Kirsten Nelson

Beth Wilder wrote:This is great stuff, thanks Anne, Anne, Kirsten, etc.! I must find some of this prickly ash...

Here are some other great medicinal plants that grow wild where we are, are introduced and are working, or look like they will work (seedlings surviving so far) here:

mesquite (leaves and gum are medicinal, pods are edible, deadwood is great fuel or to carve)

desert willow (leaves and twigs are antifungal, flowers make good tea)

Mexican elder (berries and flowers as medicine and food)

oak (leaves and bark as medicine, acorns for food, galls for dyeing, etc.)

black locust

peach (leaf tea as medicine)

black or Arizona walnut (I make a digestif liqueur from the green nuts)

Lyceum spp./wolfberries/Goji (leaves of some species for medicine, berries as superfood)

creosote (the desert's drugstore)

hibiscus (calyces for tea)

prickly pears (the inside of the pads can be used just like aloe, and both pads and fruits are very cooling, too much so if eaten in excess)

yucca (root as medicine, blossoms of some and fruit of others edible)

Passiflora incarnata (flowers and leaves for medicine)

horseradish (roots as food and medicine)

chiltepines and any other chiles (let thy food be thy medicine)

rosemary

lavender

calendula

cilantro

sage

oregano

thyme

peppermint

bee balm/Monarda

lemon balm

anise hyssop

chia

horehound

comfrey

California poppy

Yes great! You named some I forgot. Good list.

Lif Strand wrote:

Kirsten Nelson wrote:I live at 7000ft in the high desert as well, very short growing season, 13” of rain a year, cold nights (all of which as important factors to what grows)

Sounds a lot like how I describe where I live in western NM except I don't call it high desert.  Actually, I don't know what to call it.  It's where grasslands meets pinon/juniper woodlands, and 13" of rain would be a lovely wet year but we haven't seen that much in a decade.  Cold nights & short growing season?  You bet.  Last night 31°.  

I used to be a great gardener, took it for granted.  In the last couple of decades I've been taught not to take such things for granted at all.

Yes it’s a strange area. High desert meets alpine here I’d say. And that p/j piñon juniper is the transition zone between the two. Pretty amazing climates and zones...all very challenging for growing! I miss growing in the Midwest where you throw something in the ground, weed it once or twice and eat massive harvest.

I live at 7000ft in the high desert as well, very short growing season, 13” of rain a year, cold nights (all of which as important factors to what grows) and am growing the following medicinals in my forest garden:
Comfrey
Nettles in the perfect little spot with irrigation,
St. John’s wort
Oregano
Thyme
Sage- cooking
Artemisia
Lemon balm
Bee balm (as an annual)
Motherwort
Yarrow (grows soo well)
Lavender
Goji
Sea berry
Autumn olive (last three medicinal in the super food way)
Dandelion
Grindelia
Blue vervain
Malva
Clover
Mint
Alfalfa
Chamomile
Hyssop
Rose
Burdock
California Poppy
Hops
Hmmm I bet there’s a few more I’m forgetting.
These are all at least partly supplemented with irrigation while establishing.

Hi there. I’m not seeing any pictures when I click the links. Very curious though. Thanks

So I’ve been wishing I could date strictly by values and interests and google took me here to Permies singles Wish we weren’t quite so far away, although I have daydreams of visiting NZ.

I’ve been studying and practicing PC since I was 19 yrs old and practice as a mental health counselor because introspection and self-work is equally important. I also have a dream of combining these two into a book someday...

So much I could say but as an intro, I think your profile is great and you are quite handsome, and I feel I’m part hobbit as well so I think we’re on similar planes. all the best, from New Mexico.

Hmm...technology quirks.