Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center LLC

09/22/2025

Happy Autumnal Equinox 🍂🍂 September 22, 2025
Autumn to an herbalist means it's almost time to harvest roots. We wait patiently (or not so patiently) for the new moon after that first bitter-sweet frost, knowing the plants above will fade, but the roots below are ready to lend their healing gifts.

09/15/2025

Kelly Kindsher's companion books "Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie" and "Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie" are excellent resources and have the most comprehensive information of any books I've read on the historical uses of prairie plants. Anyone who is interested in learning more about prairie ethnobotany should have these two books!

Last year a new edition of "Edible Wild Plants of the Prairie" was published (it's awesome) and next year there will be a new edition of "Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie" published. I'm super excited to be a reviewer for Kelly and get a sneak peek at the manuscript that includes over 100 new plant species!! If you like wild prairie plants and want to learn more about their traditional uses, you're gonna love this book 😍

09/13/2025

Curious Roots Herb Farm is one of the sponsors for our annual Prairie Herbalists Conference. Since not all 8,484 of you can attend, I'm highlighting for you the awesomeness of each of our sponsors here on our page.

Prairie Star Botanicals was in the spotlight previously. Now let me introduce you to Curious Roots Herb Farm:

Shea and her family have top-notch quality herbs and herbal products. She is a formally trained clinical herbalist and has been tending gardens since childhood. In addition to growing herbs, Shea teaches classes and hosts tours of the lovely gardens she and her family have created on their farm.

The mission of Curious Roos Herb Farm is:
🌿Grow potent herbs in a clean, safe, chemical-free environment
🌿Deliver our herbs fresh to consumers or dry them quickly to preserve their properties
🌿Leave the land better than we found it, build healthy soils, conserve natural resources
🌿Provide sanctuary to wild plants, wildlife and pollinators
🌿Study the traditional uses of plants and rediscover the lost knowledge of healing with plants
🌿Educate our community and the next generation
🌿Live in harmony with the seasons and natural rhythms of the earth

Curious Roots provides herbs to local herb product businesses, tea-making businesses, clinical herbalists, home herbalists and culinary establishments. They also have an on-line store that sells dried/cut herbs and blends, herbal soaps, beeswax products (yes, they are beekeepers too!) and an awesome tincture press her husband designed.

If you're looking for high-quality herbs and herbal products, check out their store at the link below!

Mark your calendars - Prairie Herbalists Conference - July 18 & 19, 2026!!

Curious Roots Herb Farm grows the finest medicinal and culinary herbs without the use of chemicals. We offer dried herbs, fresh herbs (seasonally and locally) and special products for sale. We are located in the Omaha/Lincoln area.

09/13/2025

I love having the students from Norfolk Public School Alteratives for Success come out for tree hugging every year ❤️

This year’s class added a bit of tree climbing and raspberry picking to the day. They always have great questions and interesting perspectives. Many thanks to the teachers and staff for making Red Road Herbs a part of their curriculum.

09/10/2025

Karen will be visiting Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center to teach a class on how to make Intention Bracelets with healing gemstones to match your chakras. Karen is an expert on understanding the meaning and benefits of stones! She will guide you through the process of making a beautiful and meaningful wearable work of art. Come enjoy an afternoon of relaxation and creativity!

Saturday, October 25
1:00 - 3:00 pm
Location: Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center
Stanton County, NE

Karen will be visiting Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center to teach a class on how to make Intention Bracelets with healing gemstones to match your chakras. Karen is an expert on understanding the meaning and benefits of stones! She will guide you through the process of making a beautif

09/01/2025

New England asters (Aster novae-angliae) are the birth flower for people born in September. Their brilliant color is a neon sign for the sweet nectar they have for butterflies, bees and other pollinators as autumn arrives and they look to bulk up for a long journey or a long winter nap.

These lovely, late-bloomers are also beneficial to humans. Of course, just seeing their stunning color when the leaves are starting to fall and the gardens are winding down is a joy that gladdens the heart, but they are also an ally for people who have fall allergies. According to herbalist Jim McDonald, a fresh flower tincture breaks up lung congestion" as it "relaxes and dilates the respiratory passages."

08/31/2025

Schisandra berry tincture for the win! A dear friend brought me some schisandra berries she grew right here in Nebraska. My dehydrator was full of cayenne peppers, so fresh tincture was my best option. Such a beautiful tincture, it makes me happy just to look at it.

The berries are called "five-flavor fruit" in TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) because of their unique taste that has all five flavors - sweet, sour, bitter, salty and pungent. They are considered an adaptogen herb, bar none. (Adaptogens help the body manage stress.) They also protect the liver and help with detoxification of the body.

Here's a long list of just a few of their other benefits:
* increases endurance
* increases mental acuity
* supports mental health
* anti-inflammatory
* antioxidant
* regulates neurotransmitters
* suppresses histamine response

08/25/2025

You can start adventures at any age!!

Two of my four grandchildren, oldest and youngest sisters in their family, ready to explore the world! (Well, their little part of it anyway.) The tall one is heading off to UNL to live in the "big city." The short one is crawling, sort of, and learning all sorts of new things.

Both are starting a new adventure in life 😍

If it's time for you to start an ADVENTURE in HERBALISM, visit our website (link below) to see the list of classes available at Red Road Herbs Retreat & Learning Center. Classes can be scheduled at your request on a date and time that are convenient to you. We offer personalized education with hands-on learning. Our gardens are living textbooks and give you an opportunity to develop a relationships with plants; really get to know them and their community. You can touch, smell and taste the herbs as you learn the many benefits they have to offer as well as methods of how to prepare them for best results.

www.redroadherbs.com

Contact Rachel to set up a date and time
Facebook or Website message
Open May through October
Taking reservations for 2025 and 202

08/24/2025

Leave the Leaves - you'll have more butterflies if you don't tidy up your gardens. Although some butterflies have epic migrations to warmer climates for the winter, some will stay here and wait for spring 🌸

🦋 Viceroy (Monarch look-alike) caterpillars find shelter in a willow or poplar leaf for the winter.
🦋 Red-spotted purple butterflies hibernate as a caterpillar under larval hosts like apple, hawthorn, hop hornbeam, birch, service berry, wild cherry, willow and oaks.
🦋 Eastern tailed-blue caterpillars find legumes or clover to spend the long nights and cold days.
🦋 Black swallowtails overwinter as a chrysalis among garden herbs like dill, fennel and parsley.
🦋 Red Admiral adult butterflies stash themselves in the cracks and crevices of tree bark or rocks. Their bodies, like those of many other insects, produce glycogens that act as an antifreeze.