Leading the Future of Farming by Example | Featuring Elise & Jeff Higley
Release Date: 05/16/2025
The Mycelial Healer | Featuring Christopher Parker
Herbal Radio
This week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by Christopher Parker, the self-taught mycologist with 30 years of experience in mushroom cultivation, wildharvesting, and herbal medicine making. Join us to explore: Christopher & Katherine Parker’s new book, Growing up through the changing seasons and breathtaking landscapes of Southern Appalachia The domino effect that transforming floodplains into food forests could have Unique and creative ways to get medicinal mushrooms into your diet Making fungi cultivation accessible for all As always, we...
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The Girl Whose Garden Comes Alive | Featuring Juliet Howard
Herbal Radio
This week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by Juliet Howard, the herbalist and author who focuses her practice on connecting budding mini herbalists-to-be through creating accessible, reciprocal backyard herbal education for children. Join us to explore: Juliet’s newly launch book, How the Pacific Northwest sparked her journey as a writer Children’s natural connection to nature How children can remind us to slow down Why forming relationships with the green world help guide children into adulthood As always, we thank you for joining us on another...
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The Art of Growing Medicinal Herbs | Featuring Jeff & Melanie Carpenter
Herbal Radio
This week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by the owners of and authors of , Jeff and Melanie Carpenter. Drawing on over 25 years of hands-on organic farming experience, Join this passionate dynamic duo to explore: Balancing multiple jobs while running a medicinal herb farm Importance of the marketing and business side of farming How Jeff and Melanie weaved both their writings into their book The careful and thoughtful process of drying medicinal herbs Letting go of the ever-expanding business growth = success mindset As always, we thank you for joining us on...
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Fire as a Menstruum | Featuring Lian Bruno
Herbal Radio
This week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by the founder of , Lian Bruno. From rolling herbal cigarettes in her living room to running a national brand, Lian Bruno is reimagining what it means to smoke. In this episode, join Tommy and Lian as they explore: The spark (pun intended) that turned into Puff Herbals Different reasons that people smoke beyond habitual use Using fire and smoke as a menstruum Difference between conventional cigarettes versus organic tobacco leaf How conventional cigarettes became so normalized within our day-to-day culture As...
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Health & Transformation, Naturally | Featuring Rachelle Robinett
Herbal Radio
This week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by the author, herbalist, and accomplished girl boss of the botanical world, Rachelle Robinett. Join Tommy and Rachelle as they explore: Rachelle’s recent book launch, Reflecting personal experience, science, and herbal knowledge into writing Rachelle’s lifelong fascination with our connection to the “ness” of life How herbalism relates to modern life The permanence of putting your writing out into the world Writing from the perspective of the educator while learning alongside the reader Learn more about...
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Fermentation School, with Kirsten Shockey | Tea Talks with Jiling
Herbal Radio
This week on Tea Talks with Jiling, we are joined by Kirsten K. Shockey. Kirsten is the author of 🌿Homebrewed Vinegar, and coauthor of several award-winning and bestselling alongside Christopher Shockey: 🌿Fermented Vegetables; 🌿Fiery Ferments; 🌿The Big Book of Cidermaking; and 🌿Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments. She is a co-founder of , a women-owned and women-led benefits corporation supporting the voices of independent educators to empower learning and build culture. Go forth and ferment! Listen in as Jiling and Kirsten discuss how fermentation works, with...
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Animal Alchemy | Featuring Kody Hilton
Herbal Radio
This week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by Kody Hilton, a passionate plant person and friend to all furry, fuzzy, and feathered critters who weaves over 30 years of collective experience from both the human and animal side of herbalism into her practice. Join Tommy and Kody as they explore: Working with animals using a holistic approach Matching herbal energetics to animal energetics Preventative vs. reactionary healthcare for pets The benefit of whole foods and herbs in your pet’s diet How to go about finding a holistic veterinarian Herbs for pet loss and...
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Environmental Access for All | Featuring Mount Pisgah Arboretum
Herbal Radio
This week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by three passion-driven land stewards who are dedicated to protecting and preserving the in our hometown, Eugene, Oregon. As a 209-acre nature education facility nestled on the traditional homelands of the Kalapuya people, Mount Pisgah Arboretum has been offering invaluable environmental education to the Eugene community since 1973. Tune in with Ilana Jakubowski, Kevin House, and Patrick Wegner to explore: Origin story of Mount Pisgah Arboretum Annual and (upcoming!) Mt. Pisgah’s environmental education field trips,...
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Daring to be FairWild | Featuring Sarah Vito
Herbal Radio
This week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by the environmental steward and change-maker on a mission to make a household name in the herbal industry, Sarah Vito. Join Sarah and Tommy as they explore: What it means to uphold the FairWild certification The seven key principles of wildharvesting Upholding biodiversity and uplifting humans with the FairWild Standard How plants have evolved alongside humans Unique challenges wild harvesters face in the herbal industry As always, we thank you for joining us on another botanical adventure and are so honored to...
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Co-Creating with Nature, with Pam Montgomery | Tea Talks with Jiling
Herbal Radio
This week on Tea Talks with Jiling, we are joined by . Pam is an herbalist, author, international teacher, Earth elder and new-paradigm thinker who has passionately embraced her role as a spokesperson for the green beings and has been investigating plants and their intelligent spiritual nature for more than three decades. She is the author of Co-Creating with Nature: Healing the Wound of Separation and the highly acclaimed Plant Spirit Healing: A Guide to Working with Plant Consciousness. She teaches internationally and virtually on plant initiations, spiritual ecology and co-creative...
info_outlineThis week on Everything You Didn’t Know About Herbalism, we are joined by our long-time beloved friends, farm partners, and stewards of the regenerative organic farming movement, Elise and Jeff Higley. Tune in with Tommy, Elise, and Jeff, as they explore what it means to be a Regenerative Organic Certified® farmer and how we must grow alongside the movement of regenerative agriculture for the preservation of our food systems and the future of our planet.
Elise and Jeff also share about the upcoming Oshala Herb Camp, which is weekend campout hosted in the breathtaking landscape of Grants Pass, Oregon on July 27 – 29. Filled with classes on medicine making, materia medica, botanical crafting, and hands-on experience for what life on an herb farm is like, Oshala Herb Camp weaves agriculture, herbalism, and sustainability into one to create a weekend of community building with plant-lovers from all walks of life. Be sure to check out the hyperlink above or detailed links included below to learn more about this invaluable opportunity!
Learn more about Oshala Farm and the farmers behind it below! ⬇️
🚜 Oshala Farm is a 290-acre Regenerative Organic Certified® family farm in Southern Oregon growing more than 80 varieties of medicinal and culinary herbs. With Elise's background in Western Herbalism and Jeff’s background in organic farming, they blended their dreams and created a full-fledged herb farm in 2013. Oshala Farm is where they cultivate with consciousness to ensure that their herbs are grown with care, dedication, and a love for the land. Elise and Jeff consider it an honor to be stewards of the Earth and to grow herbs that support community health.
🪻Elise Higley is a folk herbalist, wife, mother, grandmother, and farmer. She was inspired to start an herb farm when she started a line of herbal teas, but she had trouble sourcing herbs domestically and with the quality she was looking for. In her pastime, (10pm - 5am) she works on agricultural advocacy as a board member of Our Family Farms, Rogue Valley Food System Network. Elise also represents a farmer’s voice on the board of the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA). Elise has taught for over a decade at numerous national herbal gatherings and events along with organizing and hosting an annual herb camp on Oshala Farm for the past 5 years.
👨🏼🌾 Jeff Higley has spent over the last 25 years farming vegetables in Southern California for CSAs, farmer’s markets, and restaurants. He has grown vanilla, kava, fruit, flowers, and vegetables in Fiji for wholesale, resort, and direct markets. Jeff currently leads the farming at Oshala Farm and also maintains a busy teaching schedule, where he teaches about growing herbs, drying, and farm finance at Universities, conferences, and events.
Read all about the Oshala Herb Camp on the Oshala Farm Blog!
🏕️ Wake Up With the Plants: A Morning at Herb Camp 🏕️
Learn about last year’s Oshala Herb Camp on the Mountain Rose Herbs Blog!
🌾 Cultivating Consciousness with Oshala Farm 🌾
Take a virtual journey through Oshala Farm on our YouTube Channel!
⛰️ Organic Farming for the Future ⛰️
Find out why Mountain Rose Herbs can’t get enough of Regenerative Agriculture!
🌿 Furthering Our Commitment to Sustainability and Transparency: Regenerative Organics 🌿
💿 Consider yourself more of a visual creature? 📀
Check out Elise and Jeff’s video interview on our YouTube Channel!
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