Midwinter Update

Celebrating a Successful Year with Meadowlark Apothecary

Greetings and welcome to Meadowlark Apothecary's midwinter update! It's been a remarkable year for us, and we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us in 2022. Your positive feedback has been truly phenomenal, and it inspires us to continue working hard and expand our sweetgrass farm in 2023. With an average rating of 5 stars from over 500 reviews on ETSY, we're proud to say that we're delivering high-quality sweetgrass to the people.

Lessons Learned: Refining the Art of Growing Sweetgrass

Last year marked the beginning of our official journey as a sweetgrass farm, and it was a year of valuable lessons learned. From establishing the farm to working around the ongoing drought in Northeast Montana, propagating, harvesting, braiding, and everything in between, the process was both challenging and educational. However, we took these lessons and will use them to further enhance our operations and deliver an even better product to you.

Get Ready for a Fresh Harvest: Sweetgrass Comes to Life in 2023

As the sun rises brighter and the snow begins to thaw, we're eager to build upon our experiences from last season and refine the art of growing sweetgrass. Our sweetgrass is always grown organically, and we're exploring innovative techniques such as compost tea to enhance soil life and yield a more fragrant and lush sweetgrass. The high demand for sweetgrass bundles last summer showcases the growing interest in our product, and with an increased supply this year, customers who wish to use the raw bulk grass for their own projects will have even greater access to our sweetgrass.

Join the Mailing List and Be the First to Know About Sweetgrass Harvest

Fresh sweetgrass is expected to be ready for harvest in Late June or Early July, bringing with it its irresistible and distinct aroma. To ensure you don't miss out on this highly anticipated time, sign up to our mailing list to be notified when the sweetgrass is at its freshest and ready for harvesting!

Discover the Magic of Sweetgrass Mist

In the meantime, it's an excellent opportunity to try our Sweetgrass Mist. We carefully extract the essential oils from the sweetgrass through steam distillation using a copper still, resulting in a hydrosol or floral water with a range of uses. Whether you're in a space where burning sweetgrass isn't feasible or you're looking for a skin-nourishing alternative, our Sweetgrass Mist is an excellent choice. Not only does it offer a light and natural fragrance, but customers have also reported its effectiveness as a mosquito repellent. Sweetgrass mist is available in a convenient pocket-sized option as well as full sized 2 oz & 4 oz fine mist bottles. As we continue to refine our processes in 2023, we aim to make the Sweetgrass Mist an even better product for our customers.

Expanding Our Range of Natural Incense Products

We're always looking to expand our offerings, and in 2022 we introduced a range of other popular natural incense products such as Palo Santo, Sage Smudges, Frankincense, and Myrrh. However, if you're looking for something specific that we don't currently carry, don't hesitate to reach out with your suggestions. Your feedback and ideas are always valued as we strive to improve and grow Meadowlark Apothecary.

Cheers to a great 2023!

We hope that you have a positive and fulfilling year and look forward to continuing our journey with you. Thank you for your support and for choosing Meadowlark Apothecary.

-Robert

Summer Harvest 2022

The solstice has passed and summer is finally upon us. The cottonwood seeds are drifting about the air like a mysterious summer snowfall and with that comes the ripening and harvest of the sweetgrass braids!

The sweetgrass is long this year thanks to the spring rains with many braids well above 24”. The aroma is intoxicating and the blades are a rich dark green.

Over the winter, I have developed a sweetgrass hydrosol which smells absolutely lovely. The spray can fill a room with a pure sweetgrass aroma or sprayed on the skin as perfume. Best of all, I can attest to its mosquito repelling properties as I have been dousing myself to keep those little buggers off the hide of my dog and myself In the field!

It is only the second year of my sweetgrass farm but I hope to spread this wonderful plant and it’s healing properties to others and continue to grow for many years to come.

Please consider buying a braid soon while they are fresh and most rich with scent but if you miss it, no worries as I hope to have a bountiful fall harvest as well to keep the sweetgrass burning all through the winter.

I wish you all a wonderful summer filled with love and time in nature!

-Robby

Meadowlark Apothecary

Astragalus, A Powerful Immune Modulating Herb

The coronavirus pandemic has put immune system health into the forefront of the collective consciousness. It’s more important than ever to look after your health.

As always, the best way to fortify your body and immune system is to look for help from mother nature. There are a variety of medicinal herbs that work wonders to help shield your body from viruses, colds, and flus but I want to talk about one of the best, Astragalus.

Well known in Traditional Chinese Medicine, astragalus has been used many centuries for its immune modulating effects. Astragalus is what’s known as a wei qi tonic. Wei qi roughly equates to the bodies proverbial shield, the energy that protects the body from external pathogens. Astragalus nurtures this energy to prevent harmful pathogens from entering the body. If sickness cannot penetrate the wei qi shield, illness will not penetrate deeper energy channels which often leads to more serious problems.

From a western perspective astragalus has many well-studied health benefits and is sometimes given to patients in hospitals with infectious diseases. Supplementing with astragalus is said to help the immune system increase the production of white blood cells, which are the immune cells that actually help to prevent infectious disease. Astragalus also reportedly increases B Helper cells and stimulates antibodies in the body which help dispose of and clear cellular debris from the body.

Astragalus is said to increase antioxidant capacity with special affinity for the production of glutathione and superoxide dismutase. These are the bodies master antioxidants that help prevent the hydrophilic spikes from viruses from penetrating the cell, hijacking and infecting the cell.

Astragalus is a powerful herbal ally. It nourishes wei qi energy which is said to provide your natural shield against pathogens, and bugs. Astragalus may increase the production of white blood cells, antioxidants and antibodies which are crucial to dealing with pathogens in the body.

Truly an amazing herb with a sweet taste and tremendous health benefits. Astragalus makes an excellent addition to your daily routine.

*The herbal information on this web site is intended for educational purposes only. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The information on this web site is not intended to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.