Episode 194 · February 9, 2017
194: Kate Miller on Bioregional Herbal Medicine
Sourcing herbs and plants for health from the local ecosystem.
In this episode
Kate is a bioregional community herbalist, medicinal herb grower, & Permaculture Design Teacher. She is both formally trained and self-taught in the field of Permaculture Design, with focus on Dry-land Herb Farming, Herbal Medicine, Mountain Ecology, & Ethical Wildcrafting Practices. And she is a Certified Herbalist from the Colorado School of Clinical Herbalism in Boulder. Kate became interested in herbal medicine through years of dealing with chronic illness, including Lyme Disease, food allergies, & autoimmune issues. Together with her partners Dawne and Stephanie, she runs the bioregional & biodynamic focused herbal product company, Dynamic Roots High Altitude Herbals.
Our Guest
Greg interviews Kate, an herbalist with a focus on healing her community. She tells how she found her calling in herbalism and becoming a partner in an herbal product company and she explains why ethical harvesting of herbs is so important.
- Growing up in rural Idaho with eco-conscious parents
- Her mom’s community garden
- The community of gardeners she has grown up with and learned from
- Feeling depressed when she left college and then studying herbalism
- Finding Dynamic roots and starting there with an internship and becoming a partner
- Her definition of permaculture
- Herbal Medicine - a trending industry and the implications for wild medicinal plants
- How she uses wildcrafting to collect from nature
- How ethical harvesting is important
- Herbal medicine and the basic of herbs for health
- Why it is considered risky to purchase herbs on the open market
- Community supported herbalism – CSH
- The greenhouse and how that is expanding their production even at high altitudes
- What to do as a consumer to support best practices for the earth
- Best herbs to grow for the new herb gardener
- How to start growing elderberries
- Her definition of bio-dynamic
- Harvesting with the full moon and why that makes a difference
As well as
- Her failure – Trying to do everything and losing momentum because of burn-out
- Her success – Starting to grow herbs and teaching others how to grow herbs to take care of themselves
- Her drive – The fact that the earth and all its creatures need healing, and getting to know the healing plants gives a personal sense of agency
- Her advice – Start with one plant and get to know that plant
Kate’s Book recommendations
The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer: The Ultimate Guide to Producing High-Quality Herbs on a Market Scale by Jeff and Melanie Carpenter
Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs
How to reach Kate
UrbanFarm.org/DynamicRoots
Garden consults
Have someone look at your actual garden
One to one, over phone or Zoom. Send photos of your yard and get a permaculture-based plan for what to plant, where, and when. No trip charge.
Book a consult
with Greg, Janis or Ray