September/October 2025 Essential Herbal Magazine

 Our latest issue is out and available on the website.
SUBSCRIBE!
or Single Issue Only

It's a terrific issue, and it came together miraculously.  My next post will a tribute to our "tractor man", the guy who kept the farm together, my sister's husband, Bob.  He passed away on the 9th, and spent the previous 2 months on hospice.  Friends pitched in to get the farm through this growing season, making it as seamless as possible.
So when I say that the magazine came together miraculously, I'm not kidding.  We can never thank our contributors enough.  They sent such good articles on timely herbal information, experiences, and lore.  Recipes and remedies abound.  Maryanne told me she did the crossword puzzle and the program dropped 2 words.  I'm not sure what to do about that, other than make smaller puzzles, perhaps.
We're back to as normal as we get, and my mind is already on the Extra! due on Sept 20. 

Now.  On to the Table of Contents!

Crossword – FALLing  

Field Notes from the Editor, Tina Sams
What a summer this has been.  We did have a summer, right? 

 Jamaica, Hibiscus Flavored Iced Tea, Marci Tsohonis  
A well-known beverage made from a specific hibiscus can be made at home.

Mint for Meals, Alicia Allen  
Use those mints for some delicious dishes!

minty salsa

 Ask the Aromatherapist, Janet Gutierrez, MS  
Myths about essential oils, debunked.

 Busy Bees and Mint Tea, Barbara Steele  
After growing herbs as a business for many years, it’s an adjustment to garden for pleasure.

 Fun Folklore, Jackie Johnson ND
Plants have been part of our stories for centuries, and learning these stories is fascinating.  

 Tid-Bits from Kathy Musser
You never know what people will ask the herb farmer.

Yippee for Yellow Dock! Kristine Brown, RH (AHG)
Yellow dock helps us in many ways.  Learn all about it!

 Word Search – Harvest  

Oatmeal-Lavender Farm Soap, Marci Tsohonis  
Such a soothing, healing soap, especially good in dry, winter conditions - with complete instructions.

 Herbal Lore & Magic of the Autumn Equinox, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh  
Autumn is a time of much lore, magic, and superstition.  Herbs are always a part of that.

bay leaves

Homemade Throat Syrup with Elecampane & Chai Spices, Hailey Lawson
Have this ready as the seasons change.

 All Washed Up, A Series by the Twisted Sisters  
We’ve been on both sides of the table at wholesale trade shows, and tell about it.

heading into the Javit's center NYC

Meet Our Contributors
Crossword Answers

 SUBSCRIBE!
or Single Issue Only

What's not to like?  Get yours today!

 

 

July/August 2025 Essential Herbal Magazine

 I don't know if I'll ever get used to starting out with an empty folder, adding in my own contributions to an issue, and then watching it get fat and juicy as others join in.  We try to keep it to a size that our readers can easily print out - as we've found that many do - and that means we fill the 32 - 40 pages to bursting.

We've heard terms like "white space" and fancy, space gobbling techniques, but instead we fill the available space with great info.  Maryanne manages to make the tight space visually pleasing.  So far, it's working out.  Run over can go into the next Extra! 

We checked all the boxes with this one.  There are remedies, recipes, monographs, how-tos, lore, and more!  Enough to keep any herbie happy.  Something for everyone to try!

SUBSCRIBE!

or Single Issue Only

Without further ado, here's what you'll find inside:
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Crossword Puzzle, Sweet Summertime

Summer is our time to shine!

Field Notes from the Editor, Tina Sams

Some opinions. I don’t expect everyone to agree, but being out among lots of people reminded me of some pet peeves.

About the Cover

A little information about one of our favorite uplifting herbs.

The Humble Weed Anti-Itch Salve, Connie Byers

Simple weeds – jewelweed, plantain, and nettle combine to soothe summer itches.

Transpiration, Absorption and FUN! Tina Sams

A fun craft that instills knowledge just in the action of dyeing Queen Anne’s Lace blooms.

Make Your Own Flower Essences, Debra Sturdevant

How to make your own essences. Lilac is made in this example, but the instructions apply to other flowers.

Tea (Camillia Sinensis) History and Parties, Jackie Johnson, ND

Prepare to learn some things about the history of tea!

Linden: A Gentle Ally for Summer, Amy Jeanroy

This beautiful tree gives us shade, the bees adore it, but wait! There’s more!

All Washed Up - A Series by The Twisted Sisters

Some of our more memorable road trips. The journey is always half the fun.

Simple Summer Suppers, Alicia Allen

A baker’s dozen of vibrant, fresh dishes that make evening meals special.

Word Find, Walking on Sunshine

Searching for summertime!

Lavender Soap, Marci Tsohonis

Marci is a very precise soapmaker, so when she has a blooper, it’s a rare thing – and she’s sharing it with us so we can learn with her.

Stargazing Tea Recipe, Maia Wisher-Warren

Delicious, beautiful, and caffeine free tea, perfect for watching the night skies.

Cooling, Preserving & Savoring, An Herb Lover’s Guide to Late Summer, 
Marci Lautanen-Raleigh

Lots of great ideas for the cornucopia of herbs that are overflowing in the gardens.

Book Excerpt, Feed Us with Trees, Elspeth Hay

Excerpt from a new book, we read about the bounty of the chestnut tree. The book shows how many ways nut trees benefit the earth, and everything that lives here.

Fresh Tomatoes, Caprese Salad, Maryanne Schwartz

A summer staple. Cooling, and delicious, this treat packs flavor and protein into a snack.

Meet Our Contributors

A little about our writers.

Puzzle Solutions

That's it until the Extra comes out July 20th.  Enjoy the projects!

 SUBSCRIBE!

May June '25 Extra!

 I completely forgot to post this, but it was such a great Extra! it needs a brag.  Before too long we'll be compiling another couple years of Extras - and if you weren't a subscriber and didn't get them, you might need to have it.  The first one is HERE.

What's inside?

-  What is happening to the costs of herbs, oils, containers, and all the things we use with our herbal projects and/or products?

 - Delicious Peach Sangria recipe

- Excerpt from the new color edition of the Modern Herbal Dispensary

- Excerpt from Plant Energy Medicine

- Cucumber Salsa time!

- All Washed Up, More Adventures of The Twisted Sisters
   The Big Spill - learning experiences involving colossal spills, explosions, and soap diving.

- Crossword and Word Find puzzles

The only way to get the Extras is to subscribe or wait a couple years until we pull a book together.

Yucca Root Soap

 The other day I dug up a yucca plant to share with a friend.  The two that were planted here a decade ago have spread to about six or seven.  As I pulled the plant from the soil, being sure to leave plenty around the root ball, a tuber fell to the ground.  I didn't know if it came from the yucca, and mentioned it to my sister, who said, "oh yeah!  That's where the saponins are!"

I didn't plant these.  Her husband, my brother in law, has a thing for hostas and yucca.  He's a tree nurseryman, and he likes plants that you can put in and forget about.  If I'm not paying attention, there will suddenly be a whole patch of hostas in my back yard.  In fact there are two.  

Same thing happened with the yucca, but they are stately and lush, so I didn't mind.

The next day I went out and picked up the tuber. One reason was so that it didn't grow and another was because it seemed like a fun experiment.  As we talked about it, Maryanne told me that it was (is?) traditionally used by the Navaho to wash wool. 

These are the original two, on either side of a walkway out through the fence.  The closer one houses many small creatures around its base, which might account for the smaller size. 

 This one is smallish, about the size of a large fingerling potato. 
 

In fact there's a net bag of fingerlings on the counter, and it occurred to me that they looked similar except that the yucca has a dark, thick skin while the potato is pale and thin.  The yucca's texture is a cross between a potato and a water chestnut.  Very firm.  It is slippery as soon as you cut it. 

Normal people would look up how it is typically processed at this point, but that would be too easy.  Instead, I chopped it up into pretty small pieces.

Added water and put it into the microwave for a minute (where it foamed over a bit). 
It sat overnight and got nice and cloudy.  

 And when stirred vigorously with a fork, it got a layer of small bubbles.                                                                                                                                                           

On my hands, the feeling was definitely clean.  There's something else though.  Not a coating, but the skin feels soft and an indescribable feeling of having some kind of protective barrier.  There's no drag when hands or fingers are rubbed together - hours later.
So then I washed my hair.  Straining out the bits of yucca, there were about three ounces of liquid.  The first thing I noticed is that it's hard to tell where the "soap" has gone because there aren't any bubbles or foam.  Did I get the part behind my left ear?  What about the crown?  The feeling was "squeaky clean."  It took a while before it seemed to be rinsed out.  We have very hard water here, so I would never use it at the beach, where even regular shampoo or soap feels impossible to rinse off (super soft water).  My sister tells me that when detergents first went on the market, they didn't sell because they didn't bubble or foam.  In order to get people to buy them, they needed to add a foaming agent.  Using this liquid, I can agree that it was disconcerting.  
#1 I think I should have diluted it.
#2 A little vinegar rinse might have been a good idea.
BUT the results are great.  The volume and texture is increased, and it's very clean.

 Later, I sniffed around the internet and found that I could pound it (or use my Ninja) and then dry it for later use.  To use the dry root, it should be reconstituted.  It might be worth digging up some more tubers! 

Essential Herbal May June 2025

We struggled with this issue a little bit, but I'm not sure why.  May/June is a joyous time, and we packed the whole thing with herbal happiness.  It was the mechanics that got us, and we were right down to the wire.  It is definitely worth the work, though!  So many ideas, ponderances, things to make, things to plant, and daydreams to have!

We think you'll enjoy it.

SUBSCRIBE!

or Single Issue Only

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

This and That Crossword
As we shake off our winter mantle, here are some words to get you moving.

Field Notes from the Editor
Musings from the tree farm, while I watch it burst to life from the deck.

Harbingers of Spring -Sweet Cicely and Chervil, Barbara Steele
Two lightly anise scented herbs, and what to do with them.  AND their evil look-alike.

Flavorful Fun with Fruit Scented Herbs, Alicia Allen
8 great recipes that combine color, flavor, texture, and herbs. 

Chamomile Beyond Tea, Tina Sams
A dozen ways to enjoy chamomile, including three recipes.

The Lore of the Easter Season, Jackie Johnson ND
How is the date chosen?  Why do we clean our homes in spring? Why does a rabbit bring eggs? So many myths and legends from different groups of people!

Cleavers: A Spring Cleanser from the Hedge, Amy Jeanroy
Learn about this wildly abundant spring green and enjoy a green drink made with it – directions included.

All Washed Up - A Series by The Twisted Sisters, Public Speaking
Did you ever think that you just could never stand up and speak for a group?  So did we, but soon we found that it was really fun – once we learned a few tricks.

Plant List Word Find
A whole lot of herbs!

4-Step Journey Method, KhadiYah Preciado
Follow along on the journey to herbalism, from the kitchen, to the garden, to the forest, and abroad.

Herbs for Mental and Emotional Stagnation, Jessicka Nebesni
A wonderful group of herbs that can help move us through things.

Wonderful Wild Cherry, Kristine Brown RH(AHG)
All about the lovely, generous Wild Cherry, including monograph, lore, a story, and a recipe!

Jewelweed Soap for Poison Ivy, Maryanne Schwartz
After making this soap for 30+ years before retiring, our recipe is offered here with instructions

Cocktail Herbs for Containers, Marcy Lautanen-Raleigh
Grow your own delicious, fresh herbs to create cocktails and mocktails.  3 great drinks to try.

Meet Our Contributors
Learn a little about each of those who made this issue possible!

Puzzle Solutions

For the Next Issue, ideas for writers and what to look forward to.

SUBSCRIBE!

EXTRA - Essential Herbal Mar/Apr 2025

 We put out a small taste every other month when we're not publishing a regular issue, so that subscribers get something every month.  Initially it was going to be something little, like *a* recipe, or a little video, or puzzle - just a little something special that is only available to subscribers.  As usual, we got carried away, and they are usually about 1/3 of a magazine.  So much for simple.  We did compile the first couple of years into a book - All the Extras (volume 1), and will soon be making another. 

In this Extra, we continue our tales from All Washed Up, with the time a bus arrived at our house filled with herbal enthusiasts.  We included the recipes for the dishes we served.

We also included the PDF of "Wild Foods for Every Table" because you just never know when it's going to be important to know which weeds are edible, and what to do with them.  There are a lot of great wild food and foraging books out there now, but when we made this one 25 years ago, the only other one I was aware of was Billy Joe Tatum's book.  Anyhow, this is a nice little bonus to get people started with eating weeds.

There's a little bit about pineapple weed in honor of Chamomile as the herb of the year.

As usual, there is a Word Find and a Crossword specifically created with herb folks in mind.

You can still get this Extra with a subscription, but only until April 20.  After that you'll have to wait until the 3rd compilation!

Essential Herbal March/April 2025

 The lastest issue of TEH is out.  We love it!

Table of Contents:

Molly took the beautiful cover along the Pacific Coast Highway

Crossword Puzzle
Marching forth into the season of the plants 

Field Notes from the Editor, Tina Sams 
In that space between hibernation and bursting into light

About the Cover
We dedicate this cover to the beautiful shore of Southern California

Wonderful Witch Hazel, Kristine Brown, RH(AHG)
Everything about Witch Hazel, including a story and a craft

At Home Herbal Foot Spa, Jessicka Nebesni
Create your own soaking, exfoliating, and moisturizing preparations

Thyme for Lunch, Alicia Allen 
Sweet and savory dishes that include the versatile herb, thyme

Ask the Herb Farmer, Kathy Musser
Some answers to frequently asked questions about getting ready to garden 

All Washed Up, A Series by The Twisted Sisters
We finish up the farm show, and tell a tale or two.

Word Search
All about plants and growing them

Tuscany Kitchen Hand Soap, Marci Tsohonis 
The combo of tomato, basil, rosemary and sage make a spectacular bar

Birch & Maple Sap Chai, Amy Jeanroy 
Mmmm… tree sap in the chai

Viper’s Bugloss, Jackie Johnson, ND 
All about this roadside “weed”

Book Excerpt, Herbs in Every Season, Bevin Cohen
Read all about parsley in this wonderful excerpt from Bevin's latest book

Meet Our Contributors.                                                                                                                        

Next Issue and Puzzle Solutions                   

GET YOUR COPY HERE