Getting your herbs

[Lilu]

Where do you buy your herbs? Online? Offline? Make your own?

I find that I am a TERRIBLE GARDENER, I manage to keep some house plants alive, but the potted herbs I tried to grow just died on me. I am going to try again this year, we are renting and our place gets A LOT of wasps around here (in the hundreds!) so having a garden just outside won't work, yet having it further away means I can't water it easily, so I need to be able to access them easily.

This year I am going to try growing some in pots outside, but where I can pull them inside to water and tend away from the bees. hehehe I even bought a book that explains tending different herbs and things.

Anyway, I was wondering where other people get their herbs? Do you buy them online? At a local store? Fresh or dried?

And which do you think work better in sachets and candle magick? I haven't had any real experience with fresh herbs, but I find that dried work quite well with my candles if I'm doing a spell.

Lilu

[Amethyst Rose]

I've always wanted to be able to grow my own herbs, but I really wouldn't know what to do with them after they were grown :)
Some of my herbs I have bought from online auctions, but only if they're cheeper than I can get elsewhere. Otherwise, I just get them from the local health food store.
I find that dried herbs are easier to work with for my needs, such as making incense, sachets and candles. If I ever did get fresh herbs, I'd be more inclined to use them in cooking...maybe a bit of kitchen witchery :)

[eaglewolf]

We, obviously, grow alot of our own herbs, for both cooking and magick. We also grow herbs for other people as well, some we never use...

However, it is not possible for us to grow all the herbs we need, so purchasing them locally is what we do. Some of the rare herbs can only be purchased at the local metaphysical shop, while some even have to be ordered. We do not purchase from the internet often, because we like to know exactly who will benefit from our patronage...

Well, that's about it.

~ew

[Mairwen]

There's a place here called the Good Foods CoOp, and it's an all-natural food co-op. Wonderful place, lots of neat goodies. I get all my herbies there. :D

[Armitage]

Lilu, you sound like me. My mom jokes that I have a black thumb. I have absolutely no intuition when to water plants, where to put them, or how to get them from seedling to a bigger little leafy thing.
I have a Xmas cactus now that's doing ok, but I'd like to actually get something to do more than just survive at my hands.

[mol]

Our herb garden is growing beautifully right now and it is actually our first one! We have always utilized our local shoppes. But, moving towards a more 'Green' tradition has made us open up our world to include our green thumbs.

[Lynnaea]

I try growing what I can, sometimes I have success, sometimes I have to try again the next year. The mugwort and catnip were the successes last summer, I harvested about a bushel of each.

I just found a whole rack of medicinal herb seeds at Wal-Mart, must be new this year, $1.59 for each packet. I got Valerian, Calandula, Feverfew, and Chamomile to start with. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Usually I get my live plants at one of the Medicinal or Folk Remedy festivals in Macon County, TN. There are about 3 of them each year. There are a couple in May, if anyone is interested I will send you the details.

I buy my dried herbs from Frontier, or FORC, both suppliers to the local food coop I belong to.

(oops, I can't spell, I just edited the spelling of Valerian. There are probably more spelling mistakes, but that was the one I caught)

[Niamh]

I get most of my herbs at a great organic grocers in New Haven. The places aroun here just aren't as good! Since we've been moving a lot in the past few years, it's been a while since I"ve grown my own. Since we have an apartment now where I can't cultivate the land, I'm going to start them all indoors in a variety of containers, etc. Some I'll keep at home, most I'll bring to work.
If you have a large enough freezer... sometimes herbs freeze nicely, if you have the space. One year I grew more basil than I could even give away, so I had a few ice cube trays of the leaves that I could thaw when I needed it fresh. The rest I dried. :)

[eaglewolf]

That is a great topic and is rarely discussed, thanks for bringing up the idea.

Perhaps someone will share their knowledge on freezing techniques, do's and don'ts, what herbs we are able to freeze etc.

Looks like a great topic for discussion, thanks Niahm!

~ew

[Moondragon]

Well I get my herbs off of my store online I also try to grow some I get alots of misses..... but I do get some hits..hehe

[Niamh]

I wish I knew more about freezing! :) I think I've only ever done it with basil, in the ice cube trays. It seems to work extremely well. Anyone else?

[belladonna23]

Herbs such as dill weed, sage, rosemary, and thyme are best frozen on the stalk. Rinse and dry them, then lay them flat on a cookie sheet so they don't stick together and freeze them overnight. Then, the next day, pack them tightly into freezer bags or containers.
Don't chop herbs before freezing- they're easy to chop when frozen.
All herbs can be frozen in oil or butter. Basil loses its color in the freezer unless blanched, so freeze basil in oil.
Here's a great idea- add 1/4 cup oil to a cup of packed herbs. Spoon the mixture into ice cube trays. They can then be added to soups, marinades, salad dressings, etc.
Fine herbs, such as chives, parsley, chervil, and tarragon, freeze better than they dry.

[eaglewolf]

Ha Ha ... It is great to have you back! Thanks for the wonderful tips :D.

~ew

[belladonna23]

Originally posted by eaglewolf
Ha Ha ... It is great to have you back! Thanks for the wonderful tips :D.

~ew

My pleasure! It's great to BE back :D!!

[Yvonne Belisle]

I don't know if anyone is interested but I just got an organic seed catalog. The name of the company is seeds of change and they have a website at http://www.seedsofchange.com

[Lilu]

Thanks for the tips on freezing, belladonna. (hehehe, side note, one of my Italian teachers used to tease me by calling me Bella Donna - my real name is Donna, and Bella is beautiful in Italian. Translated it means Beautiful Lady - used to make me furious!!!) hehe

Anyway, I am going to try AGAIN to grow herbs this year. I bought a little seedling tray for the window sill this weekend, along with some basic herbs and things. Should be interesting. Any thoughts from people on when to start seedlings so they can be transferred to pots at an opportune time?

I live in Central Wisconsin, there's still SNOW outside for cryingoutloud!

Thanks Yvonne for the URL to Seeds of Change. I'm going to check it out!

BB
Lilu

[morticia2259]

Hi and Merry Meet to all. This is such an awesome site and I thank you for it. I have a question....which herbs can be frozen and which ones cant you? This is the first year I am doing all my own (indoor, live in apt) growing for most of my own magickal herbs. Have a great weekend and Merry Part all!!

[morticia2259]

Thank you Belladonna23 for the awesome advice on freezing in oil...........thank everyone for the very helpful insights! Blessed be!

[belladonna23]

Hi, Lilu. If you want to transplant your herbs outdoors in the spring, then late winter is the best time to plant your seeds. Anise, coriander, fennel and dill don't transplant very well.
When there is enough foliage to ensure new growth, you can begin to pick leaves. Seeds can be picked when the color changes from green to brown or gray. Pick leaves or seeds after the dew has dried but before the sun gets too hot to ensure good oil content.
Whenever you guys are ready to dry your herbs, there are a few different ways to do so that I would be glad to share with you all. Just let me know! :D

[belladonna23]

You are so very welcome. Glad I could help!!

[Shatav]

I'm lucky in that I happen to have an occult supply store not that far from me. The owner is great and orders from reputable companies. Before that I did mail order. I like many of you couldn't keep a plant alive to save my soul. Just call me a black thumb. ;)

[Selenia]

lucky here too!
One can find just about anything as long as you look for it (:

[Kaylara]

I buy some dried herbs, grow some of my own, and wild craft others...

Kaylara

[Jezanna]

Originally posted by Niamh
I wish I knew more about freezing! :) I think I've only ever done it with basil, in the ice cube trays. It seems to work extremely well. Anyone else?


Merry Meet :)

Fresh picked Chamomile flowers can be washed and placed in a small bottle and put directly in the freezer. Then when you need a few flowers for a tea or compress you can just pop a few flowers out of the bottle....

**dreaming of cleaning out her greenhouse and starting some seeds**

~Jezanna~

[Jezanna]

the place to get info and seeds or live plants online is:

http://www.richters.com/

They have an excellent reputation for the delivery of their live plants.
I see they are also offering a wide variety of organic seeds!

I really would like to visit there one day!

Enjoy

**dreaming of spring**

~Jezanna~

[Niamh]

I, too, am dreaming of starting to plant! I love the snow... but can't wait for little green things to pop up everywhere!
And thanks for the tip on freezing chamomile. That will come in most helpful!

[atlantis]

i grow some of my herbs but others i just buy at the local nursery next to our school

[Amora]

It's good to see that others have black thumbs as well. I tried my hand at about 15 different herbs last year and what I didn't kill, died on it's own. I always thought maybe I wasn't meant for this stuff, but thank goodness I'm not alone now!!!

I buy all my herbs from a local shop but due to the inconvenience of driving all the way out there (I live in the country) I'm thinking about starting to buy some online. If anyone has had any good or bad experiences purchasing herbs online I'd appreciate hearing about it. This is a great topic!!

[MoonWolf]

I prefer to grow my own. I once had a good starter garden when I was living with my parents in Alaska, but i moved and got married and haven't had a garden since. I particularly don't care for store bought.. or buying harvested herbs from private sellers. I will if I have to but I have a passion for growing my own. I haven't started any seedlings yet for my indoor garden (necessary since we aren't at a permanent residence) but I am collecting the seeds I need.

I buy my seeds at local stores, at online stores, bartering seeds for items that I can supply.. such as I have two commissions of oil paintings in the works for seeds that i have bartered for. Online auctions are also a good source of seeds. Also it is nice when you have friends who have seeds.. because then there is a little trading between friends and just sharing of supplies.

I have never personally froze herbs accept for one occassion when i was growing nasturiums. The book I had said that to store the herb it was best to freeze it, so I picked the blossoms off and put them in a zip lock baggy. I made sure that I got as much air out as possible and then froze them. They retained color quite well. I never got a chance to use them though because after a couple of months my mother found them and threw them away *LOL*.. so much for that experiment.

MoonWolf

[HorseCrow]

I use both. It all depends on the magick, sometimes fresh are best, other times dried...

[Astara Seague]

I buy on line and in stores.. I like to grow my own as well but some I can not grow here

[LadyTrinity]

I like both. For my self, I use dried because they last longer. My friend down the street grows some nice herbs and she gives them to me fresh as a gift :clapping: she too is wiccan. So I use both. :yayhawaii

[yavanna]

I wild collect common natives and invasive plants, grow rarer ones or those I use a lot of and buy any I can't grow or find from eBay/shops online.

[LadyCelt]

I would want fresh herbs but I have a cat. I would love lavender but I hear its hard to take care of.

[Renny]

I'm growing herbs next spring, my mother grows herbs for cooking so I'll have her around to help me with it. I bought dried herbs and they had like no scent at all... it was weird

[AineDanu]

I would prefer to use Fresh but until I am confident in my ability to know which is which in the wilds, and until I can grow my own (hopefully this summer) then i will continue to buy dried. :) plus with many herbs that are not indiginous to our area we have no choice but to buy dried.

Ainedanu

[Sage WindMoon]

I buy at a local health food store, and online here:
http://sage.mindnmagick.com

I'd like to grow some at home, but haven't gotten around to starting it up.

[MysticCottageHerbs]

sounds weird but i get alot of mine off ebay. its cheap as hell especially if you only need alittle bit and dont want to buy a pound from those online stores!

[Lullebulle]

I always get mine at the supermarket (:P), and the I dry them. I store them in jars under my altar. I don't make my own because I, really really suck at keeping plants alive

[Gypsy flower]

I use both:)

[enchancea]

I say either. Durring the summer I use mostly fresh but there are some I dont grow and its just easier to go to the store.

[Cindlady2]

I wild craft what I can and dry what I can't use right away. You might be suprized what is growing within walking distance (even in the city)!
What I can't wild craft I buy online.

[_Banbha_]

I grow some of my own and also have a great orgainic source by my home. I like to wildcraft herbs too. When I order herbs via mail, it's alomost always from the wonderful Mountain Rose Herbs.

[Hærfest Leah]

I don't know if anyone is interested but I just got an organic seed catalog. The name of the company is seeds of change and they have a website at http://www.seedsofchange.com

We use their Pasta sauce, it's the only thing from them I've ever seen and it's very good. We get it at the post commissary.