Three Bone Tea Recipe
Although the name implies some of the ingredients in this tea could be bones, the truth is the primary ingredients are three bone-healing herbs. Boneset and comfrey have special affinity for healing bones while nettle is chock full of the nutrients bones need to grow. Together, they make healing broken bones easier for bodies young […]
Fungi Medicine: Mushrooms Offer Real Therapeutic Value
Fungi are more closely related to us than they are to plants. This means their physiology has distinct therapeutic potential, since many of the molecules they produce are evolutionarily compatible with our own bodies. Mushrooms, the fruiting body of fungi, have been widely popular across many traditions for thousands of years. In addition to edible […]
Extreme Healing for the Zombie Apocalypse: Broken Bones
Episode X Zombies aren’t the only dangers in this apocalypse. Injuries that were once simple to fix have become healing nightmares. Take broken bones, for instance. I came across an older woman living in a boarded up suburban house a few months back. She’d managed to stash enough food and water to get by for […]
Treating Minor Wounds Wisely
Like so many other athletics, taekwondo is a full-contact sport. Even when we’re using pads, cuts and scrapes happen. Just last week I nicked the top of my foot on the Hydromaster bag. I wasn’t even kicking hard. It was a drill for building cardio health. The cut was small, not worthy of a bandage, […]
Quick First Aid Spray
Comfrey, Yarrow, and Lavender come together in this simple spritzer to make a powerful wound healing team. Lavender focuses on killing germs that lead to infections, including MRSA, staph, and funguses. Yarrow draws injured tissues together while driving out foreign matter of all types. Comfrey works to knit together the injured tissues, often leaving behind […]
Lemon Balm Smiles – The Shoestring Herbalist
I work at a free mobile clinic in town. It’s held in a 31 foot Blue Bird bus. Most of the time, patients show up because they have nowhere else to go. We are just a little urgent care unit that sets up camp in the park every Sunday for a few hours. To those […]
Tea Tree Oil: World Famous Antiseptic
Melaleuca alternifolia a.k.a.: Tea Tree, Ti Tree, Narrow-leafed Paperbark Tea Tree is a gift from Australia. It grows as a small, humble looking tree with distinctly fragrant leaves, but its use as an essential oil has caught the world’s attention. Tea Tree essential oil is a powerful antiseptic that knocks out even the most resilient […]
Awakening the Mushroom Brain – The Shoestring Herbalist
I arrived at the class groggy and disheveled. It had been a long week of work and I was spending all my spare time digging in the garden instead of resting my middle aged bones. I was interested in the class subject but doubted that much was going to penetrate the weary fog that insulated […]
Get Pumped and Stay Focused for Competition
Tournaments, like all athletic events, are chaotic, buzzing hives of competition, anticipation, and pressure to succeed. Even as a parent just watching I sometimes feel completely exhausted by the time my boy’s entering his ring to finally strut his stuff. He’s good at shutting the nervousness off once he’s in the ring, but waiting to […]
Calm and Focused Essential Oil Blend
Rosemary, spearmint, and ginger have helped me in a variety of stressful situations. This blend of essential oils is one of my secret weapons in any competition or test. The rosemary helps keep my mind clear and active even when my surroundings threaten to overwhelm me. Ginger helps me keep my feet on the ground […]
Nettling with Zombies
Episode IX Spring. Daffodils and Dogwoods blooming. Salmon running. Salads topped with fresh dandelion buds and stews finished with handfuls of fresh beet greens and nettle. It’s a luxurious time of year, except for the Zombies. A couple years ago, I got the bright idea we’d go nettling. Nettles are hands-down the best fresh green […]
Seed Season: Tips for Safe and Easy Seed Storage
April is the time of year when northern hemisphere gardeners sort through their treasure trove of seeds from last year to figure out which seeds they need to buy to replenish their stock for the gardening season. If you’re a typical gardener, some seeds have a longer shelf life than others. You can store them […]