Sukie Crandall <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>If you ever use herbal remedies -- and many of us do for our ferrets as
>part of their care which is why they often come up as a topic here and
>elsewhere -- PLEASE, be Earth-friendly by INSISTING on ONLY using ones
>which are NOT wild-harvested... We are talking about thousands of species
>now directly in danger of being lost due to the herbal medicine industry.
 
While I agree with Sukie on this if it concerns large herb
manufacturers/companies, I wanted to note that some small herb companies
wild-craft with extreme care.  I grow over 50 different herbs (medicinal,
gourmet and fragrant) myself, in my three huge herb gardens, all
organically and some herbs just won't grow in the soil where I live.
 
Yes, I do wild-craft a few herbs, and only take a small portion of the
"products" so the rest can go on.  For instance, if there are approx. 75
plants of a wild herb growing in an area, I only remove 10 and also
scatter seeds (if the plants I remove has seeds) or leave the roots if
the part used is the rest, etc.... (and harvest at the right time of the
year to continue the rest of the plants will thrive if only some parts
are used).  Since some herbal products are just leaves (like wild red
raspberry leaves), I just harvest leaves, some off of this plant, some
off that plant, so each plant can continue to thrive.  A friend has
goldenseal on their property that grows wild and a bit of it is harvested
each year.  But each year's harvest is only 5% of the total plants there.
The "patches" are huge.  This is responsible wild-crafting.  Mullein is
another herb that I have to wild-craft and in this area it is not
endangered at all nor will it ever be as it is everywhere (but I only
harvest it from areas that are not chemically treated or contaminated).
 
Another thing done is to wild-craft and take a plant or two and sow it in
one's herb garden (if the soil type is the same), thus how I have several
Comfrey plants now growing where I live.  Where it came from is another
friend's property and it has been growing wild there for the 25+ years
they lived there.  This is also how I have a few red raspberry plants
growing in my yard too.  Same for my yarrow, lemon balm, bee balm,
catnip, chamomile, and a couple of other herbs.  All started with
removing one or two plants and resowing them in my garden.  With the
ones mentioned I get anywhere from 5-20 pounds (yes, pounds, not ounces)
of the herbal products that come from them each year now.  And it all
started from wild-crafting a couple of plants.
 
It is extremely important to find out how the company wild-crafts and not
brush us all with the same stroke.
 
Kim Ord
[Posted in FML issue 4389]