are you using adaptogens incorrectly?
October 27th, 2015. Cleaning my first crop of Ashwagandha in my friend's root washer.
The year was 2015. It was late autumn, near the end of the first season of Locust Light Farm. All summer I had harvested leaves and flowers: Peppermint, Lemon Balm, St. John's Wort, and so many others (I grew way too many herbs those first two years). As the weather cooled I began digging up roots: Valerian, Astragalus, Marshmallow. The frost hadn't yet arrived, but I could tell it was coming.
It was time to harvest the Ashwagandha.
Ashwagandha is a plant native to India. It's in the Solanaceae family with tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, etc.* Like many Solanaceae plants (and also plants native to India) it thrives in summer heat and will be killed by the frost. In India, Ashwagandha roots are harvested after a few years. Here in the mid-Atlantic, we harvest first-year roots at the last possible minute before the frost.
My mom came to visit, and together we dug up the roots, then we drove them over to my friend's farm to clean them in the root washer.
My drying space back at Locust Light was very limited, so my friend let me leave the damp Ashwagandha in her barn overnight until I could return the next day to begin chopping the roots. Unless you have a wood chipper, it's best to chop roots before they dry fully so that they're still tender enough to get through with clippers.
We arranged the Ashwagandha on shelves so that it had plenty of air flow, slid the barn door closed, and left.
Though my friend ran a veggie farm, this barn had been built to house pet alpacas. It contained four stalls and windows that did not open. The only ventilation was from the door.
I arrived early the next morning so that I could remove the Ashwagandha before the crew got to work.
I slid open the barn door, and was hit with an overwhelming scent: a mix of dirty socks and that somewhat pleasant mildewy smell of sunlight shining upon fallen autumn leaves that have been rained on the day prior.
The smell wasn't horrible, but it definitely felt like something that would make me sick if I stepped into it. I waited for a few minutes, letting the barn air out before I removed the Ashwagandha.
That day, I sat and slowly chopped roots, alternating between clippers and a knife, thinking about that smell. As shocking as it was, it also felt familiar, but I couldn't quite place it.
It wasn't until the following year, helping my friend pull out tomato plants that I realized -- tomato roots have the same scent.
Mildly offensive but not awful, with the potential to be overwhelming if left overnight in a poorly ventilated barn. Huh.
This story doesn't have a point. I just decided to share it because I wanted to use this picture of Ashwagandha and the memory came back to me. And I want to talk about Ashwagandha.
But it's a fun example of how knowing basic herbal botany can enhance your life (right??) and it's also nice to reflect upon how wonderfully weird it can be to interact with herbs with all of our senses.
Anyway, I want to talk about Ashwagandha because it's one of the most popular adaptogens right now. And so many people use adaptogens the wrong way.
Listen, I get it: when you read about the various adaptogens, they all sound so amazing. They increase your energy! Decrease fatigue! Improve your sex drive! Build endurance! Improve mental health! The claims sound almost too good to be true, and you want to take all of them. So you buy tinctures of 5 different adaptogens and mix them together, or find a capsule that contains a bunch. You're covering all your bases. You're good to go.
After a week or so, you wonder: is this working? Do I feel more energized? Less fatigued? Stronger? After two weeks, your enthusiasm wanes. You stop taking the mixture and forget about it.
I must tell you, my friend, this is not the way to take adaptogens. At best, you're wasting your money. At worst, you're going to create an imbalance in your body.
I love teaching people how to use herbs to feel healthy (obviously), but one topic I'm particularly passionate about is helping people to not waste their money by using herbs improperly or buying poorly-made products.
Herbal products are expensive! There's no need to spend money on products that won't give you the desired result.
That's why I'm so excited to be teaching Herbs for Resilience next week.
In this class you'll learn:
what adaptogens are and how to use them the right way
how to pair adaptogens with other herbs
5 great adaptogens
personal ritual to build resilience
This free class is a "sample" class for my course Herbs for Living.
It will be taught in the same format as the Herbs for Living course, so you'll get to see if you like my teaching style and the general vibe. And no matter what, you'll learn lots of good herbal info!
[Note: I taught this class back in January but you can access it by clicking here.]
yours in strong aromas,
Amanda
P.S. Know someone who uses way too many herbal products and could benefit from learning to use herbs the right way? Send them this link.
*When I teach in-person classes, I like to quiz the students and ask which other herbs are in the Solanaceae family. Do you know?
Ok, I can't help myself. Three fun facts:
1. Something notable about the Solanaceae family is that it's common for one part to be safe but the rest poisonous. For instance, potatoes are safe, but their leaves can seriously harm you. It's also common for the entire plant to be poisonous, or at least a "low-dose botanical" that is quite risky to work with.
2. "Ashwagandha" actually means "smell of the horse" so I'm not the only one who's noticed the strong aroma.
3. Solanaceae refers to the fact that the plants love the sun, which makes sense. Energetically, these plants tend to be warming and very solar. But the common name for this family is the "Nightshade" family, which means the total opposite of "sun." Funny, right? I think that the term "nightshade" refers to the fact that many members of this family are poisonous. (or, ahem, low-dose botanicals)
Ok, I'm done. If you're into this, join me for Intro to Herbalism! I spew fun facts all day. Otherwise, join me for Herbs for Resilience! You'll learn stuff!