used to prevent pregnancy.

The below Black Eyed Susan patch adorns the yard behind my house and garage (and you are only seeing about 1/5 of this flower patch!).  I leave it wild purely to heal my heart and soul (and my cat's as well... all 4 cats seem to love their wild flower jungle!).

Native Americans used the plant for internal parasites, skin wounds, earaches, snake bites, and the common cold.

Wild plants are wonderful.  Befriend one today!  Paula

PS  Stay tuned for Healing Backyard Plants, Pt 2

AND

The Healing Powers of the Great White Pine

Burdock Root

Ah, burdock, that annoying plant that sticks those prickly balls on clothing after a romp in the woods and fields.  This plant, that creates burr seeds, is a healing blessing, despite those barbed 'lil balls!

As a kid, I fell into a large clump of burdock plants while romping in the fields. Those burrs make an amazing mess in long hair! Surprisingly, as an adult, I do not avoid them.

Burdock can be utilized in a number of herbal remedies to aid in digestion.  The root is bitter, stimulating the liver, and therefor aids in digestion, enhances absorption of nutrients, and supports your whole digestive tract and colon with the elimination of wastes.

Burdock root, along with dandelion and nettle, are amazing, healing herbs to use in liver conditions.  The liver plays a huge role in removing toxins from your blood, producing bile to digest dietary fats, metabolizing hormones to maintain hormone balance in your body, stores excess carbohydrates, in addition to many, many other functions.

Nourish your liver and heal many "dis - ease" symptoms.  Nourishing the liver is useful in: skin conditions, liver conditions (obviously), hormone imbalances, allergies, infertility, headaches, migraines, digestive problems, chronic gas, constipation....

Need help with herbs for healing? Give me a call.  As an herbalist, I love to help with herbal healing!  pyoumell@gmail.com

Why do I tell you this?  I love burdock.  It makes a yummy tea, it is fun in soups and stews, and I just added a pile of it (grated) to my next batch of fermented veggies. I am curious to see what burdock will add to the final fermented product's flavor!

The brown grated veggies on the top are burdock.

This is a pile of burdock roots, graciously given to me by Dan Kent of Kent Family Growers.  He knows I love burdock!  I have used over half of my burdock gift already. My liver is feeling ready for spring and pollen season!

On fermented veggies: I asked Steve, of The Cheese Maker, if cheese cultures could be used in enhancing the fermentation of veggies. This kind man did a 'lil research and got right back to me.

Our conversation via emails:

Me:  Can any of the cultures you sell be used as a sauerkraut starter?  Thanks, Paula

Steve: I'll also do a little research and let you know what I find out.

Me:  Thanks!

Steve: Hi Paula:   Some research I found on Wikipedia and other scientific sites show that some of the same species of bacteria that make cheese are similar to those that make sauerkraut, though the sub species are different.  I'm not a biologist,  so I do not know how this will affect the flavor of the kraut.  Only way is to make a small batch and see how it turns out.  As long as the pH is similar in the end product, it is at least safe to eat. The below link is a culture which has similar bacteria, though not sub species.   If you make a test batch, let me know what you find out.  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauerkraut

http://thecheesemaker.com/products/Mesophilic-chr%252dhansen-CHN%252d11.html

Me:  I am posting to get other people's experiences, hopefully!

Steve:  Awesome. I would really like to hear from others who use this culture.  I have enough hobbies otherwise I'd also make some kraut.

Anyone ever used cheese cultures in veggie fermentation?

Anyone ever use burdock root in fermented veggies?

Anyone know of a good source for veggie fermenting cultures?

Love to hear from you on any of these topics!  Paula

Nourishing the Liver

Simple Liver Nourishment “Cleanse”

Liver Nourishment is important.  We hear much about doing liver cleanses but is the liver really dirty? I am certain I would prefer to think of my liver in a more positive and health giving way.  This amazing, large organ does much to filter my blood, digest my food, and contributes to way too many bodily processes to write them all here.

Liver cleansing / nourishing has benefits for your health and longevity. A healthy liver helps to maintain balance in the female reproductive tract and helps to keep female hormones balanced (All body hormones!). Think of it as nourishing your liver, fortifying it with the nutrients it needs to do its blood filtering, digestive, and many other jobs well.

I will share with you a very simple way to nourish the liver as it goes about its non-stop job of filtering your blood.  Spending a few days focusing on nourishing this important organ is a good way to prevent disease and heal your body.  Love your liver with whole foods, liver specific herbs, and relaxation. While relaxing, visualize your liver as being healthy, clean, vibrant tissue!

Raw food fast for 3 days:  Eat local, seasonal berries and fruit in the AM.  Add raw nuts and seeds to this fruit to up the fat and protein content of your diet and keep your appetite satiated.

At lunch and your PM meal:  eat raw vegetable salads and raw nuts and seeds.

Get motivated and sprout some raw nuts and seeds or whole grains to add to your liver nourishing diet.

Try raw, fermented veggies as a fun, “extra” food while nourishing the liver.

Enjoy raw avocado as healthy fat and satiating food.

Life Stage Consideration: when we move into older years, feel your body out. Are you feeling dry frequently? A harsh “liver cleanse” is not recommended in older years, think menopausal years including the years of transitioning from having periods to not. In these years, our bodies are drying out. We need to nourish and keep things juicy, no harsh detoxes, but learn to sweetly nourish your liver and whole body health. With Love 💕, of course.

Holistic Love Caution for Your Blood Sugar & Beta Cells:  If you are pre-diabetic, diabetic, or have any metabolic syndrome – blood sugar issue, keep your intake of fruit at a conservative level and eat more vegetables, nuts, and seeds.

If you have diabetic tendencies, do not do a “juice or herbal tea only” liver cleanse.

Raw root veggie and cabbage slaws are great in fall and winter for the raw, seasonal veggies. Want a recipe?  Email me:  pyoumell@gmail.com

AM or PM nourishing liver flush: Drink this tasty little beverage before eating any food; just mix together and drink it up!  Or you can drink it just before going to bed.

• juice of 1 whole lemon, (I know, lemons are not local… work with me here!)

• 1-2 tsp olive oil

• pinch of unrefined sea salt

You can use this simple liver flush in the PM and/or the AM.  I have clients who drink it in the AM because they drink their Essiac detox tea at night.

Detox Liver Nourishing Infusion:  Purchase an ounce of each of these herbs:  cut burdock root, cut dandelion root, nettle leaf, dandelion leaf, red clover blossom.

Every evening heat 1 quart of water.  When the water is simmering, turn to very low heat and simmer 1 Tbsp. each of the burdock and dandelion roots for 10 minutes.  Be gentle, not a rolling boil, but a very gentle simmer to preserve the nutrients.  Always simmer and steep with the cover on the pot.

Have 1 Tbsp. each of the dandelion, nettle, and red clover ready to use.  After the ten minutes, shut off the heat and add the herbs to the pot, stir to get the herbs wet, and then cover the pot.  Let it sit over night to steep and create a medicinal infusion.  In the AM, strain the herbal infusion into a quart canning jar.  Press the wet herb mash very well to get all liquid out of the herbs.  Drink 3-4 cups over the course of the day.  Sip slowly while relaxing and meditating on your liver and vibrant cellular health. (As opposed to standing at the kitchen counter and guzzling down 8 ounces of this medicinal tea infusion.)

Relaxing habits when doing a liver nourishing cleanse:  Drink plenty of fluids throughout your day; get much good, restful sleep; always eat in a calm environment (without screens) and chew very slowly and thoroughly; yoga; massage; relaxing by the fire or under a favorite tree (this is a seasonally dependent behavior!) while reading a good book…the point is for you to nurture the whole you and make your liver feel at peace and loved.  Get outside and move your body.  This increases circulation to your liver and every body cell for better delivery of nutrition and oxygen and better removal of waste products.  You get a good dose of fresh air and natural light while outside! And remember, as my son Eli said when he was only 8 years old:  “Just lift the corner of the clouds and the sun is always shining."  You do get natural light, for better mood and sleep, even on cloudy days!

When to nourish the liver:  Ideally, nourish your liver 4 times a year: at or around the spring and fall equinoxes and the summer and winter solstices.  I recommend doing the winter liver nourishment after the December holidays, for obvious reasons!  (Spring is a good time to start to get a step ahead of seasonal allergies.)

Milk thistle is a good herb to take for liver nourishing and rebuilding.  It can be added to the above liver nourishment herb infusion. Using milk thistle in capsules, tinctures, and infusion form are also good options as a single herb or as a combination herbal formula with turmeric and perhaps ginger…

Taking milk thistle for a couple of weeks after a three day nourishing cleanse can help to nourish and rebuild the liver.  You can make milk thistle into a medicinal infusion mixing with stinging nettles.  Again, simmer the milk thistle seeds, very gently for 10 minutes, shut off heat and add the nettle leaves.  Let the infusion “tea” sit over night to brew and steep.

Love your liver; nourish your liver.

Nettles and Red Clover

Dandelion root, flowers, and leaves

Burdock root and plant