Questions? We have answers; a roundup of commonly asked herb questions - The Herbalist

Vegetarian Times, Oct, 1996 by Kathi Keville

I want to learn more about herbs. Should I take on herb course or work at my own pace with d correspondence course?

The only advantage of taking a correspondence course is if you can't leave your home or you live too far from a source of herbal education. In that case, an herbal correspondence course is for you. Otherwise, the heart of herbal work is the hand-on learning that takes place when you work with the herbs. You can learn as much information from a course but simply memorizing facts isn't what herbal education is about. When you work with the plants, it permeates your entire being. There is also something to be said about studying with like-minded people--it's a lot more fun.--Rosemary Gladstar

What about my children: When can I start sharing what I'm learning about herbs with them? And what if they start nibbling the plants in my herb garden?

Keep in mind that through most of history, children have been roaming around the wild without poisoning themselves. Besides, most of the herbs you will want to grow are perfectly safe.

No child is too young to discover the wonders of the plant world. As with adults, the best way to teach children is by showing them one herb at a time, and working with it over and over. I usually start with plantain, showing them how it can be used as a Band-Aid on wounds to stop bleeding, to promote healing and to protect the injury. When my daughter Justine was young, we roamed field and forest collecting plants. When she went to camp at age 11, the counselor called her a nurse because she was putting plants like plantain and yarrow on all the kids' cuts and bruises. Children develop a healthy sense of empowerment when they are taught to take care of themselves with herbs. It's great to see them run over to the catmint in the garden when they have a stomach ache or the plantain when they get cut.--Susun Weed

Are there any problems with collecting herbs from the wild?

We're experiencing an exciting resurgence of herbalism and well-trained herbalists who appreciate good-quality wild herbs, but nature can't stand the onslaught. We don't see great quantities of herbs growing in the wild any more. In fact, most major medicinal plants are severely endangered. This is not just from the impact of herbalists who pick their own medicines but also because the rest of the world looks to the United States for its herb supplies. Thousands of pounds of echinacea, goldenseal and ginseng, for instance, are exported from this country every year.

We need to be caretakers of medicinal plants, because we want to assure that they will still be around in another generation--and at current harvesting rates, they won't be. How can we be sure that these plants don't become extinct? By creating our own medicinal herb gardens that contains endangered herbs grown from seed or perhaps from divisions from a friend's garden. Plants that you grow can be as potent medicine as their wild cousins. Also, the new United Plant Savers organization that I co-founded is encouraging people to rescue medicinal herbs from areas that are being developed and transplant them to a safe home in the wild. (For more information on United Plant Savers, write to UPS, P.O. Box 420, East Barre, VT 05649.)--Rosemary Gladstar