He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth…

Welcome!

With pleasure I am able to write this column and spend some time talking about some of the things I feel will be both informative and helpful in the months ahead.

I am a long-time herbal enthusiast that grows some of my own herbs on my Hobby Farm in the Charlotte County area, and I also believe in using herbs in promoting healing as well as for culinary purposes.

I have used these herbs to develop some of my own products which I call “Me Me’s Stuff.”

Also, I am a promoter of organically grown food and heirloom plants and seeds.

Ever wonder what all the hoopla over growing and using herbs is about?

How about the controversy over why some people grow hybrid plants versus others insisting upon growing what they call “heirlooms?”

Then, there’s the controversy over growing plants with chemical fertilizers and using pesticides versus using organic methods.

In this column and in future issues, I intend to spend time focusing on the answers to these questions as well as how to grow and use herbs for culinary and medicinal purposes.

Many herbs can be gathered near your very home. Some may be in your backyard. Some may be growing in the surrounding countryside.

Others may be growing in the rolling hills of a nearby state. You would be surprised at the cures God has placed at your very fingertips.

Look out your window into the forest at the trees in the distance. Look at the bushes around your home. Look at the leaves. Take a good look. There are cures all over the place.everywhere you look. If you could live in the Garden of Eden and have every possible herb before you, you would still not get well without the knowledge of how to use them.

The late Dr. John R. Christopher, master herbalist and legendary healer, a man with a mission to cure the sick with what he believed were God’s natural methods of healing once said, “God created our bodies. We have to go to him to learn how to be healed. If you had something go wrong with one of your mechanical machines, you would go to the person who had the proper mechanical knowledge. So in like manner, in order to get the body fixed (the greatest mechanism ever placed on earth), I want to go to someone who is ‘in the know’. Since God created our bodies, we have to go to Him for answers.”

Please continue to read this column and enjoy learning some of the great benefits of nature and how to use plants and herbs for medicinal and culinary purposes. Until next time…

Alice Russell, also known as “Me Me,” is a guest columnist who resides in the Randolph/Saxe area. She can be reached at letstalkherbs@gmail.com.