Category Archives: Remedies

A time to bring the energy inside

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As the winter starts chilling the earth, we take this opportunity to pause, spend more time indoors, reflect, evaluate, plan and organize. We also take this moment to cultivate our knowledge, making time to read each day, gleaning wisdom from all the books and journals we’ve collected this past year. Moreover, it’s a perfect occasion to dream and set goals for the coming year. If the truth be told, it isn’t really a time of pause but more a time of bringing of all our energy that has been focused outward into the world inside.

During the winter months, Mike and I set forth goals and intentions for Know Your Roots creating better ways we can reach and assist more people on their journey. This year we are pleased to offer a broad series of classes and workshops throughout the year, no matter whether you’re a budding herbalist, orchardist, or a seasoned veteran, there’s a class for you. Please join us this year as we celebrate the earth and healthy living.

Herbal Offerings 

Exploring Plantain                                                                                                       Saturday, April 8, 2017 ~ Noon-3:00pm
Some call it the ‘band-aid’ plant but Plantain is oh-so-much more. Come explore this very common and abundant plant to see the diverse ways it can be used.  From head to tail, we will discuss the healing properties and understand why this herb was known as life medicine. After this class, I bet you’ll never look at this plantain the same way again.
Students will make an infused oil and lip balm to bring home.
$40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 4/2

Soothe Thy Skin
Saturday, June 3, 2017 ~ Herbal Hoedown
Everyone’s skin needs attention. Herb infused oils are fun to make and can heal the roughest of skins. Explore the magical healing properties of calendula, comfrey, and plantain. Learn to make an infused oil and healing salve.
For more information ~ Herbal Hoedown 

Golden Answer
Saturday, September 2, 2017 ~ Noon-3:00pm
Explore the amazing world of Goldenrod, an herb with much more healing power than you ever knew. Did you know that Goldenrod has 7 times the antioxidant levels of green tea? Come learn about its abilities to ameliorate allergy symptoms, support the urinary system, and soothe pain.  And that’s just for starters. Students will make tincture to bring home.
$40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 8/27

Nourishing the Liver
Saturday, October 7, 2017 ~ Noon-3:00pm
The liver works very hard for our bodies, bearing the brunt of clearing our bodies of toxins and other waste. Let’s learn about some plants in our backyards that nourish and support our fabulous liver.  Come join us, explore the land and learn to identify the nourishing roots and herbs that grow in our backyards.  During this class, we will walk the land, identify plants, discuss their properties and use them to make yummy and nourishing ingredients for our soups and salad.
We’ll explore herbs, learn to harvest, and feast on a nourishing root soup and salad.
$40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 10/1

Orchard Offerings

Pruning and Renovating Apple Trees                                                                          Saturday, February 18, 2017 ~ 11:00am-4:00pm                                                        Iconic trees of old farmsteads provide many with a great chance to learn about apple growing and starting your own orchards. Last year we pruned a few trees that hadn’t seen much attention. This year, we’ll look at how those trees responded and finish pruning the remaining trees in the orchard. This will be a day of pruning discussion and practice while we work to bring some old trees back to life. This is a hands-on workshop, but tools are not provided – bring your loppers, shears, and handsaws with you. Or just come listen and learn.                                                                                                                             $40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 2/12

Holistic Apple Scab and Fireblight Control                                                               Saturday, April 1, 2017 ~ 11:00am-4:00pm                                                                 Apple scab and fireblight are two of the biggest disease issues apple growers ever have to contend with in any given season. 2016 was a relatively low pressure year, but who knows what 2017 will look like? In this workshop we will discuss the biology and ecology of each disease, disease cycles, forecasting tools, varietal resistance/susceptibility, control opportunities, and what to do if the inevitable strikes! We will use a variety of approaches to examine trees and leaves, discuss how to assess current year infection potential, and how to use techy forecasting tools to better prepare and holistically manage for these nefarious diseases.                                                                                               $40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 3/26

Crop Load Management for Productivity and Quality                                              Saturday May 13, 2017 ~ 11:00am-4:00pm                                                                  Crop load management is more than just fruit or blossom thinning. It’s about managing the fruit load on your trees for optimal yield, quality, and nutritional value. How you manage fruit load has a direct effect on return bloom for next year’s crop, as well as the quality and productivity of this year’s harvest. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the basics of floral bud induction and development, flowering and early fruit development, return bloom, and crop load management tactics (yes, including thinning). Trees should be at or close to bloom so we can study the flowers in situ and discuss the direct impact your practices can have not only on this year’s crop, but next year’s as well.                                                               $40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 5/7

Soil Health for Perennial Fruit Crops                                                                        Saturday, June 24, 2017 ~ 11:00am-4:00pm                                                               Managing orchard fertility is about more than just fertilizer. The fact is your orchard soil is a giant digestive engine, chewing up carbon, nitrogen, and minerals to feed not only your trees but the soil food web. In this workshop, we’ll discuss the basics of your soil so you can better understand what’s going on right under your feet, the mineral connection, and what you can do to improve the soil’s health and overall vitality to grow better fruit. Last year we discussed the basics of soil chemistry, physical characteristics, and soil biology. This year we’ll focus more on the practical aspects of what you can do to holistically improve your soils, but we’ll also go over some basics methods you can use to assess your overall soil health and fertility.                                                                                     $40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 6/18

Building Biodiversity through Biodynamics                                                              Saturday, August 19, 2017 ~ 11:00am-4:00pm                                                                  In this workshop we’ll use the biodynamic principle that your farm is a living organism to discuss principles and practices behind biodiversity and how you can use it to build a stronger, more resilient farm and orchard.                                                                          $40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 8/13

Assessing Fruit Quality at Harvest                                                                            Saturday, October 14, 2017 ~ 11:00am-4:00pm                                                         Determining when fruit is ready to pick can be tricky especially if you’re looking for specific quality characteristics, such as for hard cider, storability, or fresh eating quality. Fruit is NOT magically ready when it turns red! In this workshop we’ll discover how to assess fruit quality and learn how much fruit quality can change over just a few days or weeks. Learning how to determine optimal harvest time involves knowing your objectives, taking note of obvious changes such as seed color, skin color, aroma, acidity, tannins, and overall taste, and measuring brix, starch, titratable acidity, tannins, firmness, and more. We’ll go over each metric and how to use affordable instrumentation accurately.            $40 or $35 for those who pre-register by 10/8

Stop back periodically at Know Your Roots, as we will be adding more classes, walks and workshops throughout the year. Space is limited, so pre-registration is required for all of our classes. All classes will be held in Trumansburg, NY unless otherwise noted.

Craving those bitters

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dandelionAs signs of Spring appear, I begin to crave bitter foods. Our bodies are brilliant, because as the earth awakens; our liver and kidneys begin to work harder as they cleanse our bodies of all the toxins built up during our winter idleness. Bitters aid in digestion. Therefore, it is the perfect time for us to assist our bodies by supporting and nourishing the liver and kidneys while they are working so hard for us. Dandelion and other bitter greens help them in this process. Eating bitters increases hydrochloric acid in the stomach, sending a message to the liver to prepare for digestion, as well as increasing the appetite and preparing the liver to break down fats. The more bitter the better for these functions.

Of course, as the weather starts to warm up, I spend more time outdoors looking for who is trying to break through and reach for the sun after their long winter’s nap. To my excitement, I found Dandelions (Taraxacum officinale) sprouting up all over our lawn. Although, they were very small, their leaves were delicious with a hint of bitterness. Each sunny day, I survey the lawn, picking little leaves and snacking on them. To an observer I must have looked like a rabbit nibbling on greens.

I know for some this may sound crazy, but Dandelions are very exciting to me! They are beautiful and delicious and most of all they announce SPRING is HERE! Some homeowners actually try to eliminate these amazing plants from their backyards with harmful chemicals. The EPA estimates that Americans dump over 90 million pounds of herbicides on their lawns every year to eradicate these lovelies along with other wonderful herbs. Now that is plain crazy in my book! Good thing Dandelions are persistent and tenacious, since they are nearly impossible to eliminate. All they need is a cool summer’s breeze for their seeds to float upon in order to arrive at another pristine lawn.

Not only are these beautiful blossoms a magical contrast against any lush green lawn, they are packed with a whole lot of goodness. To start off, just two fresh-picked leaves provide a day’s supply of vitamin C. Her deep root (which can reach three feet down) draws up tons of minerals. Dandelions are loaded with omega 3s, vitamins A, B, C, and D, potassium and iron and also rich in calcium, protein, phosphorus and magnesium. One leaf can contain 19-31% protein. Check out these numbers: The USDA daily-recommended allowance for calcium is 800 mg. When comparing calcium in other leafy greens ~ 1 cup of Spinach has 102 mg, 1 cup of Kale has 206 mg, and 1 cup of Dandelion has a whopping 4,000 mg. How’s that for a super food and its right out your backdoor! Dandelion roots are a wonderful liver tonic, and since our liver has over five hundred important functions including filtering chemical contamination from our system, I am sure you can agree that it is important to support and tonify it. Along with the liver, Dandelion root also tones your spleen, stomach, pancreas, kidneys, skin, nervous, glandular, digestive, urinary, circulatory, immune and lymphatic systems. What’s not to love!?

As you can see, Dandelions are both a wonderful food source along with being a powerful medicinal herb. And you know how much I love to eat my medicine. The blossoms, leaves, and roots are all edible and nutritious. I love adding the greens and blossoms to my salads and roots to my soups. The roots are sweeter than leaves and flowers are sweeter than roots. The roots tend to be more bitter and diuretic in the spring, and sweeter and starchier after an autumn frost. The roots are most bitter when it is flowering and sweetest after a couple of hard frosts in late autumn and early winter. Dandelion increases circulation and fluid waste elimination in the body, without depleting the body of important nutrients. It is one of the safest diuretics as it tones the kidneys, aiding in elimination while maintaining appropriate potassium levels.

Although, it is generally a safe herb to consume, Dandelion is still a strong diuretic and those with low blood pressure or already excessive urination should avoid using it. Moreover, it is best to avoid if you have active gallstones.

Always remember, when foraging to make sure the area hasn’t been sprayed with any chemicals or visited by the family dog.

All information is shared for educational purposes only and has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.