00028 - Home's Bounty (St. John's Wort)

St. John's Wort
Hypericum perforatum

The first step on the journey around our property's biodiversity is St. John's Wort.  You have probably heard of this one somewhere along the way.  It's been used for centuries in different ways but the primary way it's been utilized and accepted for use is mostly around the treatment of mild to moderate depression.

Another thing to note is that it stimulates liver detoxification and can reduce the efficacy of other drugs you may be taking so it is important to know what you're taking and if there are any issues in throwing this into the mix.

It's clear I'm going to have to learn how to extract the essential oils of this plant, or dry this plant in order to preserve any seasonal crop for future use.  It can be taken as a tea, or as a tincture.  My preliminary investigation seems to indicate it's best prepared from fresh, but can be used from dried herb in tea.

This grows abundantly on our property, and it's nice to know the use, but for now this isn't as useful for us as some of the others yet to be presented to you.

Peace,

Shane