Foreword by Rosemary Gladstar xiiiPreface xvii
PART I
Growing, Harvesting, and Processing Medicinal Herbs for Market
1: Why Grow Medicinal Herbs? 1 2: Getting Started 9 3: Navigating the Herbal Marketplace 23 4: Choosing Herbs for People, Potency, and Planet 35 5: Thinking Like a Business Manager 49 6: Facility Layout and Design 63 7: Tools of the Trade 75 8: Field and Crop Considerations and Planning 91 9: Soil Fertility and Cover Cropping 111 10: Propagation and Planting 121 11: Weed Management 137 12: Pest and Disease Prevention and Control 147 13: Harvest 163 14: Drying and Postharvest Processing 181 15: Packaging and Storing Herbs 211 16: Vertical Integration and Value-Added Products 219 17: Marketing 229 18: Growing Cannabis 241
PART II
Herbs to Consider Growing for Market
Alfalfa (
Medicago sativa
) 255Angelica (
Angelica archangelica
) 256Anise Hyssop (
Agastache foeniculum
) 258Arnica (
Arnica
spp.) 260Ashwagandha (
Withania somnifera
) 262Astragalus (
Astragalus membranaceus/propinquus
) 264Black Cohosh (
Cimicifuga racemosa
syn.
Actaea racemosa
) 266Blue Vervain (
Verbena hastata
) 268Boneset (
Eupatorium perfoliatum
) 269Burdock (
Arctium lappa
) 271Calendula (
Calendula officinalis
) 273California Poppy (
Eschscholzia californica
) 275Catnip (
Nepeta cataria
) 277Chamomile, German (
Matricaria recutita
) 278Codonopsis (
Codonopsis pilosula
) 280Comfrey (
Symphytum officinale
) 282Dandelion (
Taraxacum officinale
) 284Echinacea (
Echinacea purpurea
) 285Elder (
Sambucus nigra, S. canadensis
) 288Elecampane (
Inula helenium
) 290Garlic, Hardneck (
Allium
spp.) 292Ginkgo (
Ginkgo biloba
) 295Ginseng, American (
Panax quinquefolius
) 297Ginseng, Siberian (
Eleutherococcus senticosus
) 300Goldenseal (
Hydrastis canadensis
) 301Hawthorn (
Crataegus
spp.) 303Hops (
Humulus lupulus
) 306Lavender (
Lavandula
spp.) 308Lemon Balm (
Melissa officinalis
) 310Lobelia (
Lobelia inflata
) 312Marshmallow (
Althaea officinalis
) 313Meadowsweet (
Filipendula ulmaria
) 315Motherwort (
Leonurus cardiaca
) 317Nettle, Stinging (
Urtica dioica
) 318Oats (
Avena sativa
) 321Passionflower (
Passiflora incarnata
) 323Peppermint (
Mentha piperita
) 325
Contents
xii The Organic Medicinal Herb Farmer
Valerian (
Valeriana officinalis
) 345Yarrow (
Achillea millefolium
) 347Yellow Dock (
Rumex crispus
) 349Acknowledgments 351Appendix 1: Analogs for At-Risk Herbs 353Appendix 2: The Science Behind Herb Dehydration 357Resources 365Notes 369Index 373Pleurisy (
Asclepias tuberosa
) 327Red Clover (
Trifolium pratense
) 328Red Raspberry (
Rubus
spp.) 330Rhodiola (
Rhodiola rosea
) 332Saint John’s Wort (
Hypericum perforatum
) 334Schisandra (
Schisandra chinensis
) 336Skullcap (
Scutellaria lateriflora
) 337Spilanthes (
Spilanthes
spp.) 340Thyme, German Winter (
Thymus vulgaris
) 342Tulsi (
Ocimum tenuiflorum
, syn.
O. sanctum
) 343