Sources for Bulk Herbs
So you want to make some teas?tinctures?oils?syrups? but you aren't quite sure where to go to obtain high quality herbs? This list might be of some help in sourcing.
What is growing around you?
There is an idea that I have seen proven time and time again - that what you NEED is provided to you by the Earth. Look around your immediate local area and explore what is growing right out your backdoor. Often this is going to be the botanicals best suited to us. Even if it's in the middle of winter, we can often find something useful being provided to us. Pine, for example, gives us sap and pitch and needles. We can utilize these in tincture, syrups, and teas that can be incredibly supportive for things that might ail us during the winter season, when Pine might be one of the only things easily accessible.
Always look to what's growing right around you FIRST.
What if you want something NOT growing around you or something that is out of season?
This is when I turn to some bulk suppliers. I am extremely picky about where I get my botanicals from. I will always choose the ones that have been mindfully foraged, grown, and harvested when I can.
Below are some of the bulk suppliers I recommend.
Voyage Botanica
Pacific Botanicals
Schmerbals Herbals (On ETSY - magical, hard to find plants)
Good Roots Herbals (Lyme Protocol Herbs)
Mountain Rose Herbs
Starwest Botanicals
Frontier Herbs (not my favorite, but decent)
Various small growers and foragers on ETSY
In closing, always look to what is growing wild and abundant around you. Make it a point to harvest and put up (dried or tinctured) batches of these when they are in season. Connect with your local Gardners, growers, and landscapers for help with identification (and to see what they might be growing too!). Connect with your wise forest people who are skilled at foraging and speak the language of the woodlands. And if you do seek botanicals outside of your area, make sure they are grown and prepared through mindful practices.