Sweet Birch Herbals

Sweet Birch Herbals Hannah Morano, founder of Sweet Birch Herbals, community herbalist & mentor

05/09/2026

How to tincture Japanese knotweed (polygongum cuspidatum) root: this video goes into harvesting and processing the root for medicine.

Always be sure the location is clean and not sprayed with chemicals or near roads/power-lines.

Even though this plant is invasive, leave an offering of gratitude. It has a strong spirit and I give thanks to its medicine.

Many people despise this plant and spray it so be careful. I think it’s here for a reason so we may as well use it in our protocols for Lyme and other tick born illnesses.
Uses:
🌾antioxidant
🌾 antispirochete
🌾 blood cleansing and moving
🌾 antiviral
🌾 passes through blood brain barrier
🌾 anti inflammatory
🌾 cardio tonic
🌾 arthritis support, Lyme support, viral infections
🌾 oral health as a rinse

Caution: do not take with blood thinners or while pregnant

It’s fascinating how as Lyme spreads so does the Japanese knotweed…could they be connected?

Learn more by taking a class here, or check out my online shop for many tinctures to choose from, including Lyme Support.

Feel ready to make a tincture of your own now?

05/07/2026

We’re growing a lot of herbs for you, come on out to our plant sale 10-2 on Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

Every year we increase our herbal medicine production and this spring was a record. Thanks to all who preordered seedlings!

After a long morning of digging holes hunting for voles, the rain began so Tilly took a nap in between the lavender plants. She’s a full on herbalist.

Big gratitude for my crew this year and volunteers who spent the whole day sorting orders and potting up herbs. 🌿

I’ll also be bringing an assortment to the

Happy Planting! 🪴🌱🪴

05/06/2026

Fun local history of Ashfield, Massachusetts: it was the largest producer of mint in the 1800s.

Samuel Ranney grew and distilled mint for soaps, cleaning products and oils in Ashfield- he had a booming business.

When he moved it to NY state, the mint stayed behind. Now, it’s growing through the local waterways and wetlands.

I had no idea it was here when I bought the farm, what a beautiful surprise!

Every July I distill it with my copper alembic still. Join me! Sign up for my newsletter to get the invite.

Of course I don’t recommend planting mint without a barrier to keep it from spreading, but how cool is this history of my small town.

I often wonder about stories like these that reveal themselves later on. Did the mint call me here? And how would Samuel feel knowing we’re distilling the same mint 150-200 years later?!

05/05/2026

Four plants to build strong bones: cleavers, horsetail, chickweed and nettles. They are probably all growing nearby you as they are considered weeds.

Black fly season began today and they are hungry - ugh!

Strong Bones Vinegar Recipe:
🌿 harvest mineral rich spring herbs such as those mentioned above. Be sure to have a positive ID!
🌿 chop them all up best you can and put them into a glass jar all the way to the top
🌿 cover the plants with raw apple cider vinegar, cover and shake well. Use parchment paper between the jar and a metal lid to prevent corrosion.
🌿 label and let sit for 4 weeks out of sun in a cool cabinet
🌿 shake weekly then strain into another jar. Keep it in the fridge if you want it to last more than a month or two.
🌿 swig 2-3 tablespoons per day in water or add to salad dressings.

Apple Cider Vinegar pulls out minerals from these nutrient dense plants and preserves them so we can ingest them all year long.

If you don’t like the taste you can make an overnight tea infusion but they are best used fresh not dried for the higher silica content. That’s why I make the ACV recipe.

Always raw ACV and fresh plants to get the most nutrient dense tonic.

Pro tip: take it with vitamin D

These plants also build strong hair, nails and skin!

Contact me if you’d like to try it 🌿🌿🌿

05/02/2026

What would you add to this list of ground rules for foraging? Comment 👇

My honest opinion is that there are way too many people on the planet for wild edibles to be the primary food source. Do you agree?

I do think foraging can be a fun and delicious addition to our diets, if it’s done sustainably.

These are my basic ground rules for foraging and I’m sure there are many more - leave your comments and suggestions so we can educate one another on ethical foraging.

To the future of abundant wild plants,
Hannah

Your community herbalist

05/01/2026

Building new beds when I’m already maxed out is my shadow side LOL. 😆 it’s how I deal with overwhelm. Could be worse! I see beauty and flowers everywhere.

Having my hands in the dirt and growing herbs is my favorite place to be!

We had a ton of cardboard leftover from the barn project to protect the pine floors so it was just asking to be laid on the earth under compost. How could I not listen? Haha

This gentle slope will be filled with pollinator plants and sun loving herbs soon.

Have you tried this method of cardboard and compost to build new gardens? Comment 👇

Share this with your gardening friends to see how easy it is to expand your beds. Growing more food, herbs and flowers is going to be more and more necessary as the cost of food rises.

Happy Beltane! 🌱🌷🪴🌿🌱

04/29/2026

Harvesting and processing Japanese Knotweed root to tincture. See that orange color? That’s berberine! It is a strong antibacterial. It targets the spirochetes which are causing Lyme disease.

Have you heard Japanese Knotweed root has medicine properties?

Most people know of it being a very aggressive invasive plant, which it is. Why not use the medicine it’s providing and dig up the roots?!

Nature always provides.

Think red wine and grapes are high in resveratrol? Japanese Knotweed root has more than grapes, making it a heart healthy choice.

The green shoots can be eaten in the spring but it’s the root that contains more medicinal constituents.

Share this post to spread the word! ➡️

A weekend of spring ephemerals, wild pesto, and seed starting with my apprentices leaves my heart full. I’ll tell a shor...
04/27/2026

A weekend of spring ephemerals, wild pesto, and seed starting with my apprentices leaves my heart full.

I’ll tell a short story related to my previous video about ethical harvesting of wild ramps.

Yesterday at class, we met people doing a rehabilitation project to remove Japanese Knotweed along the floodplains of the Green River. At first the group leader, who saw us on our plant walk came up to us very defensively, passionately and skeptical of our class.

She met us with the same passion I felt when I saw someone taking ramp roots the other night. She did not know who we were and I could see he concern because I have been there. We listened to her express - then when she paused, I gently said, “yes, we hear you, that is why we are here, to share the ethics of foraging. Not to take and disrupt the delicate ecosystem.”

She asked where we were from and I told her about us. My students were so kind and supportive of her work. By the end we were all laughing and exchanging information to stay in touch.

“We need more people like you sharing this information,” she said to us.

I thanked her for being brave and approaching us. Her voice was very inspiring because she was speaking from a place of protecting the plants.

As she and her group removed Japanese Knotweed, the native plants were coming back! They didn’t even have to plant anything, the roots and seeds were still there under the monocrop of knotweed.

This gives me hope. What if we remove something and before planting new items we wait and see what sprouts up?

A metaphor for life. Pruning back what we don’t want or need and creating space can reveal the rich beauty of who we really are. Speaking up for our plant ancestors is the medicine 🌱

04/25/2026

Ramps 🌱 are a wild edible alliums, one of the first delicious spring treats. If you find a patch, it can feel magical. They grow in such beautiful forests often among blue cohosh, trilliums and trout Lilly.

If everyone harvested them responsibly we’d have ample healthy patches. Unfortunately I’ve watched many places get over harvested, roots dug up, leaving barely any plants.

Just last night I saw someone digging them near my home, and I felt so sad. I wondered why they didn’t seem very abundant there this year. Now, I know why.

I didn’t stop and say anything, but I wish I had. So, here I am, please share this post to protect and preserve our sacred earth:

🌱ramps take 7 years to reproduce
🌱 you don’t need the root to enjoy their taste
🌱 careful where you step as there’s often other delicate forest medicines nearby
🌱 only take 1 leaf per plant, then walk 6-10 ft before taking another
🌱 leave no trace- it should look like nobody has been there after you
🌱 leave offerings in gratitude
🌱 spread them to new spots by digging the root, chopping the leaves off so there’s 6” left and plant in moist soil
🌱don’t buy them at the store unless you plan to plant them because ramps are too delicate to be selling in stores unless they’re propagated.
🌱share this post to protect our ramp forests


04/23/2026

Wait til the end for a bald eagle 🦅 soaring above us. This video explains the basics of Japanese Knotweed root and why we use it in our tick formulas for supporting the body with Lyme and co-infections.

The root also helps with arthritis and inflammation. It passes through the blood brain barrier and is very effective even during antibiotic treatment. Yes, Japanese Knotweed is an “invasive” or opportunistic plant but it’s here to stay so we might as well harvest it for herbal medicine!

Did you know this about Japanese Knotweed? Comment 👇

If you or someone you know is struggling with a tick borne illness, contact me because herbs can be incredibly useful for nourishing the body, repairing endothelial cells, killing bacteria and moving the lymphatic system.

Always check for ticks after being outside and wear bug spray, we make an all natural one that is specially for repelling ticks. Head over to the online store to pick one up.

This past spring has been the highest reported cases of hospitalizations due to tick born illnesses - stay safe!

04/15/2026

Ticks are out in full force- I just pulled two off me today! In addition to checking your whole body after being outside, and changing clothes after hikes, herbs can be our greatest allies.

The herbs in our formulas strengthen the immune system, kill tick infections, and support lymphatic function.

Herbs like cats claw, Japanese knotweed, dandelion, andrographis, lemon balm and sarsaparilla are wonderful allies to have on hand if you live in a tick infested area.



Head over to the shop to learn more!

Address

686 Creamery Road
Ashfield, MA
01330

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sweet Birch Herbals posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Practice

Send a message to Sweet Birch Herbals:

Shortcuts

Share

Category