Summary: TweetComfrey – A Proven Medicinal Herb, With a Undeserved Bad Reputation. After two days of fishing shows I decided to change things up a bit with a show on medicinal herbs. I have done a lot on this in the past, mostly sticking to very safe herbs that are both medicinal and culinary. The reason being is I am NOT a master herbalist, period. I am also not a Doctor or even a Nurse, I am not qualified to give medical advice and that is a big time disclaimer today. Some of the stuff I will cover today can be toxic if used the wrong way or it may have bad interaction with other herbs or medications. Some of it should not be used during pregnancy, etc. I will also state today that it is not only impossible for me to mention all possible negative side effects but I am also not qualified to do so. The use of any herb on this podcast is done so at your own risk and should only be done with proper research and consultation with a qualified professional. Now with all that, you may wonder why I have abandoned sticking to herbs that are very safe and pose little to no risks even if eaten like candy. Well, the reality is we may need these herbs in a grid down scenario. A Doctor, Herbalist or other professional may know how to extract and herb but can’t do it if they don’t have it. Additionally some are good cash crops to sell to herbal product makers. Some like Black Cohosh are actually endangered due to over harvesting in the wild. Some can be safely used with proper research and I leave that choice up to you. Some are great niche plants in your overall systems and attract predators and pollinators. Comfrey for instance is the preferred plant above all others for spiders to overwinter in. Some are also great dynamic accumulators, etc. Additionally given the option many species of animals including livestock will eat a bit of a so called, “toxic plant” when their internal intelligence tells them to. Frankly there are many ornamental plants such as Oleander that are highly toxic if consumed but people plant it all over, you don’t see children or pets dying form eating it. So I don’t feel we should fear using a plant that MIGHT be dangerous IF used IMPROPERLY. One final note though for those with highly edible landscapes. It is important (ALWAYS) to tell visitors that not everything is edible. Some people are morons, they think if most things can be eaten, all things can. So make sure you tell people that visit your property not to eat anything unless they know exactly what it is. I can just see some tool, devouring foxglove or destroying angel mushrooms and ending up dead due to such foolish behavior. Today We Discuss… Black Cohosh – Source – WebMD Profile Comfrey – Source – WebMD Profile Wild Ginger (this is the one plant today you can’t get at Horizon Herbs) – Source – WebMD Does Not have a Profile On This Herb Valerian – Source – WebMD Profile Dream Root – Source – WebMD Does Not have a Profile On This Herb Elecampane – Source – WebMD Profile Hyssop – Source – WebMD Profile Stone Root – Source – WebMD Profile Wild Dagga – Source – WebMD Profile Does Not have a Profile On This Herb Blood Root – Source – WebMD Profile Greater Celandine – Source – WebMD Profile Resources for today’s show… Join the Members Brigade The Year 1343 Join Our Forum 13Skills.com Join Our Forum Walking To Freedom TSP Gear PermaEthos.com JM Bullion – (sponsor of the day) Western Botanicals – (sponsor of the day) Forum Thread on Comfrey with an Awesome Rebuttal of Comfrey being Dangerous Wild Ginger Delicious or Deadly Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in you[...]
