Edible, Medicinal Plants & Herb Class
From $40.00
Description
This flower can be made into a tea and when drank, can act as a blood purifier. Its is also great as a snack if dipped in batter and deep fried. What is it?
“Feed your Friends and Heal your Family”… all from your backyard!
“Nature provides a smorgasbord of food, however the table is hundreds of miles long and its set seasonally” – learn how to dine from that smorgasbord!
Class Dates for 2024
- Spring – Saturday May 18, 2024
- Summer – Saturday July 13, 2024
- Fall – Saturday September 14, 2024
Price: $75 per class
– Bring a friend….2 people for $130
– 3 people for $180
– Child (13 or under) $40
Location: 1721 E. Sprague Rd., Seven Hills, Ohio (10 miles south of Cleveland, Ohio)
Length: 1 day (9 AM to 4 PM)
Discount –Take the “Seasonal Series”…1 Adult for the next 3 upcoming Plant Class Series for only $199
Prerequisites: None
Note- All classes are limited to approx. 15 -20 people. The class will be “CLOSED – “designate Out of Stock” when that limit is reached. Please sign up early to avoid being closed out of the class you would like to take.
There are hundreds of plants to eat in the woods and some (very few) that you shouldn’t. These classes will show you which are which and how to enjoy them!
This is one of the most comprehensive Edible/Medicinal Plant classes you can attend. We offer classes in the Spring, Summer and Fall since different plants come into season at different times of the year and all of the plants look a little different as the grow and mature.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT EACH CLASS
Morning Agenda:
Each class will begin with a general discussion on where to collect, what time of day is best for collecting, how to dry herbs and go over terminology like infusions, decoctions. tinctures and salves. We follow this with a detailed slide show detailing the plants available in the northeast United States showing how the plants will look at that specific time of year.
Late Morning to early afternoon:
In the late morning we will then car-pool and go out in the field to several areas to show you what plants are out that season and what they look like. Beginning in a suburban backyard setting you will learn to identify plants and nutritional weeds that you have been stepping over for years that you could of been putting on the dinner table. Then we’ll go to an urban setting followed by a more wooded area designed to get you comfortable with identifying the plants you saw in the slide show out in the fields.
Please bring a brown bag lunch for our break mid-daybreak.
Afternoon:
After lunch we’ll focus on the hand-on part of the class where each person will help prepare the topic of the month such as making a jam or jelly, brewing up Dandelion Wine, or making a First Aid salve for burns, cuts and bruises..
Class typically ends around 4 PM
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE CLASSES (SPRING – SUMMER – FALL)
The two main differences between the classes are (1.) the plants we’ll cover that are ready to eat and use for medicine and (2.) their appearance (since plants change appearance slightly as they grow throughout the year). These are the 2 main reasons we offer 3 Plant Classes, one in every season. There are plants such as Roses and Rose Hips (high in Vitamin C) that we do not cover in the spring class since the rose hips are not produced in the Spring. You can’t eat Purslane in the Spring or Fall since its only around in June and July.
The Spring Class will focus on the plants that are useful and growing in the spring. It is geared toward wild edibles since all of the plants coming up are young and tender. This is a perfect start to your Plant Education since you will be able to follow the plants as they grow and change during the year. Learn how to use Violet flowers to make a tasty desert.Get the recipe for Dandelion Wine and learn what part of the plant can help rejuvenate your liver. And what plant clas would be complete without talking about the “weight-loss” tea that you can make from Chickweed!
The Summer Class includes both medicinal and edible plants. One of the plants that will be covered is the one to the left that was used in the Civil War. It can still be used today to stop bleeding. We also discuss the plant on the right as a treatment for Poison Ivy. To augment your brown bag lunch we will be collecting a common weed that was mentioned and eaten raw for lunch by Henry David Thoreau in his book “Walden”, or learn how to cook and prepare it as an appetizer. This recipe may be the hit of your next party or picnic. Learn what plant is the best mosquito repellent and how to use the plant on the right to cure Poison Ivy.
The Fall Class will encompass the fall plants that are in season as well as the plants that will be available later in the season. We will also cover making cordage (string or rope) out of weed stalks that are available this time of year as well as drying plants for the upcoming winter. The fall is for drying plants and storing them for winter so you’ll have a chance to taste a variety of teas we’ve dried ranging from “Catnip” tea to fresh Peppermint tea. We will also cover tree identification in this class.
Your really do not need to bring anything to class except rain-wear and footwear for rain (just in case) as well as a notebook and paper if you wish to take notes, which we recommend. A camera might also come in handy if you want to take some photos of the plants on our field walk.
OTHER QUESTIONS…
- Here is the Class refund policy – Class Refund Policy
- I’m coming in from out of town for this class, where can I stay overnight?
CLICK HERE for local Hotels/Motels
CLICK HERE for local Bed & Breakfast Lodgings
John hershey (verified owner) –
Good afternoon Tom,
I just want you to know that my wife and I really enjoyed your class yesterday and we learned quite a bit. Once we arrived at home we walked our 3 acre property which is natural along the perimeter. We already knew we had a lot of poison ivy but we were amazed to find a patch of jewel weed in one corner.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
-John
Carla Fisher (verified owner) –
I attended all three classes for the Edible, Medicinal Plants and Herb Class and I loved each class! I loved the lectures as well as identifying the plants in the field. It’s amazing to see how the plants change each season. The plants you see in the Spring won’t be the plants you see in Summer or Fall. Tom is an excellent teacher and I learned a lot. I would recommend this class to anyone interested in wild plants. I had a lot of fun!
Douglas (verified owner) –
My grandson and I harvested some Jewelweed leaves that my wife learned to identify and how to use in the summer class. We found tons of it growing along a walking path less than 1/2 mile from our house. We cooked them in olive oil for 2 days at 115°F. We bought some beeswax from a local supplier and made our decoction last Thursday evening. Friday morning I woke up with spots of poison ivy starting to appear on my arm. I immediately put some of our fresh Jewelweed salve on it. 4 days later – I only have and few small visible spots and I have had no itching whatsoever. It works on mosquito bites too. I would highly recommend taking this class and am looking forward to coming back in for the fall class.
KMA –
I enjoyed catching up with people I met at the spring class. Tom showed the plants in the summer stage of their lives. It was interesting to see that some had not changed that much from spring to summer. While others made major changes including edible blooms. The project for the afternoon was making a first aid salve with the “weeds” we picked before lunch.
This class has an immense amount of information for you to absorb.
Lee Ann Deutsch (verified owner) –
Attended the July edible plants class with my husband, met Tom and his lovely wife for the first time. Lovely people, very caring and really wish to help people learn. Friendly, warm environment, even made a friend or two along the way! The class was informative, Tom taught us so many plant varieties, all found right in our backyards, edible, medicinal, etc. We even took a field trip and saw up close that these “weeds” are truly everywhere and edible. Highly recommend this class. We will be taking the Fall and Spring classes as well!
Shannon (verified owner) –
This was our second class with Tom they are vary fun and packed with a lot of information . taking what we learned and using it to make a first aid salve was vary fun . cant wait for the next class
KMA –
I just attended the spring workshop. It was GREAT! Very informative. Hands on learning is important to me, and there was plenty of it. I walk thru my back pasture now looking for edibles. I even got my granddaughter to pick and eat dandelion pizza! Looking forward to the summer workshop! I’m sure it will be great also.
Kari P –
Took the spring class this past weekend and really enjoyed it. The class was informative and educational in a fun, hands-on format. I am really looking forward to the Summer class!!