A Foraging Morning

Today is Sunday, and I took some Amish strawberries down to the barn to see if Fred and I could sell them. They are higher in cost that the berries currently selling in our local grocery stores, but these are organically grown, freshly picked lucious strawberries. They sold, no problem.

Once home, I went down to harvest some of the asparagus that grows wild at the bottom of the hillside. There was a goodly bunch of it, so I picked it to give to a neighbor. I've been harvesting lots of asparagus, so it was time to pass some on.

Then I picked a bunch of lambquarters, growing wild nearby at the top of the hillside. Got enough for dinner tonight. I also picked a lot of wild horsetail, to dry some for tea, and to make a tincture with the , rest. More on horsetail in a bit.

Let's see, then I saw a slew of red clover blossoms and naturally enough, went all over hill and dale getting a bag full of them. As a forager, I ALWAYS carry plastic bags, a Swiss Army knife, and all the rest of my foraging tools are in the car (shovel, hand trowel, root digger thingy, zillions of plastic bags, etc.).

In about an hour, I gathered enough horsetail for tea and medicine; enough red clover blossoms for the same purposes; and enough lambs quarters for a hearty side dish. Of course, processing it all takes a bit more time. Everything gets washed and rinsed, then cut up if that's part of the deal, and processed (i.e., putting out to dry or putting in a jar with vodka poured over to make tincture, chopped to eat, etc.). This all takes another hour or so. But it is work I enjoy, so I can't even really call it work (unless I'm talking to my husband, whereupon I rely heavily on the concept of all this activity being work).

I also gathered a bunch of melilot (melilotus officinalis), which I recognized for the first time today. YEAH. In early spring, the leaves are tasty and quite edible. Being as it is a bit later in spring, I didn't harvest it to eat, but to dry. I'll use the leaves in tea, as well as make a nice toilet water with it and some other herbs. Melilot has a wonderful vanilla scent to it, smells like you'd want to put it in cookies and such. I'll probably powder some dried leaves and do exactly that.

On horsetail, I've written about this herb a while ago. It is a rich source of silicon, a necessary and important trace mineral. One day, I was reading another blog and what books the blog author recommends, and I came across this bit:

Louis Kervran was a biological researcher who discovered decades ago that biological creatures routinely transmute chemical elements. He's still almost completely unknown, and scoffed at by people terrified of the changing their thinking even a tiny bit. One of many implications of his work: to build calcium in your body, you do not eat calcium, but organic silica, which your body changes to calcium. Kervran's book is Biological Transmutations.

I have yet to find and read Kervran's book, but that bit was really interesting. My thanks to Ran Prieur for his fascinating blog! Anyway, if you need more calcium (and who doesn't?), horsetail tea or tincture might be the thing for you. When Fred broke his elbow last fall, I made him lots of horsetail tea and comfrey tea. He healed readily, at least from the break. His arm is as good as it was prior to the break--but with his Rheumatoid Arthritis, I can't say his arm is "as good as new." Wish I could.

Foraging wild plants for foods and medicines is as old as anything. In a couple of pleasant hours, plants for both food and medicines were easily gathered. Honestly, folks, if you're not already foraging, please consider adding it to your repertoire of skills. The exercise is good for you (walking, bending, twisting, stretching), falling on your butt when your foot slipped on the hillside is good for your character, and certainly, eating and drinking the dishes and drinks you made from God's own free produce is good for you. It's win-win all the way.

Simple Home Medicines are Effective

I thought I'd let you all know how some ongoing projects are working out.

The Yellow Dock tincture:

The first is, I'd made a tincture of yellow dock root for a good friend of ours who has non-symptomatic hepatitis C. He's had it for years; doesn't have any of the symptoms, but it is there. I gave him the tincture about a month and a half ago. He recently emailed and mentioned this:

"I had a health evaluation done at work recently. Tell Patty that my Liver Enzyme levels have never been lower. Not once in all the years I've been getting them checked out. Not that they've been sky high, but they were all down in the middle of the normal range. Must be something to those drops. Tell her my Liver and I say, Thanks!"

Three cheers for yellow dock tincture for liver problems, then. And I'm happy that our friend's health is better.

The Horsetail tea:

If you follow the blog, you'll know that an 81 year old friend of ours, Fred, fell and broke his elbow a while back. The orthopedic doc casted his arm and we've been making do ever since. I'd brought over some horsetail chopped up fine and some comfrey leaves to make teas for him and he's been drinking a cup or two a day of each. Last time we went to the doc, his elbow has started healing. There wasn't much to show yet on the X ray, but I'm sure we'll see more improvement when we go back for more Xrays on the 2nd of January.

The Garlic/Weird Mole:

In early November, I'd read a book on garlic as Nature's Super Healer. One of the extracts I shared from the book was on using a slice of garlic on funny moles and melanomas. A few days after writing about it, we started using a slice of garlic on a weird mole of Michael's. When I first looked at it, it was gray and hairy/fuzzy and ugly/weird looking. That was November 6. We've been putting a fresh slice of garlic on the mole every couple of days.

We put another slice of garlic on it today. And today the mole has almost disappeared. It's much smaller--like I said, nearly disappeared. It is now tiny, tan and very pale. I expect it will disappear in another few weeks.

Was this mole a melanoma? I don't think so. It hadn't changed colors or grown larger or any of the other signs that might tell of that deadly skin cancer. It was just a weird thing on his skin. But the garlic is definitely making it go away! We'll have to keep checking on it to make sure that it stays away, of course.

The reason I'm posting about this is that these simple, easy things can be effective and useful. None of this stuff costs much, if anything. Yellow dock, horsetail and comfrey all grow here in the valley. We didn't plant garlic this year (dammit), but we easily could have and it too would grow here. For that matter, there's wild garlic all over the place and if I couldn't get commercial garlic, I'd certainly use wild. It'd probably be better.

This is a very good thing, as dark times draw near. Useful wild plants grow all around us, even in cities, and we can use them to our benefit. It is the medicine God intended for us, after all, and to my mind, much better than pharmaceutical synthetics. Get to know an herbalist or forager near you, or better yet, get to know herbs and wild plants yourself. Then you will always have medicine at hand.

None of these things work as fast as pharmaceutical synthetics, of course, but that's probably a good thing. It takes time to develop problems and imbalances in our physical systems, and we need time to resolve those problems as well.

Needless to say, I'm not saying that horsetail and comfrey tea is "healing" Fred's elbow. Fred's body is healing his elbow. But the horsetail and comfrey are supplying some of what his body needs to do just that. Same with the yellow dock tincture for our other friend, and the garlic for Michael's mole.

Good luck to all in resolving your physical problems as well.
HM

Herbs for Broken/Fractured Bones

About a month ago, our friend and neighbor Fred fell and hurt his arm and ribs while we were at the Amish farm. Fred is 80, and getting fragile. He's a health nut, so he eats well and takes (probably too many) supplements--but he IS healthy. He holds the same opinion of modern mainstream American medicine as we do (scary and nearly worthless when it comes to actual health, drug purveyors for Big Pharma, etc.) and has stayed away from doctors most of his life. He has an advanced case of rheumatoid arthritis which has nearly crippled his hands, but he is still in better shape than most 80 year olds.


We were just leaving the Amish farm and were out on the porch. We turned to watch an older Amish man back up a team of horses and a wagon. It's an interesting sight, watching how he got these huge draft horses to back up. Unfortunately, Fred didn't watch his step because of the distraction and he took a fall against the porch. Well, that time, he badly bruised his arm and his ribs hurt, but he thought he was OK. Home we went and I brought him over some comfrey tea and calendula salve for his arm.


Last Saturday, coming back from the Amish farm again, we stopped at the Fayetteville store (a little grocery/convenience store with a gas station) on our way home. Fred fell again, he tripped over a parking curb. This time he really smashed his arm and his hip. I dropped what I was carrying to grab him, hoping to stop his fall, but I missed and down he went. A couple of guys filling their trucks with gas came over to help. After checking him to see that he hadn't banged his head or broken his neck, we gently raised him to a sitting position, then stood him up. He thought he was badly bruised, but nothing broken, and he didn't want to go to the Emergency room. So home we went and I got him safely into his house and set him up for the rest of the afternoon. We buy eggs for lots of people from the Amish and Fred delivers them on Saturday afternoon. I offered to do it, but no, he wanted to. OK. And he did deliver them, thinking he was alright.


Turns out, though, that we had to take him to Emergency the next day. His leg was going out on him and he thought he might have broken his hip. At the Emergency room, they did Xrays and found that he hadn't broken his hip, but that his right elbow had a compound fracture with a fancy name I can't recall. Sigh. They would need to operate on it to fix the elbow.


This is terrible news to a guy with no health insurance and no extra cash lying around. I don't know how much the emergency room visit cost, but the orthopedic surgeon visit yesterday costs him 700+ dollars. And that's just for casting his arm. Decided not to operate (Fred doesn't have much use of that arm anyway with the RA), and cast it instead. And he must get a platform thing for his walker so he can lean his casted arm on the walker and take the weight off his hip, which might have a fracture in it. He will have the cast and have to use the walker for at least 6 weeks.


So, I've started doing what I can to help him out. I go over and make him breakfast and get him settled for the day. Ditto with dinner. I can do any of the cleaning and errand running that might need to be done. Other ladies here have already joined in cooking for him (I think the problem will be too much food, not too little!)


What herbs can be used for this? For broken bones? Well, the good news there are some very good herbs for this kind of thing. Horsetail is one of them. Here's what Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Healing Herbs and Spices has to say:

No other herb in the entire plant kingdom is so rich in silicon as is horsetail. This trace element really helps to find protein molecules together in the blood vessels and connective tissues. Silison is the material of which collagen is made. Collagen is the "body glue" that holds our skin and muscle tissues together. Silicon also promotes the growth and stability of the skeletal structure.

A few European clinical studies have determined that fractured bones heal much more quickly when horsetail is taken. The incidence of osteoporosis is, likewise, more greatly reduced when some horsetail is added to the diet. A few folk healers I'm aware of have recommended this herb to athletes who've suffered sprains, dislocated joints, pulled hamstrings or torn ligaments.

He also recommends cactus, marshmallow, tumeric and wormwood. I don't have cactus or marshmallow on hand, but I do have tumeric and wormwood.

Tumeric

Tumeric has manifested remarkable anti-inflammatory properties by inhibiting induced edema and subacute arthritis in rats and mice. These positive results are comparable to the same effects achieved by popular anti-inflammatory drugs like hydrocortisone acetate and phenylbutazone. Two half teaspoonfuls taken morning and evening in juice can help somewhat.

Additional relief may be obtained for this disease, contusions, sprains and fractures by mixing together 2 tbsp. tumeric with 1 tbsp. lime juice and just enough boiling water to make a nice, smooth, warm paste. This can then be applied directly to the area of swelling and pain, and then covered with some plastic food wrap to retain the heat and moisture longer. The consistency of the paste should be similar to that of creamy peanut butter so that it can be spread on the skin easily.

Hmmmm. Well, that won't work in this case, since his arm is now in a cast. However he can take the tumeric in juice and let it work that way. And I'll make a tincture of the wormwood with some vodka and he can use that as a pain-reliever when he runs out of the strong stuff the docs have him on now. Meanwhile, I'll see if anyone has some marshmallow. It grows around here, but this is the wrong time of year to go hunting it. I'll also make him some comfrey tea. Of course, I'll do a little more research to check for contraindications or drug/herb interactions, but I think these additions to his treatment with help his body with healing the broken bones and torn muscles.

As Fred says, getting older is a bitch. Well, better than the alternative in most cases, sez me. :)

Onwards,

HM

Horsetail, Rich Source of Silica

Horsetail (equisetum arvense) has many uses as an herb with many benefits to the human family. As a forager, I was happy to find a goodly batch of it this summer. As long as it stays far away from my garden, I'm glad to see it thriving. An ancient plant, horsetail has been around since 100 million years before the dinosaurs appeared. It's a survivor, and drastic measures are needed to get rid of it if it invades your fields or garden. If you search for information on horsetail on google, you'll find lots of garden/cooperative articles on getting rid of it. You have to look harder to find information on its benefits.

Horsetail contains numerous mineral salts, especially silica, but also potassium, manganese, and magnesium, and many trace minerals. Here is what Just Weeds has to say about horsetail's medicinal properties:

Horsetail is judged to be particularly beneficial to people suffering from anemia or general debility. Its action is characterized as diuretic and astringent. It is prescribed in the treatment of kidney and bladder disorders, arthritis, gout, and skin afflictions. It is recommended for gastric complaints and inflammations of the respiratory tract. It is said to promote urination and stop bleeding, to reduce fevers, to calm an overactive liver, and to ease nervous tension. It has been used to clear heavy head colds and to sooth inflamed, swollen eyelids. And throughout history, it is been relied on to cleanse and heal wounds . . . . even modern studies indicate that fractured bones heal more quickly with the help of horsetail.

As a diuretic, it will increase urination, thus flushing the system of toxins. Its astringent property would make it good for wounds and to stop bleeding. It can be used both internally, as a weak tea, and externally, as a wash for wounds, or dip a towel in the tea and use as a poultice, a compress, or add to bath water.

Here's what Heinerman's Encyclopedia of Healing Herbs and Spices says:

No other herb in the entire plant kingdom is so rich in silicon as is horsetail. This trace element really helps to find protein molecules together in the blood vessels and connective tissues. Silison is the material of which collagen is made. Collagen is the "body glue" that holds our skin and muscle tissues together. Silicon also promotes the growth and stability of the skeletal structure.

A few European clinical studies have determined that fractured bones heal much more quickly when horsetail is taken. The incidence of osteoporosis is, likewise, more greatly reduced when some horsetail is added to the diet. A few folk healers I'm aware of have recommended this herb to athletes who've suffered sprains, dislocated joints, pulled hamstrings or torn ligaments.

Heinerman goes on to say that horsetail is an excellent internal cosmetic--drink the tea for improving your skin, hair, nails, teeth and bones. Other herbalists recommend it as a facial wash.

If you have athlete's foot, try using some horsetail in a footbath. Horsetail tea can be used on other plants, spraying them with it to get rid of mildew and other fungus infections on roses, fruit trees, vegetables, etc.

If you're camping, or in a survival situation, you can also scrub your pots and pans with horsetail plants--among horsetail's common names are bottlebrush, scouring rush, shavegrass and pewterwort.

A few weeks ago, my friend and neighbor Fred, who is 80, fell against the porch while we were at the Amish farm. He hit his ribs and arm, bruising both, but thank goodness there was no broken bones. His ribs have healed, but his arm still aches, so I've brewed up some of horsetail tea for him. We'll see if that helps--he might have torn or injured a ligament in his arm, and the rich minerals in horsetail should help.

Onwards,

HM