Gather & Garble

A Seasonal Medicine-Making Intensive

May–October | Bloodroot Apothecary

A 6 month land-based immersion in herbal medicine, relationship, and craft.

Have you ever felt confused trying to figure out which preparation is the most potent for each herb—or which remedy is truly effective for a specific condition?

In today’s world, herbal knowledge is everywhere: online databases, social media, and even AI-generated content can make it feel overwhelming. But no algorithm can replace hands-on experience, intuition, and connection to the plants themselves, facilitated by a clinical herbalist and organic herb farmer with years of experience under her belt. 

At Gather & Garble: Herbal Medicine Making Intensive, we step away from screens and immerse ourselves in real, tactile herbal learning. Over six seasonal weekends, you’ll:

Harvest and identify plants from your local ecosystem

Make teas, tinctures, oils, salves, vinegars, and honeys

Learn plant energetics, safety, and formulation

Practice skills you can use on yourself or with clients

This is not just herbalism—you’ll experience herbalism, learning how herbs act in the body and mind through direct practice. Leave behind confusion and overwhelm, and walk away with knowledge, confidence, and living medicines you made yourself. This first-year offering is intentionally small, intimate, and responsive to the rhythms of the land.

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 Who This Intensive Is For

This program is well-suited for:

Herbal beginners seeking strong foundations

Home herbalists ready to deepen their practice

Bodyworkers, birth workers, caregivers, and clinicians

Folks craving reconnection to land, season, and plant allies

No prior herbal training is required — just curiosity, care, and commitment.

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Program Structure & Schedule

Duration: May–October (dates down below) 
Format: Full-series intensive (no individual weekend registration)

Weekend Structure

Opening Weekend: 2 full days (Saturday & Sunday)

Second Weekend: 2 full days (distillation on second day) 

Closing Weekend: 2 full days (Saturday & Sunday)

Most other sessions: 1 full day (Saturday, 10am–4pm) 

If there is a large cohort of folks coming from Ypsilanti MI. PLEASE meet and carpool to my land to reduce the number of cars. After I get full registration I will send out an email to everyone to exchange information and numbers. 

Opening Weekend Focus

Held on the instructor’s land:

Introductions/ Walk around

Field immersion

Ethical harvesting & plant ID

Garden preparation & planting

Relationship-building with the land and plants

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 Curriculum Overview

 Weekend 1 — Roots of Herbalism (2 days)

Foundations, Energetics & Ethical Wildcrafting

What is herbalism? Safety, potency, and intention

Plant energetics: hot/cold, moist/dry, tense/lax

Bioregional medicine & place-based healing

Native vs. naturalized vs. invasive vs. cultivated plants

Ethical harvesting practices

Herbal actions and catagories 

Being on the land for plant ID and garden prep 

Medicine made:
Fresh tea or infusion blend, blind tea tasting to awaken the senses 

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 Weekend 2 — Water Medicine (2 days)

Infusions, Decoctions, Hydrotherapy, Syrups & Hydrosols

Herbal actions and constituents extracted in water

Hot vs. cold infusions

Decoctions for roots, bark, and seeds

Hydrotherapy: foot baths, sitz baths, contrast baths, basic water therapy principles

Herbal syrups for immune and respiratory support

Steam inhalations & aromatic therapy

On-land hydrosol distillation workshop

Medicine made:
 Herbal infusion overnight, hot and cold preparations, hydrosol distillation together 

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 Weekend 3 — Oil & Salve Craft (1 day)

Infusions, Salves, Compresses, Poultices, Carrier Oils & Stability

Choosing carrier oils

Fresh vs. dried plants in oil

Preventing spoilage & mold

Intermediary (alcohol) extraction method

Solar vs. heat infusion

Blending oils for therapeutic goals

Compresses & poultices: when to use, preparation, application

Safety, labeling, storage

Making salves and balms

Medicine made:
Herb-infused oil to later be made into a salve, or can be used as body oil if wanted

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 Weekend 4 — Alcohol Extraction (1 day)

Tinctures, Pressing & Formulation

Folk method vs. ratio (weight-to-volume) method

Fresh vs. dried plant tinctures

Pressing and straining techniques

Acidifying tinctures

Intro to formulation and combining herbs for ailments, 

Safety with lactation, herb drug interaction 

Medicine made:
1 tincture made with fresh plants from the garden + formulation practice sample

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Weekend 5 — Vinegar & Honey Medicine (1 day)

Oxymels, Fire Cider & Herbal Honeys

Apple cider vinegar as mineral medicine

Herbs that shine in vinegar

Honey as preservative and energetic ally

Oxymels: sweet + sour medicine

Fire cider origins, ethics, and customization

Medicine made:
 oxymel, fire cider mini batch, tasting of herbal vinegars 

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 Closing Weekend — Integration & Preservation (2 days)

Reviewing core skills and methods

Seasonal preservation strategies

Medicine review & troubleshooting

Deepening plant relationships

Integration, reflection, and closing circle

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 Each Weekend Includes

✔ Hands-on medicine making
✔ Plant energetics & anatomy education
✔ Ecological and ethical context
✔ Take-home herbal preparations
✔ Recipes, materia medica & handouts
✔ Western herbalism and clinical herbalism approach and understandings 
✔ Community learning in an intimate cohort

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 First-Year Program Disclaimer

This is the first year of Gather & Garble. As a land-based, seasonal program, the curriculum may adapt due to weather conditions, plant availability, crop failure, or other natural disruptions.

Flexibility is part of the learning. When plans shift, we will adjust together — exploring alternative plants, methods, or timing as needed. These moments are not disruptions, but teachers in their own right.

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 Tuition & Registration

Standard Tuition: $900

Sliding Scale (limited): $700-850
Offered on an honor system; limited spots available

Deposit

$300 non-refundable deposit secures your place

Remaining balance due on march 1st 2026

Due to the immersive nature of the program, registration is for the full intensive only.

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📍 Location

Classroom sessions held mostly at my land we will meet at bloodroot to carpool to Dexter, MI. 

Field sessions and distillation workshops held on private land (address shared upon registration)

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 Ready to Join?

Spots are limited to preserve intimacy, land impact, and learning quality.

👉 Registration opens: January 12th

Tuition & Payment

Full Tuition: $900

Deposit: $300 non-refundable deposit secures your spot

Sliding Scale: Limited to 1–2 slots. Available for $700, $750, or $800. Priority given to low-income students, single mothers, and BIPOC folks. Request after paying deposit.

Remaining Balance: Paid via a secure payment link by March 1st (Flexibility given and installments can be taken through the website via shop pay)

Payment is handled in two steps: deposit first, remainder via secure link. Deposit is applied toward tuition. Deposits and payments to the course are non-refundable due to the nature of work and preparation it takes for each student. 

Why This Intensive Is Different

✔ Hands-on, immersive learning on our land—not just videos or PDFs
✔ Seasonal approach: learn when and how to work with fresh, local herbs
✔ Build a real medicine chest for yourself or clients
✔ Focus on skills, not just recipes: plant ID, energetics, preservation, formulation
✔ Connection to the land and community: harvest together, make medicine together

What You’ll Learn

✔ Ethical wildcrafting, plant ID, and bioregional medicine
✔ Infusions, decoctions, teas, and syrups
✔ Hydrosols and hydrotherapy techniques
✔ Infused oils, salves, compresses, and poultices
✔ Tinctures: folk method and ratio method, pressing, labeling, and formulation
✔ Vinegars, honeys, oxymels, and fire cider
✔ Herbal safety: contraindications, herb-drug interactions, pregnancy/lactation considerations
✔ Seasonal medicine making, blending, and integration into your home or practice

 

See You Soon 

Xo, Alex