“Growing Your Garden Pharmacy” by Richo Cech
$7.95
An Herbal Reeds Publication
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“If Basil root is held in the arm,
there is no fear of thunders.”
“Growing Your Garden Pharmacy” is pure Richo–the familiar mix of stories, recipes, humor, poetry, level-headed advice, science and mysticism. Gardeners looking to better understand direct-seeding, starting seedlings indoors and medicinal gardening in pots will find information and inspiration in this publication. The booklet also includes a discussion of planting without the use of greenhouse, manual watering, potting soil, plastic trays or transplant shock. How to make Astragalus soup. How to drug cats with Valerian. How to make an infused oil of Saint John’s Wort. Stories, descriptions, harvest, processing, storage and practical uses for the following herbs:
Astragalus
Bergamot
Borage
Calendula
California Poppy
Echinacea angustifolia and purpurea
Evening Primrose
Garden Sage
German Chamomile
Temperate Tulsi
Lavender
Leopard Flower
Pleurisy Root
Saint John’s Wort
Self Heal
Skullcap
Valerian
Yarrow
32 pages, soft cover (pamphlet), illustrated by Nadja Cech
In stock
SBS (verified owner) –
When the first-of-the-year SM package arrived today, the kids and I were on a lunch break from school so I grabbed a cup of tea and curled up in my favorite spot “just for a minute” to browse this booklet. Now, far-too-long later, I’ve finished this awesome booklet and the kids will just have to settle for a recap as “Botany” today! An excellent booklet that, no doubt, will reside by my favorite reading spot for many years to come. (The engaging stories are almost as wonderful as the practical information and I intend to read from it to the family in the evenings this spring.)
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Question
maenfayne –
Does this go over yield like the Growing At Risk Herbs book does? That’s is such useful information that I haven’t been able to find elsewhere. It’s hard to plan a garden well without knowing how much I need to plant in order to achieve x amount of yield.
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Richo Cech –
Hi! Thanks for your interest in this pamphlet. I checked, it doesn’t project yields on the herbs covered, it gives herbal use, cultivation, processing and storage. Richo
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Han (verified owner) –
This soft-sided small book/pamphlet gives really detailed information on each of the plants listed in the description. We were choosing between different species of lavender and sage for our medicinal garden, so I am glad I got this book. The four publications complement each other, btw. For those of you who want color photos, these books include black lined masters with details that help you identify the plant more than random color pics, but it is easy to find photos online and hard to find ACCURATE herbal information because the herbal info with the best search rankings are not written by herbal experts, they are written by random bloggers and sites that copy, paste, repeat various bits of information. Get a set of colored pencils and color the plants in this booklet. That will help you remember what they look like more than flicking through photos — how long do you remember that weather forecast you just looked at?
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Richo Cech –
Hello Han, This made me chuckle actually. I’m (still) working on “The Medicinal Herb Grower Vol 11” and am getting really familiar with what is useful and genuine on the net, and what is a random compilation that cannot be counted on, and i hear the echos… That’s why i try my best in this venue to let people know what my actual experience is–it anchors the subject a little bit, anyhow. Richo
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Lindy –
I have the 3 previous books and have just added “Garden Pharmacy” to the order I’m getting ready to place today. Thank you, Richo, for all the work you put into the writing of these great books/pamphlets.
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Richo Cech –
Hi Lindy, My pleasure. Richo
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Breanna (verified owner) –
Being new to growing herbs, the stories gave a much needed brake from information overload. They also gave a more intimate understanding to the plants. I especially enjoyed the relation of cats to hobos ?
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Breanna (verified owner) –
I can’t believe how much I learned from such a small package??
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Richo Cech –
Hello Breanna, Thank you, this is old “James Harriot” writing of mine that got spiffed up and reissued. The plants that are covered are some of the best in Western herbalism. Richo
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Question
Han –
Is there much overlap with medicinal herb grower and making plant medicine? I have, and love, both of those books.
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Richo Cech –
Hello Han, Sorry, at first I thought you were talking about “growing at risk.” “Growing your garden pharmacy” is a pamphlet, not a book. It has stories, poetry and quite a nice rundown on cultivation of the main herbs. It isn’t the same as anything else I’ve written. Richo
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peiwen.lu –
Is the information in the “Growing your garden pharmacy” pamphlet also included in the book, Medicinal Herb Grower? Is there overlaps of information in those 2 sources? Is it possible to see the table of content for “Medicinal Herb Grower” to see which herbs are included in the book?
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Richo Cech –
“Growing your garden pharmacy” is just a pamphlet. It contains unique information. “The Medicinal Herb Grower” is out of print. I am hoping growers will want to get my new book that’s coming out: “Growing Plant Medicine” that gives a hundred times more info. Richo
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Peiwen –
I want to learn how to grow medicinal plants from seeds in zone 9. Which book should I get? “Growing your garden pharmacy” or “Growing Plant Medicine”? When is “Growing Plant Medicine” book coming out?
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Richo Cech –
growing plant medicine. the book will be available starting in 2022. r
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Peiwen –
Will the new books explain how to grow these herb from seeds? Astragalus
Borage
Calendula
California Poppy
Echinacea angustifolia and purpurea
Evening Primrose
German Chamomile
Temperate Tulsi
Lavender
Pleurisy Root
Saint John’s Wort
Self Heal
Skullcap
Yarrow
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Richo Cech –
i think those herbs are mostly covered by the “GGP” pamphlet so you can get that now for relatively cheap instead of waiting.
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Posta –
Is ‘Growing Plant Medicine’ available yet, or will it be soon? Thanks!
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Richo Cech –
hi posta, thank you for asking, it will be soon! richo
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Natalia –
Hi Richo, following up on my previous comment/ question(s!) (sorry if it was a bit much!) would this book me enough guide for me to grow the Krishna variety of holy Basil? Also, on second thought I am thinking leaving it in a pot of soil is probably easier/better for it than hydroponic. Living in such a dry climate that one finds oneself in Wisconsin winters, would I “have” to shelve it off inside one of those canopies for heat/humidity? I suppose I could buy a plastic hood but considering how I want to use this for consumption so it needs to be large enough, plus I want to be able to admire it from my living room couch without having to unzip a tent (if that makes sense). Thank you most kindly!
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Richo Cech –
hello natalie, thank you so much for the enthusiastic communications. I do not think you need this book–just our good tulsi seeds–and make sure to surface sow and keep in the light for germination. All that info is on the packet. I can relate to the preference for Krishna tulsi and find that it usually stays quite compact. If it starts to get rangy, it can be nipped back, which is also consistent with making tea of it, or eating a leaf daily, on an ongoing basis. I think hydroponics is fine for water plants–calamus, brahmi, job’s tears, etc. For terrestrial plants, a pot of good earth tends to work very well. Tulsi grows best in the summer garden or in a greenhouse environment. Lacking these conditions, a solarium or very bright south facing window may be adequate. Growing Tulsi during the winter will require grow lights. You can purchase T-5 grow lights online that will work quite well. Keep the light 18 inches above the top leaf, and keep the light on the plants for at least 8 hours per day. Keep plants nipped back if they get leggy or go to flower very quickly.
It works best to plant 1 plant per gallon pot. If the plants are potted up with organic compost, then they should have enough nutrients to stay healthy for some time. If they begin to yellow or look unhealthy, then fertilize once every 2 weeks with compost tea, comfrey leaf tea, dilute fish emulsion or other organic liquid fertilizer, or heap additional organic compost around the stems and water through the compost to feed the plants. This is a good way to keep some healthy individuals for worship or for ongoing harvest for fresh leaves or for tea. richo
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