Conducted by Monica Rude

Register and attend our class on cultivation & use of lavender when it will be in all its glory. Take some home and share in the aromatherapeutic joy! 

When...
Saturday 31 July 2010 / 9am to noon

What...
We will harvest lavender in full bloom and then distill it to create a hydrosol & essential oil. Learn the requirements of lavender cultivation, best varieties, drying, storage, use in aromatherapy, cooking, medicine, crafts. Experience lavender lemonade & food. Recipes. Yum!

How...
To register: Call or email Monica Rude at
575.535.2860

Register early as space is limited!

Cost...
$37 includes tax, extensive handouts, lavender refreshments & lavender to take home.

Where...
From Silver City - Take Hwy 180 West about 25 miles.  At the 89 mile marker, . Turn right on Hwy  211. Proceed 4 miles into beautiful downtown Gila.  Immediately after the Gila Post Office - and before the pink Hidalgo Medical Clinic - turn left onto the dirt road. Go a few hundred feet, look for the class sign & turn left.

We will be outside for part of the class. Wear sun protection, hat, etc. No dogs, please.

Your guide...
Monica Rude is a Master Herbalist & Lavender Nut who owns Desert Woman Botanicals in Gila where nearly 100 medicinal & culinary herbs are organically grown for teaching & for use in the DW product line. She has extensive experience teaching gardening & herb use & generally messing around with herbs. If you are a potential herb mess around wither, consider our apprentice program or our 2011 weekend intensive schedule as described below.

Monthly Weekend Intensive on Herbal Cultivation & Use, Food and Healing
These classes will be offered again in 2011.  Check back for details.

The classes will be devoted to 3 general tracks

• 1. Cultivation
• 2. Herb Use for Home Health Care
• 3. Food & Healing

Classes will take place in Gila, NM once a month - all day Sat & Sunday, roughly 9-4:30pm with 1.5 hr break for lunch & rest. The schedule will be adjusted as the temperature dictates. - This is a weekend INTENSIVE. Six to seven hours a day of class is a LOT! I will make an effort to provide frequent breaks & a variety of activities to hold your interest & energy.

Each weekend will include: 

• 3 hours cultivation
• 3 hours product making
• 3 hours materia medica
• 3 hours of body systems review & plant ID
• 1 hour food & healing. 
• 13 hours Total Class Time per weekend.

There are 2 options for participating:

Option 1 / Commit to all 9 weekends: The tuition will be $1528 (includes tax) per person per 9 week session. This includes instruction, 3 meals, all handouts & materials, access to herbal library. Payment for this option: A deposit of $500 is due upon commitment to the program. The remainder is due at the first class. Please make checks payable to: Desert Woman Botanicals. OR use PayPal to send payment (go to www.paypal.com, click on "send money" tab, you can send $$ to anyone who has email. This is very easy.)

Option 2 / Sign up for a weekend or a portion of a weekend, usually in 3 hour segments. For example, you might want to sign up for the cultivation class on Soil Improvement. The cost will be $37 (includes tax) per 3 hour segment. Please call to register & for more info about other portions of the schedule for product making, etc.

Refund policy:
Class tuition cannot be refunded.  Classes will take place rain or shine.

Not included
in tuition are lodging, breakfast, snacks, beverages.  Some local lodging may be available at reduced cost. Camping in the Gila area is a possibility.  Additional expenses may include transportation, books, personal expense.

What to bring:
Serious work gloves (not the cloth type with roses or trowels on them), hand pruners (I prefer Felco #8 but it's your choice. Cost approx $42), water bottle, hat, sunscreen, long sleeves, notebook, bathing suit optional; flashlight, magnifying lens.

Students are expected to participate in meal prep & clean-up, as well as lab clean-up.   Students may purchase DWB products at wholesale prices. Each will get to take home some of products made during class. By the end of the program, students will have accumulated a complete home health herb kit. No dogs please!

We still have our regular apprentice program.  See below for a description.

Weekend Intensive Track 1: Cultivation & Use

Introduction:
Why grow your own? Basic principles of herb cultivation, plan for the class series. 
Off to a good start in the garden: making soil mix, seeding in GH, ongoing care
Use & care of tools.

Session 2
Transplanting & care of seedlings: transplanting seedlings to pots & ongoing care
Transplanting onions into soil; care of recent transplants, water, light, temp requirements, bed prep, hardening-off, mulching, preventing transplant shock.

Session 3
Strategies for facing the challenges of wind & sun, using shade cloth, remay, cold frames, wind barriers; creating shade. Transplanting into soil.

Session 4
Soil improvement, soil testing, amendments to maintain plant health, prevent disease, maximize yields. Using weeds as a resource. Making & using compost. Soil testing.

Session 5
Garlic: when & how to harvest & dry, use for medicine & kitchen.
Dealing with garden pests without poisoning yourself, recognizing when to take action.

Session 6
Camping trip to Mogollon mountains to wildcraft, process, discuss herbs. Ethical wildcrafting.
Overnight. Rain possible. Bring your own camping gear. List available later.

Session 7
Lavender Cultivation & Use. This class will be held in Gila at a lavender farm where lavender will be in full bloom. We will harvest, then distill to create a hydrosol & essential oil.
Learn the requirements of lavender cultivation, best varieties, drying, storage, use in aromatherapy, cooking, medicine. Drink lavender lemonade & food. Recipes.

Session 8
Seed Saving. How & when to harvest seeds for a variety of vegetables, flowers, herbs;
Preventing cross-pollination; best techniques for cleaning, drying, storage to maximize viability. 
Planning your garden with seed-saving in mind. Maximizing germination.

Session 9
Garlic planting; How to grow garlic, history, soil prep, ongoing-care throughout the winter & spring. Watering & feeding. How to know when to harvest next May or June. Best varieties for our area. Eat garlic! 
Root Dig: Echinacea, Burdock, Comfrey, Jerusalem artichokes, Licorice. Eat. How to use fresh or dried; drying & storage.

Ongoing topics include herb harvesting, drying, storage, processing, herb quality; organic methods. Echinacea cultivation. Herb safety.

Weekend Intensive Track 2: Herb Use for Home Health Care

Introduction
Overview. Medicinal herb terminology. Weights & measures. Lab orientation. Sanitation. Record keeping. Safe use of herbs.

Procedures:
Infusion, teabags, capsules, decoction, cold infusion; tinctures fresh, dry, acetous, glycerites; infused oils, salves, lip balms, massage oil, bath salts, salad oils; essential oils; hydrosols; emulsions (cremes, lotion); syrups, cough drops; poultices, suppositories.

Materia medica:
Detailed discussion of plants, use, preferred forms & method of preparation, strength, solutions, dosage, contraindications. Constituents & their implications for medicinal action.

Body systems Overview:
Brief review of anatomy & physiology pertinent to illness & medicinal herb use. This not a detailed A&P class. Student review of system in A&P text before class recommended. Study guidelines will be provided.

Legal & Regulatory issues for herbalists (optional)

Plant ID
of families containing medicinal herbs most commonly used. Constituents & thrir implications for herb use.

Weekend Intensive Track 3: Food & Healing

3 meals will be provided each weekend
with focus on various aspects of nutrition & healing through food choices. Meals will feature fresh vegetables, whole grains, culinary herbs, seafood & poultry options.

Nutrition topics:
Healing foods, ie, ghee, garlic oil, miso, seeds, gomasio, greens, kudzu, sprouts, tahini, shitake, fermented foods, sweeteners, oils, seaweed; eating for happiness; food combining; detox, fasting, juicing; supplements, green foods, water; amino acids, carbs, fats, fiber; politics of food (world hunger), Food safety & labeling; Too busy to cook strategies. -SAD (standard American diet), implementing dietary changes

Ongoing topics:
Strategies for dealing with STRESS; using solar oven

Recommended Reading

• Richo Cech, Richo Making Plant Medicine. $15.00. Available to purchase from DWB at the first class. 
• Thomas Elpel / Botany in a Day 
• Steven Foster  / Herbal Renaissance
• Tammi Hartung / Growing 101 Herbs That Heal
• Michael Moore / Medicinal Plants of the Desert & Canyon West
  Michael Moore / Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West
• Michael Moore /  Materia Medica
• Available on loan from Desert Woman Library / a plant ID book of your choice

Resources
For glassware, herbs, labels, ingredients, etc.

About Monica Rude...

All classes are personally taught by Monica Rude, owner of Desert Woman Botanicals in Gila, NM.  Desert Woman grows nearly 100 medicinal & culinary herbs for use in the DWB product line. Monica has extensive experience in cultivation, gardening, herb use & general messing around with herbs. In addition to creating and marketing her products, Monica takes a very active interest in herbal education. 

Monica has been an instructor at the NM College of Natural Healing and also teaches classes in various aspects of Herbal Medicine, Organic Gardening and Alternative Agriculture at the home of Desert Woman Botanicals. She has also given classes and workshops at various locations throughout the Southwest including Albuquerque, Phoenix, Las Cruces, and Silver City and as a special instructor for institutions of higher learning and for government agencies. Monica is also available as a speaker for your group. Contact us for details on  scheduling a class or event for your group.