Picking my own herbs was nice and holistic, but the truth of the matter is that there’s a lot more to herbalism than identifying a plant correctly and picking it. The herb-picking party came to a screeching halt once I began to learn more about harvesting herbs. I learned that there are specific harvest times that need to be adhered to in order to capture a plant’s medicinal value. I also learned that the drying process had to be done just so for the best effects—and then I saw under a microscope that I was getting a whole lot more than just my herb with my herb, including bug parts, animal feces, and other unidentifiable beasties. That’s not to mention the dangerous possibility of incorrectly identifying a safe herb for a toxic or poisonous plant. A mistake like that could turn a Rocky Mountain High into a Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever!
Needless to say, I gave up on my little fantasy of picking all my own herbs very quickly! For my daily herb intake, I now rely on certain herbal manufacturers who not only send their specialists to the field to pick the herbs at the right time (important for capturing the best properties), but who also enforce strict quality-control standards that I am not capable of doing on my own. Besides, I wasn’t too hip on getting my protein from microscopic bug parts left on my self-harvested herbs! I haven’t abandoned picking herbs completely, though. I still pick my own sagebrush once in a while and use it for incense, or I harvest some chamomile and add it to my shampoo to lighten my hair. For the herbs I use internally, however, I order in!
Of course, I don’t want to discourage you from learning herbology from the ground up—this is a good way to get back to your roots. It’s also very helpful for when and if we are alienated from commercial availability, as we will have to rely on our knowledge of plants and herbs for survival and emergency situations. A lot of value comes from knowing the herbs around you. For the purposes of this book, though, you should probably stick to purchasing your herbs from a company whose reputation you can trust until you become an expert yourself. So, every salesperson, distributor, manufacturer, and herbal advertisement tells you that their product is the best? Guaranteed? All natural? How do you really know what sets the quality products apart from the fly-by-nights? Here’s a little checklist that you can use to find the best quality in your herbal products.
Needless to say, I gave up on my little fantasy of picking all my own herbs very quickly! For my daily herb intake, I now rely on certain herbal manufacturers who not only send their specialists to the field to pick the herbs at the right time (important for capturing the best properties), but who also enforce strict quality-control standards that I am not capable of doing on my own. Besides, I wasn’t too hip on getting my protein from microscopic bug parts left on my self-harvested herbs! I haven’t abandoned picking herbs completely, though. I still pick my own sagebrush once in a while and use it for incense, or I harvest some chamomile and add it to my shampoo to lighten my hair. For the herbs I use internally, however, I order in!
Of course, I don’t want to discourage you from learning herbology from the ground up—this is a good way to get back to your roots. It’s also very helpful for when and if we are alienated from commercial availability, as we will have to rely on our knowledge of plants and herbs for survival and emergency situations. A lot of value comes from knowing the herbs around you. For the purposes of this book, though, you should probably stick to purchasing your herbs from a company whose reputation you can trust until you become an expert yourself. So, every salesperson, distributor, manufacturer, and herbal advertisement tells you that their product is the best? Guaranteed? All natural? How do you really know what sets the quality products apart from the fly-by-nights? Here’s a little checklist that you can use to find the best quality in your herbal products.
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