“Making Plant Medicine,” Fourth Edition by Richo Cech

(16 customer reviews)

$24.95

“Making Plant Medicine” is generally considered to be the most entertaining, level-headed and trustworthy reference available for learning to make standard herbal tinctures, teas, syrups, oils, salves and poultices.  The book introduces the concept of healing with herbs in a story format, following the adventures of a young family homesteading in the wild mountains of the Oregon Coast.  The rest of the book is about making safe, inexpensive, effective and harmless herbal medicines from herbs that can be grown in gardens in North America.  The formulary includes such important favorites as:  Arnica, Astragalus, Burdock, Calendula, Dandelion, Echinacea, Elecampane, Gentian, Goldenseal, Hawthorne, Ma-huang, Jiao-gu-lan, Lobelia, Nettles, Sage, Stevia and Saint John’s Wort. The fourth edition includes 28 new herbs including Aloe vera, Andrographis, Ashitaba, Brahmi, Chameleon Plant, Hops, Osha and Rhodiola.   May your copy soon be anointed with the happy splatter of homemade herbal remedies!

344 pages, soft cover, illustrated by Sena Cech Olivier

“Making Plant Medicine has been to bed with me, what more can I say?”  English herbalist Mike Brook

 

In stock

Share your thoughts!

5 out of 5 stars

16 reviews

Let us know what you think...

12 reviews with a 5-star rating

  1. Ian moore

    Ian moore (verified owner)

    Great book. Wondering about the salve ratios. Alot of other recipes online call for equal parts herb and oil. Like 4 cups of herb and 4 cups oil. I know you’re ratios will make a much stronger medicine. Just wondering I can increase the oil a quarter or a third more than your recipe to stretch the herb without making the medicine really weak. Thanks

    Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  2. 1 out of 2 people found this helpful
    bekki

    Simply the best herbal information available

    bekki

    I’ve been collecting herbals since the mid 1990s, and have a number of herbals that I am fond of. Every author has contributed meaningful information that has assisted my herbal explorations. Richo gives us the distilled wisdom of his many years of not only making medicine with the plants, but of growing them and living with them. As an herbalist who loves to grow and live with the plants I am grateful for his dedication to the plants themselves and to sharing his knowledge of their use and how to make medicine with them. I have the previous editions- this volume surpasses them all. But if you are growing your own herbs for harvest, “Growing Plant Medicine Vol 1” Is a must-have as well.

    Upvote if this was helpful (1) Downvote if this was not helpful (1) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  3. One person found this helpful
    amy Stein

    FAVE book of all my books

    amy Stein

    This book is the only book I travel with, it is my go to in all situations and I am so grateful that he took the time to write this. It is full of incredible information that is lovingly written. You have everything you need in this book. You will love this book so much you will have to buy it again and again for friends and to replace the one you destroyed because you brought it with you on hikes and walks and to rivers, ponds, lakes, oceans and seas. I have often thought that I should just scan the book so I have it with me at all times.

    Upvote if this was helpful (1) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  4. One person found this helpful
    laura.mangels

    Best PRACTICAL guide for herbalists

    laura.mangels (verified owner)

    While I have several herbal books that I treasure, I’ve always found them ALL to be lacking in the practical medicine-making instructions I really need to make my own medicine from the plants I grow. Many guides seem to assume you’ll be buying pre-powdered roots, pre-dried leaves, etc. The herbals that DO acknowledge the gardeners among us can be frustratingly vague when it comes to the specific requirements for processing and preparing each herb. Not so with this book. I have finally found the guide that is able to tell me exactly how this or that root should be dried, which herbs can be reliably juiced, etc. etc.

    I am equally impressed by Richo’s depth of knowledge in his understanding of the herbs’ medicinal properties. I am about halfway through his materia medica descriptions (takes up about 200pp of this 300+pp book), and I am struck by all the details I’ve learned so far. I consider myself to be reasonably knowledgable when it comes to herbs (reading herbal monographs is one of my favorite pastimes), it isn’t easy to impress me. I am very impressed. While the entry for each herb is not particularly long, the information is carefully selected, and each entry is quite dense.

    All I can say is that I hope Richo writes more books! An easy one (maybe) would be to have someone collect all the answers he’s given on this website into an organized format. That alone would be a very valuable book, with much practical herbal information that’s lacking elsewhere, particularly about growing medicinal herbs. In the meantime, I’ll continue to enjoy this book!

    Upvote if this was helpful (1) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  5. 2 out of 2 people found this helpful
    Melissa Hofer

    It's a great book

    Melissa Hofer (verified owner)

    I find this book to be full of practical general information and it also has specific information on a large number of plants.

    It’s solid and simple. I think anyone could follow the math examples. The solubility information – which menstruum will be most extractive – is appreciated. It makes things easy.

    I’m a pharmacist but also old and my organic chemistry is remembered in broad terms. I don’t pretend to be an herbal expert. But I’m not totally easy to fool on the subject, either. For what it’s worth, this is the most valuable herbal book I’ve come across.

    Upvote if this was helpful (2) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  6. Sara

    One of the if not the best guides for herbal medicine I’ve seen! Now it’s my go-to

    Sara

    This guide is comprehensive and chock full of helpful information. Easy to find what you need, A+++. The only downside for me is there are no herb illustrations but that would probably detract from how concise and easy it is to use and find what you need. Plus I know that would drive up costs too.

    Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  7. 2 out of 2 people found this helpful
    Jackie

    Jackie (verified owner)

    Very informative. Used it to start my medicinal herb garden and will soon use the harvesting and tincture information.

    Upvote if this was helpful (2) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  8. kris10.ann.smith

    Generous knowledge, friendly writing

    kris10.ann.smith (verified owner)

    I wasn’t sure how much I’d use this book, but wanted to have it to cross-reference other texts I have. It quickly became one of my favorite herbal books! In fact, I just ordered a second copy because my original has been misplaced during home construction and I don’t want to be without it. If I find the copy I bought earlier this year, I’ll give it to an herbal friend. Richo writes as someone with decades of experience and a genuine desire to help others. He has a conversational tone that makes the whole book enjoyable simply for the sake of reading. Anyone who makes their own herbal remedies will be blessed by this book!

    Upvote if this was helpful (0) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  9. 3 out of 3 people found this helpful
    GieGie

    an emerging medicine woman's dream!

    GieGie (verified owner)

    I am loving this book so much – very informative, very digestable, and very entertaining! I so appreciate Richo’s connection to Mother Earth and his unshakeable belief in plant medicine. It is so refreshing! As a woman of color, I also appreciate his many nods to traditional herbalist of Africa, East Asia, and indigenous Americans.

    Richo has the type of knowledge that I believe was built over several lifetimes. There is a part in the chapter on infusions where he describes “the original mother of the wise woman tradition” making tea and muttering to herself the “cave equivalent of ‘pretty good’.” I laughed to myself thinking “maybe this was a past life regression, Richo?! ?”

    Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Richo. I am committed to using only herbal medicines in my life and can’t wait to create them MYSELF! What an honor.

    Herbal power to the people!! ✊?

    Upvote if this was helpful (3) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  10. One person found this helpful
    lazywildswan

    Excellent resource for beginners and experts alike!

    lazywildswan (verified owner)

    If you are interested in herbal medicine, this is an invaluable resource. Even if you aren’t going to make the herbal medicine, this book gives details that will help you when you buy. For herbalists, I highly recommend getting this book because it provides a solid reference that is well-organized and concise. It is worth a few bucks to have a reliable resource, do not rely on random internet posts for herbs. After serving on a Cybersecurity Roundtable for five years, I have made sure that all my resource material is in print at my home, not online, on the computer, or in the cloud.

    Upvote if this was helpful (1) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  11. 4 out of 4 people found this helpful
    Monica

    Exceptional Resource

    Monica

    This is one of my favorite books for making medicine. I have many books on the topic but this is my go-to. Richo makes it easy to follow a formula and includes information, examples, and explanations that can only come from exceptional knowledge, experience, and passion. It is entertaining and easy to follow. This is the book that gave me what I needed to make medicine that I could treat my family and friends with confidence.

    Upvote if this was helpful (4) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

  12. One person found this helpful
    Hannah M.

    Must have addition!

    Hannah M. (verified owner)

    This lovely book came in the mail today and after sitting and reading through I will say it is an easy to understand entertaining must-have for anyone interested in the power of plants as wellness!

    Upvote if this was helpful (1) Downvote if this was not helpful (0) Flag for removal

    Something wrong with this post? Thanks for letting us know. If you can point us in the right direction...

×

Login

Register

A link to set a new password will be sent to your email address.

Continue as a Guest

Don't have an account? Sign Up