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Earth Air Fire and Water. The Pharmageddon Herbal.
The Western Tradition.
By Ivor Hughes

To Our Children�s Children.

�Where shall I begin please your Majesty ? � he asked. �Begin at the beginning� said the King gravely, �and go on until you come to the end; then stop�.
Alice�s Adventures in Wonderland.
Chapter 1. Lewis Carol

Introduction.
This Herbal grew out of an untidy pile of teaching notes, lesson plans, lecture and study notes, delivered and digested at various times in many locations. I have written of nothing of which I have no personal hands on experience. I am not an academic for I never had the opportunity to go beyond an English working class secondary education, but I consider myself a journeyman scholar in the best tradition of the ever apprentice. The Journey began in the late 1960�s and continues.

I am the author, editor and publisher. Any errors are entirely mine. I would like to thank all those people who taught and inspired me in the flesh, and to untold numbers of authors of myriad books, who were the beacons and signposts along the way.

If you have come to study then you will find no list of references academic style, . I did the work and  spun the synthesis. I gift it back as a free online reference. Combined with the Site Monographs, and the facility to ask questions in the Site Forum, then I am sure that you will have a firm foundation upon which to build your herbal knowledge irrespective of culture because mankind's needs in nature are eternal and the same for all. Throughout the Herbal one will find �Bolded� text or words these are suggested terms and names with which you may wish to search the net to deepen your inquiries, If you have come to study as an individual, then you may print the Herbal, but you may not sell it without permission. The copyright is mine. I encourage you to print it, because as things are; the electric lights could go out tomorrow.

Chapter 1. First things first.
It is not an overstatement to say that economically and environmentally times are fraught. At the level of primary production modern agricultural and horticultural practices have many things in common, e.g. High capital dept structure. High economic risk. High energy consumption. Environmentally destructive.

Such negatives are integral to large or small mono-cropping operations. The prime movers and beneficiaries of such practice have been the Scientific Establishment, International Banks; and the Pharmaceutical and Chemical Corporations. The results of those policies are now visible on a global scale in the form of a degraded and threatened environment. Genetically modified crops and animals have all contributed to destabilised global weather patterns with the ever increasing spread of disease, starvation, and unemployment. Quite clearly a small land holder with little or no capital is gravely disadvantaged in such an economic system, but market developments present an alternative. For small farmers from the high Andes to the palm fringed shores of Asia and the Pacific. Small scale herb farming can be the lamp that leads you back from a gathering darkness.

Good quality herbal material cannot be produced by Agri-Chemical means, neither do herbs lend themselves to large scale mono-cropping practices because of the large input of bio-cides needed to halt the spread of disease within the crop. Herb Farming is a labour intensive occupation, which when linked to some owner built appropriate technology, will allow the grower to enter the market as a small manufacturer at wholesale or retail level. Good quality culinary and medicinal herbs have never lacked a sale.

The Growers Index of Possibilities.
The small scale grower has the opportunity to generate income at every level of operation, e.g. propagation materials such as seeds, cuttings, roots and runners will usually find a ready sale. Fresh culinary herbs may be sent to market and excess seedlings potted on to be sold either from the property or through garden shops. The income derived from such sales is minor in comparison to that generated by the main operation, but the point to be made is that from first growth onwards, early in the game the grower is in business.

Processing Options.
From propagation to consumer ready product the independent grower will need to provide some or all of the following range of options;

The level of processing undertaken will determine the level of income that may be earned from any given area of land. The processing level will also determine how much land is needed to produce a viable income; the higher the processing level, the smaller the cultivation. If the processing options are limited to dehydration and packaging, then an area of 1 hectare (2.47 acres) would be required to produce a viable income.

Chemo-Culture, The Liebig Legacy. 1.1
Baron Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) It was his work that was responsible for the introduction of chemicals to agriculture. In a little over 130 years the destruction of the Planet is near complete. Chemo-Culture, which as its label suggests, is a system of raising crops by the use of chemical biocides and fertilisers. All such chemicals are �systemic� they enter the waterways lakes and seas, they enter the plant via its roots and aerial parts. They enter us when we eat them, doctor or beautify ourselves.

No matter how much the Pharmaceutical and Chemical Industry prevaricates, it can be shown statistically that the rate of increase in degenerative disease and birth defects in human, animal and plants has risen in line with the increase in the use of agricultural chemicals and medical drugs. The authorities have recognised that many of these synthetic chemicals are noxious by introducing legislation that restricts chemical residues on crops to a certain number of parts per million (ppm). These figures are constantly being revised downwards. When plants are processed by dehydration, distillation or extraction, then chemical residues are concentrated far beyond the level that the law or corporations assumes to be safe. Organic husbandry is the way of the future.

The health food and natural medicines market have been labelled by American and European Supermarket chains as the fastest growing market segment in history. Tangible proof that informed consumers are putting their money where their mouths are, which is proof that organic husbandry is the way of the future, the reasons are clear; It is Ecologically sustainable; it is Environmentally safe; it is Ethically correct; and Economically sound.

Market Scope 1.2
The herb grower has a degree of flexibility and market options which are unmatched by any other branch of agriculture or horticulture. The options may be divided into 4 main categories;

The options are diverse. However to access the options the grower must be able to process the crop.

The Process 1.3
By employing one or more of the following techniques the grower may add considerable value to the primary product;

The techniques are simple, and usually no more complicated than those methods employed in a domestic kitchen. Each technique will be dealt with in its appropriate place.

The Technology 1.4
The technology required, fits the following criteria;

It can be owner constructed.
It can be owner maintained
It has low construction and maintenance costs.
It has a low environmental impact.

Much of the technological hardware equates to scaled up domestic kitchen apparatus.

Product Formulations 1.5
When the basic techniques have been mastered then it is only a matter of referring to an appropriate recipe book and employing the techniques described in the Chapters.

Market Research 1.6
Most governments maintain a department that deals with trade and industry, who are able to supply in depth information, in whatever area of a market, in which one has interest. In addition there are many private organisations that perform the same function. However a note of caution, they both tend to be extremely expensive, scientists pay themselves well, therefore for the small scale grower it could only be justified for the investigation of an export market.

The small grower should first seek to establish a firm trading base in the local and domestic markets. It is taken for granted that the intending grower knows what type of crops their soil and climatic conditions will support.

A visit to the local health food shop will yield valuable information. Most central libraries contain a reference section that will hold trade and telephone directories. For those with access to an online computer the task is even simpler. From this information a comprehensive list of potential buyers and their requirements may be compiled.

A common cause of small business failure is inadequate market research. There are various reasons for this but the result is the same, they price themselves out of the market and fail to reach the full product potential because of a false idea of what their product is worth.

Today the use of the Metric system of weights and measures is almost universal. For that reason it was chosen as the standard. For countries that operate under a different system, a comprehensive list of conversion tables are given in Module 4. In addition an avoirdupois/metric conversion table for readers in the USA may be found later in the text. Or much simpler, become familiar with the metric system.

Crop Yields and Economic Potential. 1.7
Crops yields are subject to many variables e.g.

1. Species. 2. Soil Type. 3. Temperature. 4. Water. 5. Available Nutrients. 6. Light Intensity and Duration.

Drying Ratios. 1.8
In addition the drying ratio between root, leaf and flower will vary from specie to specie; nonetheless the grower needs a general guide upon which to provide a forecast of economic potential. The following tables were compiled across a number of seasons and can be used to represent fair average yields for forecast purposes.

Addendum to Table 1.8B
The herbs listed in the table are representative of the morphology of many herbs of commerce. To estimate an unknown yield for any herb, you will require a field guide that lists the specie. It is then a simple matter to compare its structural and anatomical details with a plant from the table that has similar morphology and that also grow in the same latitude. The method is rough but so is a cash flow forecast for a new business.

Planting Distances for Selected Species. 1.9
Thought must be given to the cultivation and the harvesting methods that are to be used. For example, a person with a hand hoe needs less row spacing to work in than that which would be required for small machinery or a tractor. Therefore row spacing may be adjusted upwards to take account of mechanical methods without significant loss in yield.

Plants per Hectare 1.10.
100 square centimetres = 1 square metre (m² )
10,000 m² = 1 hectare.
10,000 m² equates to a square of 100 metre per side.

The number of plants needed to plant 1 hectare at any given spacing may be calculated as follows;

1. Divide 100 by the row spacing expressed as a decimal of a metre. That will give the number of rows per hectare.
2. Multiply the number of rows by 100. That will give the total metre of row.
3. Divide the metre of the row by the plant spacing expressed as a decimal of a metre.

The answer obtained is the number of plants required.

Example A.
How many Skullcap seedlings will be needed to plant 1 hectare?

Consult table 2-3A for planting distances  (Skullcap 20 x 35 cm)

1. 100 � 0.35 = 285 rows
2. 285 x 100 = 28,500 metres of row
3. 28,500 � 0.20 = 142,500 Skullcap seedlings per ha.

The same method may be applied to any given area.

Example B.
How many valerian seedlings are needed to plant an area of 33 x 33m.

Consult Table 2-3A (Valerian 30 x 45 cm)

1. 33� 0.45 = 73 rows.
2. 73 x 33 = 2409 metres of row.
3. 2409 � 0.30 = 8030 valerian seedlings.

Cm x 0.3937008 = inches Acre x 4046.856 = metre ²
Feet x 0.3048 = metres cm² x 0.15550003 = inch ²
Inch x 2.54 = centimetres Foot² x 0.0929030 = metre ²
Metre x 3.2808 = feet Hectare x 2.4710 = acres
Metre x 1.0936 = yards Metre² x 1.19599 = yards
Yards x 0.9144 = metres Yards² x 0.83612 = metre ²

An acre equates to a square of 208.7 feet per side.

Plantation Establishment 1.12.
There are various ways of propagating plant material, however where a large number of plants are required the simplest and most economical method is to propagate from seed.

In establishing a plantation the direct sowing of herb seed is the exception rather than the rule. Depending on the specie herb seed can be expensive and germination requirements may be difficult to duplicate in field conditions so that the outcome may be a high failure rate with patchy or irregular germination. The standard method is to sow the seed into raised protected propagation beds and transplant from them when the seedling has reached 3 leaf stage. Herb seed merchants obtain their supplies from many parts of the world and will usually provide the germination rate. for a specie expressed as a percentage. They will also state propagation method and environmental conditions needed for germination.

A common mistake often made by scientific research stations, as well as lay persons is to assume that methods applied in one part of the globe, must of necessity, be applied in another. If there is a high failure rate, as sometimes occurs, is to then attribute the failure to unsuitable environmental conditions, this is a flawed assumption because by manipulation of method and conditions, a high strike rate can be achieved. The Permaculture Organisation have achieved some startling results in the most unlikely biomes.

Trial sowing and germination tests, for every seed batch, should be an established routine. It is quite often the case that the first generation plant, from foreign stock, is somewhat lower in secondary metabolites than is usual for the parent stock. Experience will demonstrate that second or third generation stock will have adjusted its genetic material to compensate for the differing magnetic and climatic conditions.

Seed Beds.
An area of 25m² (5m x 5m) will hold around 15,000 seedlings of a Foxglove (digitalis) sized plant. By reference to Table 2-3A it will be possible to estimate seed bed size for a given number of seedlings for any herb specie.

Seed Data Table 1.12A.
Key to Data Columns.

1. Number of seeds per gram approximately.
2. Germination rate approximately expressed as a %.
3. Number of grams per 1000 plants.

Notes to Table 1.12A
The data given in the table are intended to assist with costing and forward planning.

The number of grams of seed per 1000 plants has been adjusted to account for average germination rates, however, because of widely differing conditions, it would be wise to assume a margin of plus/minus 10 %.

The species listed in the table represents a wide spectrum of size, shape and weight of seed. The approximate data for the seed of an unlisted specie may be reached by comparison and extrapolation.

It would be prudent to remember that a grower is in the hands of nature and that, unlike the processing techniques, the degree of control available is very small. Cooperating with Nature yields better results than trying to rape her.

Propagation and Cultivation Hints 1.13.
Many scientific seed raising mediums tend to be acidic. Whereas nature does things differently, and across a wide range of soils. The pH level of a soil will determine the range of nutrients available to the growing plant.

Water transplants in with dilute liquid seaweed, this alleviate transplant shock.

The hand planting of 1 hectare will take 1 person around 88 hours or 35 hours per acre.

Plants that are not standing upright at sunrise the day after planting are unlikely to survive.

Over fertilised or heavily composted herbs tend to be lush and low in the required secondary metabolites.

Mono-cropping of herbs leads to disease and insect attack. Crop diversification produces a healthy plantation.

Many herbs of commerce are perennials. They will need to be lifted and divided every 3 to 4 seasons and rotation regime instituted for root and aerial crops. That will help to maintain plant health.

Over watering produces lush and sappy herbs that will succumb to frost or cause dehydration problems.

Best quality herb is produced under conditions of environmental stress. Keep the herb lean, do not over feed and do not over water. It is common wisdom that herbs in the wild are superior to their domestic cousins.

Ivor Hughes Kaipara. New Zealand.
� 2002 � 2008 Herbdata NZ Ltd.

Chapter 2.

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