River Prairie Apothecary

05/22/2026

tutorial with Tulsi:

🤓how to turn a few tulsi plants into a lot more tulsi plants… and enjoy your first harvest for tea before you even plant into the garden!

Greenhouse-grown plants sometimes grow bigger than what they can sustain once we transplant them into the ground or into their own freestanding container. Often times they will flop over.

These organically grown plants got a lot of love and nutrients, and also grew in a flat leaning onto each other for support. If I put them into the ground as is, they’re gonna be sad plants.

They are also starting to flower. It’s very difficult for a plant to simultaneously put energy into flowers and roots, so I’m going to help out these plants by removing their flowers. When I transplant them, they will be able to focus their energy into their roots.

The other cool thing about this is that when I cut off the main flowering stalk, what remains is new growth that will actually become two stalks… this is a classic mint family plant characteristic. So the plants will become more shrubby as they grow, providing more leaves to harvest for remedies.

I can also take the cuttings that I removed, put their ends in water, and they will likely grow new roots! These are clones of the original plant… have you ever done something like this with your indoor plants? Like propagating succulents?

You can do this with almost any mint plant. Some of them are a little more stubborn, but some are very easy yo get to root, like this Tulsi!

PS there’s definitely some magic to this… Sometimes it roots happen right away, sometimes it takes a few weeks. I really don’t know why that is, but I like a little mystery... Maybe it has something to do with the moon? The water I put them in? My vibes? The vitality of the plant?

05/21/2026

😘🌱💕

Love Plants - they will always love you back

Even a lil too much sometimes … (lookin at
you, weedy pals 🌱👀)

Next Wednesday, we are hosting the Speed Dating with Wild Weeds: A Spring Fling for Plant Lovers event at MOR!🌿🌞

Join us for an evening with Master Herbalist Kerri Kiernan of River Prairie Apothecary as we explore the wild medicinal plants growing all around us. From hands-on plant “dating profiles” to a mini plant walk, this playful and educational event is perfect for the curious beginner or seasoned plant lover alike. 🌱

RSVP here: https://www.facebook.com/share/19BCxGxuVH/

See you at MOR! 💚

05/20/2026

Plant Babes grown with organic seeds, organic soil, in an organic greenhouse. Medicinal herb sales happening soon

Pop-up plant sales out of my office on Brackett Ave:

June 12 & 13

If you’re on my email list, you’ll get a heads up about an invite only plant sale May 30

Plants are also coming along to upcoming classes.

Usually have my hands in the dirt and not on my computer this time of the year so you’ll have to come to the plant sales to see what I have…

I do have transplants at different stages so I should have a few new plants at each sale. I’ve been blessed with gobs of Tulsi and chamomile!

Lemme know below if you want all the details

05/20/2026

Mmmmm…. Garden season ✨

the aesthetically poised version because let’s be real…

im mostly lurking around my yard via headlamp and going to the grocery store w dirty fingernail gremlin hands

05/18/2026

Which one would you swipe right on? 💚

These aren’t just weeds. They’re your backyard singles, and yes — they have superpowers.

The one at 0:21 made me fall hard for herbalism.
Tell me yours 😘

Dandelion? Cleavers? Motherwort?
One of them wants to be your spring fling.

PS Don’t mow your friends!!

05/15/2026

… just kidding, I have a hybrid 😅

So no, sorry I can’t give you a ride, my car is occupied… But yes, I will be driving around like a Grandma on my best driving behavior because I do not need to explain this situation to an officer...

DIY car dehydrator technique:

1. Lay down clean sheets or towels as your base layer.

2. Layer your nettle! Bare-handed for extra fun. (not too thick though)

3. Cover with a clean sheet to protect from direct sunlight, dust, and curious eyeballs.

4. Rotate your plants, one or two times through the day so that the bottom layer gets to breathe.

5. Crack your windows to let out moisture, bugs that may have accidentally come in on your plants, and to keep the car from getting too hot.

PS… I don’t use the car to dehydrate a giant nettle harvest all the way, just to get rid of most of the moisture and to bring the plant material drastically down in size so that I can process it further inside.

(I used to hang the nettle in my car and yes, I did drive around with it like that in the past …clearly, I’m more sensible these days)

05/14/2026

How can you not love ✨Free yellow flowers!??

(If a dandelion has seriously harmed you, then I guess you have ur reasons 😘)

Yes, you can eat the leaves (i soak them in cold water first)... I had my first dandelion greens salad w my friend last week, not as bitter as i woulda anticipated - excellent w a vinaigrette (and fresh violet blossoms).

Yes, you can eat the flowers (remove the green part for zero bitterness and add to salad, eggs, ur mouth!

Yes, you can dry the roots, cut them up and toast them in a pan for suuuuuuuuper tasty tea (better in fall for this purpose but still medicinally lymphatic and supportive as a bitter.

Yes, you can do that weird thing you did as a kid with them, making yellow streaks down ur arm (or what little thing did you do?)

There’s an art to mowing ur yard at the right time to extend your dandelion flower harvest- im still learning (but it’s definitely not no mow may!

Thank goodness ours are still blooming below my crab apple, because I plan to make some infused oil for my very tight shoulders.

… PS- is it true that the morels are popping when the dandies are going to seed??

05/12/2026

There’s two sides to the coin of becoming more in-tune with nature...

Yes, your eyes will be opened to so much more beauty and connections between species, the way the landscape responds to the seasons, and the epic spring homecoming of plants and flowers.

But I don’t often talk about my heartbreak when I enter the forest…

I often see traces of harm and disrespect… garbage carelessly left behind, the carving of names into tree branches, garlic mustard spreading on the trails…

It’s a delicate balance… To both witness the trauma that nature is often experiencing and responding to…

And to also take in all the beauty and gratitude for the opportunity to be in these special spaces.

To breathe the air that the trees exhale.

To forage.

To walk into the forest with too much on my mind, and to exit feeling soothed…

To actually feel a part of Nature is a dichotomy of witnessing suffering and also experiencing immense beauty and resilience.

My eyes are trained to notice when humans disregard the well-being of nature … ultimately disregarding themselves.

When we are careless in nature, frankly… it’s self harm, because we are a part of nature, and we are all connected.

I can get stuck in this pattern recognition, but every now and then I’m relieved of this heaviness…

The other day, I was reminded to instead scan the landscape for Love.

To look for the signs of people showing kinship in nature.

I stumbled upon someone else’s gift, a scattering of petals and flowers in the water, along the rocks, and along the old cedars…

I was reminded that more often than not, these gifts won’t be so obvious.

It’s just as important to look for the traces of love. And sometimes it will look like nothing at all. It will look like a a trail without garlic mustard or garbage.

When I go into the forest, let my eyes and heart linger more often in these spaces of kindness.

05/07/2026

This somehow ended up tasting exactly like how the blossoms smell…

A one-of-a-find backyard brew.

Crab apple blossom
Violets
Dandelions
Beebalm
Meadowsweet
Tulip
Cherry blossom
Lady’s Mantle
Lemonbalm

The idea of making tea w my crab apple blossoms came to me while driving. I looked it up when I got home… sure enough, safe to do in small amounts (same with cherry blossom).

All the others became a part of my foraging as I considered my needs and rambled around the yard in my slippers. A little of this, a little of that.

And then I pondered the tulip, a few petals about to fall… I wondered about adding them (and double checked online for safety).

For extra flavor:
Fresh lemonbalm,
a tiny bit of bee balm and
some dried cinnamon basil.

I loved this seasonal yard brew and I enjoyed it in the moment, just like the blossoms.

(🙏 Forage with care - don’t assume edibility without knowing for sure)

05/06/2026

Celebrating in the greenhouse :-)

I’m back up north to visit and transplant the plant babies… Many of which have now become plant teenagers.

So now I’ve got 2 1/2 hours before it gets dark, so wish me luck in getting all the little plants needing more space and fresh dirt into bigger and better containers….(and emptying the containers that never germinated so I don’t take up too much room in the greenhouse.)

I’ll be taking home a few hardier plant buddies (mallow, chamomile, chicory) to turn my kitchen into a greenhouse until I can harden them off and make it past these next couple frosts, and maybe even get some in the ground starting next week (it seems so early!).

I won’t be able to come back up for another couple weeks and some of them will not be able to hang out in these little flats for much longer…

I’m on track for plant sales starting later this month! There’s always a lot of variables when growing plants, nothing is guaranteed, but it’s looking good…