Month: January 2010

2010 medicinal herb csa is now accepting members!

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hello!

maybe you have heard of our medicinal herb csa?

it is a great way to access medicinal herbs which are local and naturally grown and harvested.

csa stands for community supported agriculture and it is a type of farming where persons buy shares in the farming season up front, then share in the bounty with a weekly or monthly regular pickup of goods-most often vegetables but producers of  meats, herbs, grains and even fiber are using this model to get out there into the world. your main benefits are significant cost savings, connection with the land and grower, a snappy informative newsletter and the opportunity to participate in workdays and events on the land.

the herb csa is a good way to try new things and build up your herbal medicine cabinet. we take requests for what to grow, choose themes to build your monthly share on and you can ask questions, meet plants and make special orders at the pickup.

an example of one basic share

our season runs from may until october and the pickup is once a month.  current pickup sites are germantown community farm and wild hive farm bakery (clinton corners). we may add a third pickup site if demand warrants and shares can be shipped for a small cost.  there are a few share options-basic, which includes two 1-oz herbal tinctures, two bags of tea herbs which are 2-4 oz each and one 1-oz herb-infused oil or salve.  family size, which includes two 2-oz tinctures, 2 6-8 oz bags of tea herbs and a 2-oz oil or salve. and deluxe, which is an add-on option which includes an extra tincture, a skin care product and a plant or seeds. that option is available on a one-time only or a monthly basis.

the cost is sliding scale which means there is a suggested range, and you choose how much you can pay in that range-this is to make it more accessible to all. the cost is:

basic-$150.00-$200.00

family-$250.00-$300.00

deluxe-$25.00/month or 150.00/season

there is one basic size workshare available-you must commit to 20 hours/season of work on the farm. please inquire to apply.

you can purchase a share* at my local harvest store:


*(sorry, sliding scale option is not available on local harvest as they take a cut.)

or you can send a check with your name, address, e-mail, when you wish to pickup and which size of share you want to:

traci picard

4872 state rte 9 g

germantown ny

12526

for questions or for more information you can e-mail fellowworkersfarm@gmail.com or call traci at 845-514 3519

also see: germantowncommunityfarm.blogspot.com

and, if you are interested in a vegetable csa please allow me to recommend fog and thistle farm-located here in germantown. we will share our pickup site and time! how convenient! contact: fogandthistlefarm@gmail.com

and for a grain share-wild hive farm csa! a very innovative program. http://www.wildhivefarm.com

many salves await you!

january thaw herb meeting and bark harvest

Published on by fellowworkersfarm2 Comments

hi people! boy, did we have fun last weekend-at the radherb study group planning meeting and tree walk. we talked, we ate, we collected branches.

we looked at stuff

we observed and/or collected black haw, willow, alder, cottonwoood, aspen, black walnut, spicebush. we became rather tangled in wild roses. someone fell into a big hole. we were lucky to have a warm and sunny day-relatively warm and sunny-to muck about outdoors. it is nice to enjoy plunging into the woods when deer ticks are not active and poison ivy is sleeping.

in other news, perhaps you have heard of the good fight herb company? probaly no, cause it’s brand new!

good fight herb co.

lauren giambrone of brooklyn ny, rock dove collective member, activist, herbalist and all-around nice lady is now selling some nice tincture blends. try them! goodfightherbco@gmail.com

if you are keen on joining the fwf herbal csa this year you can sign up though local harvest. the info is there and you can even pay there! go to http://www.localharvest.org and search for fellow workers farm.(edit: see link above!)  it is a once-a-month csa with pickps in germantown and at wild hive farm in clinton corners. i am open to a third pickup site and shipping-any suggestions?

there is one workshare and a sliding scale option-you must contact me directly to access those!

an example of "basic" csa share

if you are thinking about signing up, now is a good time. of course, you can still get herbs without joining the csa at our regular weekly vegetable pickup and by appointment on the farm or special order at wild hive farm.

go to the traditions in western herbalism conference

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hello, friends

perhaps you have heard of the traditions in western herbalism conference?

the website is http://www.traditionsinwesternherbalism.org and it is september 17-19 in new mexico. i know, far, but who doesn’t need an excuse to randomly go to new mexico on occasion….

anyway, kiva rose and the anima center are behind this event, it sounds great, i’m going and you should check it out.

winter rainbow

winter is for bark lovers

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cold enough for ya?

seriously, it’s like freezing over here, and what the heck are you gonna tincture?

bark, of course! and…some tropical roots. i recently ordered turmeric and ginger roots from kolo kai organic farm, located in hawaii. i know, local is great-seriously-but i love ginger and i love turmeric and i sure do prefer fresh organic roots from a family farm than dried out crap from who-knows-where…

kolo kai turmeric roots

i grated and grated until my hands were orange, the grater was orange, the cutting board was orange-and still is.

i made tincture and oil of both ginger and turmeric as well as juicy organic cranberries from massachusetts.  all of which are gorgeous and fun to make too. i definitely recommend kolo kai if you are looking for roots.

certainly it is nice to have the time for pressing tinctures, i love my press, i get way more of the good stuff out that way. i love to see the different colors i end up with, sometimes there are surprises. i also like experimenting in the winter-trying a few drops of different types of tincture, seeing what it tastes like, how i feel. i like the extreme bitter of blue vervain, the tongue numbing of spilanthes, the smooth green sweetish of violets. i like messing around with my bitters blend and taking little sugar dream nectar before bed.  but….IS IT SPRING YET?!

my many colored tinctures

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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icy hudson

winter is totally upon us and after a couple week of holiday-induced indoor time i’m ready for bark season! enough with the baking, it’s time for long johns and fingerless gloves. we toured the farm of the lovley ethel barone-well, the edges of the farm cause that’s where you get fallen branches for tinctures and salves. she had a peach to prune-that’s music to my ears, baby-organic music….

wild cherry is looking pretty good this time of year, and “chew sticks” aka sweet birch are another of my favorite trees.

bag-o-cottonwood

additionally, how about cottonwood-good for tincture and salves-buds and bark too. it has a distinct smell that i like and big fat sticky buds. ugh, i hope noone googles fat buds and ends up here….sorry, babe, this is my dorky organic herbs page!

it is fun collecting, then it starts out fun peeling bark but sometimes it does go on for hours and my hands are like “help!”

time for some fabulous salve. time to bust out some of that nice anti-inflammatory rose petal salve i made.

finally, we rang in the new year at the wgxc benefit party–go, community radio!

happy new year!