Richo's Blog

Pressing Herbal Tinctures—Lessons Learned And Questions Answered

Early disasters. Pressing tinctures was my first herbal job, and I approached it quite enthusiastically, but soon realized the benefits of—finesse...

Tulsi (Holy Basil) Type Comparisons

How does one disambiguate a subject so complex? Holy Basil, a plant that is gentle and healing to body, mind and spirit should bring happiness, not confusion! The commonality of all types (species/cultivars) is that the leaves may be eaten fresh, used in cooking, or best yet picked, dried, and made into tea.

Growing True Comfrey From Seeds

The flowers of True Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) are generally very richly arrayed and colored dark purple. The leaves are lance-shaped and not so broad as those of Russian Comfrey. True Comfrey is really the nicest of the Comfrey clan in my opinion.

White Sage: Planting, Growing And Harvesting

White Sage (Salvia apiana) seed harvest has begun, the giant plants lifting their aromatic fronds to the summer sun. I hurry to get a hit before the birds do the job for me!

Growing Mandrake — Beyond The Basics

Growing mystical plants requires a certain amount of consciousness on the part of the gardener, and for best results one allows the plants to call the shots. This is only to the extent of one’s willingness to let go of control. One never really knows where it will all go. Simply wishing the plant to do well seems to be the best approach.

Where And How To Grow An Herbal Groundcover

The urge to muck about and create plant habitat goes hand-in-hand with the urge to grow more and more species of plants that need individualized growing conditions. As your species list increases, you will probably feel motivated to prepare specific plant habitats. After all, making your plants happy is a way to spread a groundcover of happiness into yourself.

A Deeper Look at Forest Roots

Sandy loam, a substance created by the breakdown of minerals (rock) mixed with the breakdown of carbon (tree or grass detritus). Sandy loam is what we all want, because it is the best all around substrate for growing the plants we love the most...

Pressing Herbal Tinctures—Lessons Learned and Questions Answered

Early disasters. Pressing tinctures was my first herbal job, and I approached it quite enthusiastically, but soon realized the benefits of—finesse. The press was a handmade affair, bolted to the wall,…

How to Make Elderberry Syrup

According to herbalists, Elderberry syrup is a great preventive for colds and flus, an antiviral (helps prevent viruses from replicating) and immune stimulant. European Black Elderberries (Sambucus nigra) are the best…

Where and How to Grow an Herbal Groundcover

The urge to muck about and create plant habitat goes hand-in-hand with the urge to grow more and more species of plants that need individualized growing conditions. As your species list…

strictlymedicinalseeds

Organic growers of medicinal herb seeds, medicinal herb plants, organic vegetable seeds and organic garden seeds.

💚🪴🌿🌵💚We've completed our potted pla

Andrographis paniculata herb now available at www

We're curing and stripping our organically certifi

Propagating Aloe arborescens from pups. Just now s

Rosemary on the racks. I like to harvest Rosmarinu

Chrysanthemum tea--the flower that flowers once on

Ideas are cheap, sweat expensive, silence elusive.

Doing it on the land. Several recent communication

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About

Richo is an internationally recognized expert on the cultivation, processing and usage of medicinal plants. He is the author of the popular herbal, Making Plant Medicine. His life-long interest in seed saving lead to extensive travel and plant exploration, largely in the USA and Africa but also in South America, China and Europe. This collection of seeds, including numerous unique introductions and rare plants as well as many common medicinal plants and permacultural trees, is currently conserved and multiplied in his greenhouses and gardens.

Strictly Medicinal, LLC is the name of this organic seed company and nursery based in Williams, Oregon. The mission is to sow seeds worldwide for the benefit of people, plants and the planet.