How to Buy Herbs?

Knowledge of what to do with herbs will only go so far if you don’t have access to herbs with which to experiment. My goal is to grow my herb collection slowly as I learn how to use the herb/essential oil/etc. effectively. There are numerous places to purchase herbs in bulk, in pill form, as essential oils, and as plants. I’ll just highlight a few places that I have been happy purchasing from and will update this post as I grow my collection.

What to look for?

When looking for herb/health companies to support I generally look for

• Value. I am not necessarily looking for a cheap product, but I am looking for a product with a lot of value, whether it is highly concentrated, high quality, or has been highly recommended as being effective.
• Convenience. Working around a toddler’s schedule, I have found it much more convenient to be able to contact a company in person either before she wakes up or after she goes to bed. Since I am in the Eastern Time Zone, working with companies on the West coast is actually convenient for me because they are still open after my daughter is asleep!
• Honesty. Being able to learn more about the company, see their history, and “meet” the employees online is a great way to feel connected to the company you are purchasing from, especially as companies grow.
• Organic. I am still trying to decide what is worth buying organic and what is not on a limited budget. Considering that any herbal remedy you create is made by pulling the nutrients out of the plant, I think it is wise to go organic and not be adding extra toxins to your body by using conventionally produced plants.

Where to buy in bulk?

• The Bulk Herb Store seems to be an excellent source for purchasing herbs in bulk as well as seeds. Everything they sell is organic, which may bump the price up some, but if you are going to make your own remedies, you may as well use quality ingredients! They seem to have excellent customer service and though their blog has not been updated since 2014, it still has a number of useful articles and recipes on it for your reference. I am especially interested in going back and reading their series of articles on herbal use during pregnancy.

• Mountain Rose Herbs, based in Oregon, is a well known online herb shop. They also sell exclusively organic herbs, and you can purchase your herbs by the pound in as large of quantities as you would like. There is no lack of information either! You could easily spend hours reading all the information they include in the description of each herb! In addition to bulk herbs, they sell herbs already processed into extracts, tinctures, syrups, oils, pills etc. They also sell ingredients for health & beauty recipes like coco butter, oils, clays, waxes, etc.

Where to buy processed herbs?

• Vitacost is my go-to site for purchasing herbs in capsules because they generally have sales, and there is such a variety available. That can be a good and bad thing, because some brands may not be as high of quality, but once you do your research, it is an excellent place to find sales.

Where to buy essential oil?

• Plant Therapy is where I have purchased my essential oils recently. I know essential oils can be more divisive than politics, but I have been pleased with the information I have gotten from them, and encouraged by acquaintances who work in the medical field, have been a part of other EO companies, and have switched to Plant Therapy. They are also an excellent price, which is great for stretching our healthcare budget!