WHEN DID WE STOP LEARNING HOW TO MAKE OUR OWN MEDICINE?

Before I became a farmer, I was a natural health practitioner.

And one of the things that eventually led me into farming was my interest in understanding the relationship between plants, food and the human body.

I've always been fascinated by the idea that so much of what we need to support our health begins in nature.

And yet, somewhere along the way, we've become increasingly disconnected from the knowledge of how to identify, grow, harvest and prepare the plants around us.

We can walk into a pharmacy and purchase hundreds of different products.

But how many of us could walk into our own backyard and identify five plants that have a history of medicinal use?

When did we become so knowledgeable about purchasing medicine, but so unfamiliar with making it?

Medicine didn't begin in a laboratory.

Long before modern pharmaceutical manufacturing, people were using plants as part of their approaches to health and healing.

Knowledge was passed between generations.

People learned which plants grew in their regions, when to harvest them and how to prepare them.

Roots were dug.

Leaves were dried.

Flowers were collected.

Plants were steeped in water, infused into oils or preserved in alcohol.

And while not every traditional preparation was effective or safe, this knowledge represented generations of observation and experience.

In fact, some modern medicines have their origins in compounds first identified in plants.

Aspirin's history is connected to salicylates found in plants such as willow, while compounds from foxglove contributed to the development of important heart medications.

Plants have played a significant role in the history of medicine.

And they continue to provide valuable compounds for scientific research.

So why do so many people think of medicinal plants as something unusual, rather than something worth learning about?

We've become disconnected from the plants around us.

One of the things I love about farming is how it changes the way you see the landscape.

A field isn't simply a field anymore.

A patch of weeds isn't necessarily something that needs to be removed.

You begin recognizing plants by their leaves, flowers, roots and growing habits.

You start paying attention to the seasons.

And you realize that many plants we've been taught to overlook have fascinating histories.

Take dandelions, for example.

Most people see them as weeds.

But dandelion leaves and roots have been used in food and traditional herbal preparations for generations.

Nettles are another example.

They're often avoided because of their sting, yet properly prepared nettle leaves have a long history of use as food and in herbal teas.

Then there are plants like lemon balm, mullein, calendula, echinacea and motherwort.

Each has its own growing habits, traditional uses and considerations for safe preparation.

And learning about them changes your relationship with the natural world.

Instead of seeing plants simply as decoration or something to remove, you begin seeing them as something worth understanding.

Knowing a plant is different from knowing how to use it.

This is something I think is incredibly important.

Just because a plant is natural doesn't mean it's automatically safe.

Some plants are toxic.

Others can interact with medications, cause allergic reactions or be inappropriate during pregnancy or for certain health conditions.

Even plants with a history of medicinal use can vary in their chemical composition depending on where and how they're grown, when they're harvested and how they're prepared.

And some plants that look similar can have very different effects.

That's why I believe education matters so much.

Learning about medicinal plants shouldn't simply mean following a recipe someone posted online.

It should mean understanding the plant itself.

How to identify it correctly.

Which parts have traditionally been used.

When and how to harvest it.

How to prepare and store it.

And what precautions are necessary.

The goal isn't simply to make something. It's to understand what you're making and why.

There's something powerful about making things yourself.

I remember how much my own perspective changed as I began learning to produce more of what I needed.

Whether it was growing vegetables, preserving food or preparing plants, each new skill gave me a greater understanding of the work and knowledge involved.

And perhaps more importantly, it gave me confidence.

Because once you've learned how to do something, that knowledge stays with you.

You may still choose to purchase a product.

You may still need professional help.

But you're no longer completely unfamiliar with the process.

And that matters.

I think we've become so accustomed to convenience that we sometimes forget how satisfying it is to understand where something comes from and how it's made.

Making a simple herbal preparation can be an opportunity to learn about botany, chemistry, preservation, agriculture and the history of medicine.

It connects us to skills that people once considered part of everyday life.

And it encourages us to become curious again.

What exactly is a tincture?

A tincture is a preparation made by extracting certain compounds from plant material, commonly using alcohol as a solvent.

Different plant constituents dissolve differently depending on the solvent, its concentration, the plant material and the preparation method.

That's why making a tincture involves more than putting herbs into a jar.

You need to understand what you're working with.

Which part of the plant you're using.

Whether the material is fresh or dried.

How it should be prepared.

And how the finished product should be labelled and stored.

It's also important to understand that extracting compounds from a plant doesn't automatically establish that the finished preparation is effective or safe for treating a particular condition.

Those are separate questions.

But learning the preparation process itself is a valuable practical skill.

And it's one of the reasons I enjoy teaching people how to make their own herbal preparations.

Why I created Make Your Own Medicine workshops

Through Red Maple Farm School, I've been developing opportunities for people to reconnect with practical knowledge.

And making herbal preparations is one of those skills.

I want people to have the opportunity to work with plants, ask questions and understand the process for themselves.

Not simply purchase a finished product and accept whatever the label tells them.

I want them to understand the plant.

The preparation.

The decisions involved.

And the limitations of what they're making.

Because there's an enormous difference between being told something is good for you and actually understanding what it is.

Our Make Your Own Medicine workshops give people an opportunity to explore that knowledge in a hands-on setting.

And I think there's something especially meaningful about learning alongside other people who are curious about the same things.

Some may be interested in growing herbs.

Others may want to understand traditional plant preparations.

Some may simply enjoy learning a new skill.

And that's exactly what education should encourage.

Curiosity.

Confidence.

And the willingness to keep learning.

We don't have to choose between traditional knowledge and modern medicine.

I think this is where conversations about natural health often become unnecessarily divided.

Some people assume that an interest in herbal medicine means rejecting conventional healthcare.

Others dismiss traditional plant knowledge because not every historical claim has been supported by modern research.

But I don't see why we need to approach the subject that way.

Modern medicine has provided extraordinary advances in diagnosis, surgery, emergency care and treatment.

And scientific research has also helped us understand which plant compounds have useful effects, which may be harmful and which traditional claims don't hold up.

At the same time, there is value in preserving botanical knowledge, understanding the history of plant use and continuing to investigate what nature has to offer.

We can appreciate modern medicine without forgetting the importance of understanding the natural world.

And we can study traditional preparations without assuming that everything natural is automatically beneficial.

To me, those aren't contradictory ideas.

They're part of becoming better informed.

What happens when we stop passing knowledge along?

This is the bigger question I keep coming back to.

How much practical knowledge disappears when one generation stops teaching the next?

Not just knowledge about medicinal plants.

But growing food.

Preserving harvests.

Raising animals.

Repairing equipment.

Cooking from basic ingredients.

And understanding the resources available around us.

We've become incredibly skilled at purchasing solutions.

But I wonder how much capability we've lost in the process.

And what that loss means for our independence.

Because knowledge is a resource.

And unlike something sitting on a store shelf, it's a resource we can share without using it up.

When one person learns a skill and teaches it to someone else, that knowledge becomes more valuable to the community.

That's one of the things I hope to accomplish through Red Maple Farm School.

Not simply teaching individual workshops.

But helping rebuild a culture where practical knowledge is valued, shared and put to use.

Maybe it's time to become curious again.

I'm not suggesting that everyone needs to become a herbalist.

And I'm certainly not suggesting that making your own preparations replaces medical care or prescribed treatments.

But I do believe there's value in understanding the plants growing around us.

Learning their names.

Recognizing their histories.

Understanding their potential benefits and risks.

And developing the skills to grow, harvest and prepare them responsibly.

I believe the body is a temple.

And part of honouring that belief, for me, is continuing to learn about the relationship between our bodies and the natural world.

The more I learn, the more I recognize how much there still is to understand.

And perhaps that's where we should begin.

Not with the assumption that we already have all the answers.

But with the curiosity to ask better questions.

Because learning how to make our own medicine isn't just about what's inside the jar. It's about reclaiming the knowledge, confidence and connection to nature that comes from understanding how it got there.

And if you've ever wanted to learn more about medicinal plants or how traditional herbal preparations are made, I'd love to welcome you to one of our workshops at Red Maple Farm School.

You don't need to know anything about herbal medicine to begin learning. You just need to be curious enough to start.