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August 11, 2024

Good morning, Reader!

We're deep into harvest time right now, and between foraging for medicinal herbs before they're gone (many are time sensitive), and gathering from our medicinal and food garden areas, I've got plants processing EVERYwhere---in our house on the hill and also on every surface and hanging structure down in town in the cottage clinic/studio/apothecary.

I've been distilling more than usual this year. This coming week, I'm going to harvest my lemongrass and see how that goes. I've never distilled it before, and it's going to be fun---I bet the cottage will smell incredible, like it usually does when I work with anything aromatic.

Do you have herbs growing and wonder when is the BEST time to pick them to obtain the most potent medicinal strength?

This was something I used to struggle with, but over all the years, I've dialed in my process, and the plant parts often have something to do with harvest time, among other things. Here's my process for you:

​When to Harvest Your Herbs for Maximum Potency (article)

​Best Time to Harvest Herbs by Plant Part for Strongest Medicine (video)

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Are Your Peppers Going Crazy?

It's pepper time! Every year, I plant a lot of cayenne pepper plants because I never know how they're going to do. Some years are great, and I harvest enough to last for 2-3 years! Other years...not so much. Because I love these delicious hot peppers, and I REALLY appreciate their medicinal benefits, I thought I'd share some of my cayenne content with you.

It's one of my favorite medicinal plants!

​Cayenne Salve Formula (Video) **It's one of my first videos---I'm planning to re-do it, but it's still useful, and is a great formula!

​Cayenne Salve Formula (Article)

​Ways to Use Cayenne Pepper as a Medicinal Herb (Video)

​How to Ferment Hot Peppers for Homemade Hot Sauce (Article)

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​Be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel!​

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Herbs and Food Preservation Summit

My friends Kristi and Mindy are hosting an Herbs and Food Preservation Summit next week! It's Free, and it's perfect for anyone who wants to know about preserving herbs and foods in many different ways.

You can sign up here:

​Herbs and Food Preservation Summit​

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Holistic Aromatherapy Specialist Certification

I've been hard at work writing the modules and lessons for our newest certification course, Holistic Aromatherapy Level 1, which will meet both national and international certification standards for certification after I teach it for several months.

I'm creating the modules and lessons on chemistry of essential oils (and why they matter), and I'm just going to tell you that it's TRUE:

If you don't use it, you lose it!

So, this is actually a GREAT experience for me.

It's forcing me to revisit concepts I haven't needed to think much about in the past few years, and to be honest, even though it's hard, I'm loving it! It's making me fall in love with my essential oils and have a greater appreciation for them again than ever before!

Are you interested in information about certification in aromatherapy so you can be assured you're working with them safely and effectively...and with confidence?

​Click here, and I'll add you to a special list, where you'll get special FREE trainings, resources, and notifications about the course coming soon!​

NOTE: This will be a "beta," or first run of the course. I'm keeping this first student group small so we can make sure to:

1) meet all students' needs;

2) tweak the course materials and content for best and fastest results for later groups; and

3) personally answer questions on "live" Q&A chats. This will be the only group where we'll have bi-weekly or weekly live chats, so it's going to be a fun time!

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OK---I'm going to share the A-MAZING blend I've been diffusing to help me with concentration and focusing of my ADHD brain as I finish up writing the course! It's been very helpful, and I can really tell the difference. It smells GREAT, and is perfect for refreshing in the summer time.

Joy and Focus Blend

2 drops Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) essential oil

5 drops Lime (Citrus aurantifolia) essential oil

1 drop of Rose (Rosa x damascena) essential oil

NOTE: I know rose essential oil is VERY pricey, as it should be since it takes so much plant matter to yield even a drop of the essential oil.

SO, here are some substitutions for you to enjoy if you don't have rose. These will still smell wonderful and have similar benefits: Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata), Roman chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), Rose geranium (Pelargonium graveolens).

Here are some other things to know about these essential oils:

Peppermint is energizing, and can help you power through when your energy drops. It's not like caffeine with the jittery, yucky feeling...it just helps wake up your brain. **It should not be used near the faces of children under the age of 10, but diffusion is fine in small amounts in a blend. If you're blending around adults only (people over 10), you can use more peppermint if you like.

Lime is uplifting due to the limonene content, and it's also refreshing. I think it's one of the best essential oils for summer time! Guess what else the compounds in lime do?

They boost the immune system by stimulating more white blood cells to form. Win-win!

Rose: Rose is actually calming and soothing, without relaxing or sedating. It's helpful for the heart, brings peace, and is simply beautiful. Of the substitutions for rose I listed above, ylang ylang would be my first pick because it's also a wonderful mood booster. It makes people happy and has a lovely scent.

This blend is my latest favorite! I hope you love it, too!

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Have a beautiful and blessed day, and enjoy it!

Hugs, Health, and Herbs,

Heidi

P.S. Be sure to share this with a friend who might be interested!

Also, take a look at our school. It's been completely overhauled and updated, and I know there's something there for you! From Herbs for Animals, to Botanical Skincare, to Natural Soap Making, to longer in-depth herbalism courses, and MORE, it's a fun place to visit, explore, and look around.

Find a TON of FREE learning resources, too, in the "Blog" tab!👇

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"The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart triumphs, And with my song I shall thank Him." Psalm 28:7