Herb courses at our school emphasize the ability of students to create their own herbal pharmacy. The results are both more affordable and higher quality than purchasing finished products off store shelves.
Some plants can be harvested from a backyard garden while others can be wildcrafted from the broader landscape. The ability to sustainably wildcraft varies greatly by species, location and recent weather. Even the most dedicated gardener or knowledgeable wildcrafter will need to purchase herbs from time to time.
When possible, it is recommended to support local businesses, especially the smaller family-operated herb stores found throughout the country.
For more selection or larger quantities, there are many herb farms, distributors and devoted wildcrafters who have dried herbs for sale on line.
Mountain Rose Herbs is the largest and best known of the online sellers. I often recommend them to beginner herbalists as they are truly a one stop shopping site for many accessories in addition to dried herbs.
It is also good to know about the many smaller but also high quality businesses that offer freshly dried and sometimes even freshly picked herbs.
A directory for locating these places is here.
