Herbal Academy Natural Dyes Workshop Review

August 16, 2024 Sarah

For three years, I passionately studied herbalism. The pandemic years turned my mind off to it, and I found my mind and body shifted to simply growing food and plants. I let myself slide into survival mode.

This year, I realized how much I missed it when Kirk and I attended a permaculture class for a couple of days in June. I had forgotten how much I loved being in class and learning new things.

Then, I got an email from Herbal Academy about a new class: Natural Dyes Workshop. I was intrigued.

I love the workshops they run, as they are fast-paced and only require a weekend to learn new skills. It’s online, but the way it’s presented you feel like you are there with them. I have taken other short courses from them in the past.

There are so many flowers to work with and to grow in our gardens. Not only do pollinators love them, you can do art with them.

From Herbal Academy:

In this self-paced and hands-on workshop for all skill levels, you’ll explore how to use the plants you already know and love in a creative new way! From tie-dyeing to bundle dyeing and even learning how to dye with mushrooms, we have you covered with so many inspiring natural dye projects. You will learn exactly how to use dozens of natural elements to dye everyday items, including fabric, homemade cosmetics, paper, and more!

You’ll discover:

The history of botanical dyeing, including traditional uses and sustainability
Which plants create which colors – and how to unlock their most vibrant hues
How to naturally dye fabrics, cosmetics, paper, wood, and more
The supplies needed to get started – and the role they play
Troubleshooting tips for any issues that may arise
How to care for your naturally dyed items so the colors last
A plethora of hands-on projects that will bring your lessons to life
Reflections and advice on the natural dyeing journey from course contributors
And more!

Having said all that, my first attempt at natural dyeing was in the pandemic years. In the fall of 2020, we were homeschooling under the local school district’s umbrella that first year, and as part of that, we were encouraged to attend the farm weekly at the school. The regular students, at home, learning online didn’t. It was very odd, but I signed us up, and we showed up that year. One of the things we worked on was dyeing with Indigo. That was a fun and very educational event, especially for me. I liked that year because I also participated with the boys (3rd and 5th grades) at the in person events.

I really wanted to try it again, so I jumped at the chance to learn more.

I opted to buy the Botanical Dye Kit, along with the course, for $34.99 extra. It came about a week later in a very sweet box.

While I could have sourced everything independently, let’s be honest: This makes it so much easier. That was a major reason I decided to buy the kit.

It has soda ash, Alum, Marigold flower, Calendula flower, and two pieces of fabric to work with.

Going back to the workshop, the videos they created for it, which are part of the class, are well done. Soothing and easy to listen to, you will be excited to make fabric and clothing naturally pretty. I am taking the class in the mornings, as I have time. I will be posting photos of my finished items on my Instagram page.

I am just waiting for early Fall to do the dyeing when it is cool and the kids are in school. Then it is my time.

PS: This is the season to save your botanical flowers and air-dry them in paper bags, so you have lots of botanical matter to dye with.

FTC Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. We paid for this course; all thoughts are ours.

~Sarah

Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Voles And Cold Nights In The Garden

August 6, 2024 Sarah

This summer has been so frustrating.

My arm injury occurred at the worst time for summer growth, at the height of the growing season.

But that led to other issues that affected our growth in the gardens. I couldn’t weed for five weeks—I am now only starting to weed, and what a mess it is in the gardens. Then, it led to an invasion of voles invading two of our growing areas; as I pull back the weeds, I can see the telltale signs of the rodent tunnels they run through under the coverage of lush green growth (weeds included). I also catch the blur of small gray rodents zipping out as I make their life miserable. Now, as I am starting to weed, I am bringing the rat dog down with me. She may only catch one or two, but they can smell her and don’t like her. Yesterday, I watched a rabbit light out into the woods. It needed a reminder that my homestead isn’t an all-you-can-eat buffet.

The first sign was I suddenly had a couple Artichoke plants fall over. When I went in to figure out was going on, I could see a hole by each plant, where there had been digging, and tunnels shooting off.

Then I started seeing issues in the tomato bed. Plants were suddenly looking dead or dying. They had been gnawed off in half.

The root balls were highly damaged, all with holes in them.

But I have to say, I had a good run these years growing in the garden. Guess it was my turn to have a crappy year. The irony is that I fantasized about turning this in-ground bed into a beautiful raised bed area over winter. Maybe that might be a good idea in the end. Put down hardware cloth, the farm fabric, and the raised beds. Make it primarily rodent-proof.

The youngest and I worked in the evening to find and remove which tomatoes had been killed. This has made grabbing and pulling the weeds easier, opening up the plants. I think we have lost around 14 plants at this point. It’s not a good number, but it’s still doable. We still have enough plants left.

Then Alistaire saw something in the tomatoes.

It was a Barred Owl feather.

One of our three owls is here looking for a tasty dinner. Thanks, buddy. I’m glad to know they have our back. They had been grooming themselves on top of the strawberry cage, like how they sit on tree snags in the open forest. Most nights, you can listen to the owls talking back and forth.

But the real issue affecting our gardens here in the coastal Salish Sea is that it is a cold night summer. Over and over. It hasn’t gotten over 59° at night.

And that is something I cannot do anything about. Daytime cold is different, I suppose. By 7 p.m., the daytime temperatures drop; by 9 p.m., they are in the low 60s and drop very quickly into the 50s.

It came to me the other evening as I sat outside and noticed how quickly it chilled. I went back and looked at the weather cycle, and there it was.

Normally, we have weeks at least in the 60s at night. Even during the week we had a “heat wave” in the upper 80s, it still cooled at night in the 50s. Most summers, we have those evenings where it never gets cool at night in July.

And that explains so much about our gardening struggles this year. With the colder temperatures at night, plants just don’t grow as robust.

Knowing the reason, though? That makes it OK. I can then deal with my disappointment for this summer and know it isn’t my fault. I cannot control the temperature. But I can work on controlling the rodents and their destruction.

~Sarah

Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

The Patio Restoration Part 2

August 5, 2024August 5, 2024 Sarah

In July, I wrote about the Crevice Brush tool I had picked up on Amazon and how we used it to restore the lower patio by our house.

As it has stretched into August, I have had the boys out most mornings working on the other patio areas. Work for an hour or two as the sun rises, before it gets hot. And slowly all the patio parts started looking so much better.

The tool we bought came with two brush heads, and yes, we wore the first down! It did such an amazing job however.

We were starting the upper patio here. It had gotten pretty ugly the past 6.5 years. The moss and weeds we had mostly removed by here.

I removed the chairs that sat here, and instead brought up a long line of potted plants to enjoy. Alpine strawberries, parsley, and 4 basil plants. They get full sun after 11 am.

I moved the chairs over and parked more plants around them. Lavender on the ground, Thyme and Valerian starts on the table.

We kept at it. We brought down the loveseat couch, mini table, and the big table. Moved the Solo Stove to its new home.

The upper patio has a lower patio as well, with two separate sets of stairs. I had the boys work on this side first, so I could put the grills all down on it.

I brought up all the strawberry pots from down on the homestead garden, and put them around the couch.

I had two new blueberry bushes this spring, that were in pots. I had them hauled up, and they sit where they Traeger grill used to be .

It encouraged me to bring up all the pretty pots of flowers that I didn’t get to enjoy in the gardens below.

The hardest part has been the lower patio strip. It’s often shaded, so the moss is very thick. Add in that everything swept off the upper patio has gone to die there for six or more years, and there are many weeds growing up.

The second stairs going down to it.

We kept moving the big grill, so we could cleanthe paverst. Slowly, we got it done.

This morning.

We now have a fire pit area and the ability to cook easily out there. Now the big grill isn’t under the trees, for safety. It needs a new cover, but fall is still awhile away.

The raised bed that circles around the patio still needs work. When we moved in in 2018, I ripped everything out (it had been horribly overgrown) and planted herbs in it. It’s out of control once again. We spent the weekend starting to pull plants out and cutting back all the invasive weeds (so many types of thorny blackberry canes, choking everything out). Still a lot more to do in it, but I am grooming and pruning it.

But at this point I am just so happy. We took a horrible mess and made it usable – and pretty – once again. Now we can use our patios and not feel bad about how they look.

Up next? A new kitchen garden to build this fall, along with deer fencing to keep them out of the lower patio area.

~Sarah

Gardening · Homesteading

Garlic Harvest 2024

August 2, 2024 Sarah

Today, I am 5 weeks out from my arm injury, and I was feeling down a bit. I have watched my gardens barely treading water. We have kept them alive by watering them, but I can’t weed them or do any maintenance work. It is frustrating. Especially when I have had to watch rabbits destroy some of my crops and not be able to fix the fencing with only one functioning arm. I need to put down chicken wire 18″ up and 18″ out. But that won’t be this year. I can do it this coming winter when everything has died back. Maybe the other frustration is that I discovered field rat tunnels along the orchard bed, and they got in and dug up multiple artichoke plants from seeds I had grown. It’s crushing to watch it happen. So it’s not my year. I can accept that.

Add in our very cold and wet spring and early summer. It’s enough to make you want to quit farming and move into a condo.

But last week, I had a victory in all the mess. And it renewed my love of growing. It let me get past my sadness and anger over this summer.

We started pulling the garlic beds. It was time. With our youngest son’s help, we pulled it before a minor heat wave appeared.

It’s a nice color and size. There were no worm or insect issues, and the majority of the bulbs popped out without stem breakage.

Thank you, nature. I needed that boost. For a moment, I felt that things were OK out there. I had many bulbs of garlic come out this big.

I just felt….that at lest I was getting one good harvest this year!

Alistaire was a huge help. He hauled the harvest to where we decided to cure it, cleaned it up, and laid it out to dry. We will go up next week to trim it and pretty it up.

I have a bunch of bulbs in the house and have been cooking with them. It’s a mild but intensely flavored garlic. I have grown this variety that another gardening friend sold me five years ago. It’s one for Whidbey Island growing and does well in our microclimate.

We will go through the harvest and pick the best way to keep back for this fall’s planting. November will be here before I know it.

~Sarah

Gardening · Herbalism · Homesteading

Herbalist Training And How It Plays Into Permaculture

July 15, 2024 Sarah

When I first started studying herbalism on my quest to be an herbalist, I never saw how I would be able to connect it to the practice of permaculture. Permaculture wasn’t even in my mind then, nor was regenerative growing. I started studying around 2017 to learn more about the herbs I used in my body care product business. The years when I started creating tonics, salves, soaps, healing essential oil blends, and so much more. I wanted education to support my actions so I would not harm.

I wrote this book about the recipes I was using then.

But the growing aspect wasn’t quite there, as we had a tiny urban homestead.

Then, I got so busy building a rural homestead I left behind my herbalism studies and put all my effort into growing food first. That wasn’t a bad thing; it was just a season in my life. The Covid years changed what I was doing. I was so busy homeschooling the boys and growing food/plants that my herbal business slowly went to the back of my life, and I quit selling at farmer’s markets (and adding in how restrictive the rules were at the local farmers market in the pandemic years).

But this year, as I fought the dreaded 6-year homesteading year (it’s a real thing when burnout hits), I realized I missed learning. It was time to go back to my education. Take my interest in permaculture and the desire to rebuild our homestead into more of a permanent food forest where herb plants get a chance to shine.

With time on hand during the hot parts of the day this Summer, I have started retaking herbalist training, starting with the Herbal Academy’s Becoming An Herbalist Mini Course, free to take. Always start small, and get that excitement and drive back. Come this Fall, I have more classes lined up to take. I want to take that knowledge this winter and start my new permaculture-inspired growth. (I reviewed the course a while back, but taking it a second time…. opens my eyes up to things I missed the first time.)

As I opened up the mini-course in the first section, I was hit with this:

“Students of herbalism may also aspire to be plant growers, with a focus on owning or working for an herb farm on both small and large scales. This work will likely appeal to individuals who like to work outside and with their bodies and who crave direct relationships with the plants themselves. Many vegetable farmers manage to incorporate a variety of herbs into crop rotation and garden bed planning, while permaculturists and landscapers may create food forests with herbs as part of a sustainable and holistic design. Still others are interested in creating plant sanctuaries as a part of land stewardship and ecological education, focusing on integrating and protecting native plants in wild settings.”

It was like I had not read this the first time, all those years ago.

“The contemporary herbalist exists in a long line of practitioners who work at the intersection of land stewardship and health, and this intersection is only one of many that an herbalist may need to navigate.”

Another line, in Lesson 3, had me thinking.

“As the much-loved botanist, clinical herbalist, teacher of herbalists, and Herbal Academy educator 7Song notes, community-based herbalism involves a variety of aspects of herbal practice, which may include growing plants, making herbal products, seeing clients, and understanding intimately the community in which the herbalist works (7Song, n.d.)”

From Lesson 3. That is very much how I work in life. I learn for myself and then to help those around me.

This summer, my mind has been excited. I did not realize how I had subconsciously changed our growing style over the past few years until Kirk, and I, took part in a permaculture class. Someday, we might get certified, but the truth is that it isn’t cheap, and it takes at least two weeks to complete. That is a lot when one has a job and family.

In my spare time, I could study more about plants—why I should care about them, how to grow them, and, once again, how to use them. Maybe becoming certified in permaculture wasn’t my most important goal; rather, increasing my skills in growing and using plants and working with nature was.

I have my dreams for sure. If the first 6 years were us running around to conquer the mess our land was, then the next 6 can be us working with the now healed land, to get to my dreams. No, I won’t have the fantasy AI photo above, but slowly it will become something even cooler than now.

And that is why this summer and fall, my mind is running to learn even more. To build a deeper appreciation of permaculture.

~Sarah