Are you wanting to become an herbalist, but are afraid you're not "natural" enough?

Maybe you didn’t grow up on the land, or don’t live in a place where you can go be in nature very often. Or maybe you do, but can’t afford to take off work to go... Maybe you’re neurodivergent and the idea of getting together with a group of strangers on a local plant walk is a living nightmare. Or you’re afraid of being shamed for not being “natural” enough because you don’t eat salads every day and don’t have the energy for yoga... Maybe you’re put off by the growing number of anti-vaxers, MLMs, and pseudoscience followers being lumped in with herbalism and don’t want to risk ending up with them... If any of these reasons for not getting into herbalism resonate with you: I see you.
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What will you learn?

By the end of this 10 month training, you'll be able to confidently:

  • Plant, grow, and harvest your own medicinal plants (North American and Eurasian species focused)

  • Create your own topical and ingestible herbal medicines

  • Choose which plant to work with out of several that could have the same action

  • Reference over 60 different medicinal plant profiles

  • Choose the best extraction method for a plant

  • Know which plants to work with throughout the year to help prevent common ailments

  • Decide when you can work with medicinal plants versus when to go to the doctor

Lesson Topics

This training is entirely online, and you'll receive carefully scheduled content each week to match up with each month's seasonal theme.

  • Cultivation

    Planting, tending, and harvesting your own medicinal plants, no matter how much space you have.

  • Plant Profiles

    Build your own materia medica with over 60 detailed plant profiles

  • Medicine Making

    You'll learn how to make your own medicinal teas, tinctures, syrups, oils, salves, and double extractions.

  • Herbal Actions

    Learn the science behind how and why plants do what they do, as well as the body systems they affect.

  • Seasonal Traditions

    Learn how our ancestors connected with nature's changes, as well as how to nurture that connection within yourself. (Celtic leaning while leaving space for your own heritage)

  • Varied content for all learning styles

    You'll have access to slideshow presentations, videos with subtitles, and written lessons that you can download and easily refer back to.

Course curriculum

Click each tab to view lessons for that month

    1. Welcome to Rootcraft!

    2. How To Get the Most Out of This Course

    3. IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ

    4. Rootcraft Supply List

    5. Health Privilege

    6. Cultivation: Farming Fundamentals

    7. Cultivation: Ethical harvesting

      FREE PREVIEW

    8. Cultivation: Plant families

    9. Cultivation: Plant Reproduction

    10. Video: Plant Propagation

    11. Video: How Mint Spreads

    12. Herbal Actions: Introduction

    13. Herbal Actions: Constituents

    14. Medicine Making: Solubility

    15. Video: Solubility Experiment

    16. Herbal Safety

    17. Laws & Regulations

    1. March Intro: Spring Equinox

    2. Cultivation: DIY Potting Soil Mix

    3. Cultivation: Seed Starting Tips & Tricks

    4. Cultivation: Up-potting Seedlings

    5. Medicine Making: Water Extraction Tools

    6. Medicine Making: Water Extractions- Teas, Infusions, Decoctions, Syrups

    7. Herbal Actions: Alteratives

    8. Meet Chickweed: She has Bones

    9. Profile: Chickweed

    10. Medicine Making: Nettle Infusions

    11. Profile: Stinging Nettle

    12. Video: Leave it to Cleavers

    13. Profile: Cleavers

    14. Medicine Making: How to make a Cleavers Succus

    15. Profile: Violet

    16. Profile: Burdock

    17. Medicine Making: Burdock Root Decoction

    1. April Intro: Waxing Phase

    2. Cultivation: Hardening off Seedlings

    3. Cultivation: Harvesting Tips

    4. Video: How to Harvest the Mint Family

    5. Medicine Making: Drying & Storing

    6. Video: Drying & Storage Tips

    7. Medicine Making: Poultices & Compresses

    8. Medicine Making: How to Make a Plantain Poultice

    9. Profile: Dandelion

    10. Herbal Actions: Demulcents

    11. Video: Meet Plaintain

    12. Profile: Plantain

    13. Profile: Marshmallow

    14. Video: Meet Comfrey

    15. Profile: Comfrey

    16. Profile: Corn Silk

    17. Profile: Mullein

    18. Video: Mullein Through the Seasons

    1. May Intro: Bealtaine

    2. Medicine Making: Herbal Formulations

    3. Spring Recipes

    4. Profile: Hawthorn

    5. Profile: Artichoke

    6. Video: Meet Artichoke

    7. Medicine Making: Alcohol Extracts

    8. Medicine Making: Fresh Folk Method Tincture

    9. Medicine Making: Dry Ratio Method Tincture

    10. Medicine Making: Tincture Straining

    11. Medicine Making: Dosage

    12. Herbal Actions: Emmenagogues

    13. Profile: Raspberry Leaf

    14. Profile: Vitex

    15. Profile: Red Clover

    16. Video: Meet Red Clover

    17. Profile: Motherwort

    18. Video: Meet Motherwort

    19. Profile: Feverfew

    20. Profile: Black Cohosh

    21. Profile: Mugwort

    1. June Intro: Summer Solstice

    2. Herbal Actions: Energetics

    3. Medicine Making: Glycerine Extractions

    4. Medicine Making: How to Make a Glycerite

    5. Herbal Actions: Nervines

    6. Profile: Skullcap

    7. Profile: Passionflower

    8. Video: Meet Lemon Balm

    9. Profile: Lemon Balm

    10. Profile: Valerian

    11. Profile: Hops

    12. Profile: Klamath Weed aka St. John's Wort

    13. Profile: Tulsi aka Holy Basil

    14. Profile: Crampbark

    15. Video: Meet Milky Oats

    16. Profile: Milky Oats

    17. Profile: Chamomile

    18. Profile: Lavender

    1. Course Survey

    2. July Intro: Full Lunar Phase

    3. Cultivation: Lunar Gardening

    4. Video: How to Make a Rosemary Hydrosol

    5. Medicine Making: Hydrosols

    6. Medicine Making: Oil Extractions

    7. Medicine Making: Balms & Salves

    8. Video: One Way to Make Herbal Syrups

    9. Herbal Actions: Diaphoretics

    10. Profile: Cayenne

    11. Profile: Sage

    12. Profile: Elder

    13. Black, Blue, & Red Elder Safety

    14. Profile: Hyssop

    15. Profile: Mint

    16. Profile: Horseradish

About this course

  • $666.00
  • 164 lessons
  • 15 hours of video content

Testimonials

See what students are saying:

“I love the fact that there is downloadable content that I can go back to, and that there is no deadline. The info is also very non-biased when it comes to modern medicine ”

Jamie B.

“I really enjoy how each plant profile gives you a bit of everything of the plant as in the who, what and where. I also enjoy reading the folklore and the case studies. The Hawthorne lesson was super cool with all the folk history which each part of the plant.”

Alicia Q.

“The amount of information provided is great, not too much, not too little. Despite there being a pre-defined order, it is so easy to go back to the previous lessons ”

Tessa F.

“Jovie is an amazingly inclusive human. I appreciate her word choices when referring to who these plants were cultivated by. She always takes special care to acknowledge those who have come before us. I am a white female and love that she is firmly giving credit to indigenous, non-white humans. I suppose closed-minded people could be uncomfortable, but that just means you are educating well! ”

Julie F.

“The fact that I can come back to the course and totally take my time is incredibly helpful. Sometimes I have to go back and glance at things so I actually retain everything. I truly appreciate how the course was set up. ”

Alicia Q.

Module 2: Medicine Making Lessons

($333 value) You'll make your own:

  • Water-based extractions: Teas, infusions, decoctions, compresses, hydrosols, flower essences

  • Alcohol-based extractions: Tincture, succus, double extraction, & preserved decoctions

  • Oil-based extractions: Infused oils and salves

  • Other extractions: glycerites, syrups, cordials, and herbal vinegars

  • Proper dosage of herbal medicines

Module 3: Green Witch Gardening Lessons

($333 Value) By the end of the course you'll be able to confidently:

  • Grow & harvest medicinal plants in pots, small gardens, and large spaces

  • Plant and harvest with the phases of the moon

  • Harvest different plant parts without damaging the plant

  • Start seeds, propagate cuttings, and transplant seedlings

  • Compost, mulch, and amend soil to maintain its health

  • What time of year a given plant is best worked with

Module 4: Herbal Actions Lessons

($333 Value) Not just recipes, but the fundamentals so that you can decide when, why, and how to work with a given plant.

  • Learn how herbs act in the body, based on *both* traditional use & scientific research

  • Organ affinities, primary actions, and secondary actions of plants

  • Matching an herb with an individual, not a disease

  • In depth profiles of 30 medicinal plants

  • Active constituents and plant chemical solubilities

  • Herbal energetics

  • Comprehension - not memorization!

Learn what I wish I had when I first started out

I'll share all the info I wish I had learned in my initial herbal training, but had to spend the last decade gathering by sifting through the nonsense.

  • How to grow medicinal plants

    From seed, to harvest, to seed again. Including how to plant and harvest with the moon's phases, how to properly compost, and which plants grow well in containers

  • How to work with different plants in different seasons

    As well as seasonal ebbs and flows in energy. We will be meeting each plant as it comes into season in the Northern Hemisphere

  • The best way to work with each medicinal plant

    Whether fresh or dry, tincture or topical, root or flower.

  • What time of year to find the plants you'll learn about

    Including how and when to harvest them (and when to *not* harvest them)

  • Who should *not* work with a plant

    Based on medications and existing medical conditions

  • Nurturing local ecosystems

    By working with native and invasive species differently

About me,

Jovie Hawthorn Browne

Unlike many herbal teachers you can find, I didn’t grow up on the land. I’d love to say I did, but I grew up poor in the Mojave desert in military housing. I didn’t have elders to teach me the traditions of my ancestors. I had books and professors to teach me how cellular biology and phytochemistry worked as I earned my bachelor's degree in Biology and post grad diploma in herbalism. I didn’t get to know plants through foraging and wildcrafting them. I got to know them through cultivating and tending to them in several gardens for over a decade. I will always continue learning. My path has not been traditional. And that’s okay. Your path doesn't have to look like my path at all (or anyone elses for that matter). I’d just like to share what I’ve learned so far with all of you, in a way that I’m hoping will feel safe, non-judgmental, and balanced.

This course might be a good fit for you if:

  • You’re new to herbalism but want a deep dive introduction

  • You consider your herbal knowledge intermediate but want another perspective

  • You like to learn the science, but aren’t trying to get your PhD in phytochemistry in order to read it

  • You appreciate a balance between herbalism and conventional medicine

  • You like some woo-woo, but take it with a grain of salt

  • You learn best from someone who is calm, serious, and introverted

  • You’re easily overstimulated by sounds and visuals

This training might *not* be the best fit for you if

  • You’re looking for in-depth wildcrafting or foraging training, 
because we’re going to focus on growing them ourselves.

  • You’re only looking for recipes, 
because we’re going to be learning the fundamentals first

  • You’re looking for advanced or clinical herbalist training, 
because, again, fundamentals.

  • You learn best from someone who is loud, bubbly, and extroverted, 
because if I wanted to fake it I would go back to working in the service industry!

Course-Only Pricing

Save 50% off of the individual courses! Pay a one-time up front flat rate, or choose a monthly automatic payment plan

Want to Step it Up?? Become a Medicine Maker!

The Medicine Maker Shipments include access to the entire online course PLUS 3 seasonal shipments (March, June, & Sept) of tools to make what we're learning about, including:

  • +Dry herbs: flowers, leaves, berries, & roots in biodegradable packaging

  • +Hand tools

  • +Glass & metal containers for storing herbal preparations

  • +Menstruum (aka bases or solvents to extract into) in glass jars

  • +Seeds (US shipping only*)

  • +The only other thing you'll need is jars or containers for storing your dried herbs.

  • +If you can't select this option I'll still be sending out an equipment shopping list so you can source your own.

  • - No containers are plastic (aside from lids/dropper tops)

  • - No shipping materials are plastic (unless they're upcycled)

  • Quarterly payment plan available, 3 payments of $266.66.

Enroll in the 10-month course PLUS Medicine Maker Shipments

Only $999 or 3 quarterly payments of $333

Snag Yours Now

Additional products

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FAQ

  • Is this a certification course?

    You DO get a certificate when you complete the course, but keep in mind: since there is no state or national governing body over herbalism in the US, *any* certificate from *any* course you take simply states that you completed the course. No certification course can qualify you for any sort of licensing (since herbal licensing in the US doesn't exist).

  • Can I enroll for medicine maker shipments if I'm outside the US?

    Due to shipping constraints having to do with customs and package weights, unfortunately, I cannot send Medicine Maker Apprenticeship Boxes outside of the continental US

  • Will we have a way to ask questions?

    Yes! Students in all levels will be able to reach me via email. Office hours for responses are TBD.

  • How much time will I need to dedicate to this?

    The course is designed to be easily incorporated into life for those who have work, school, or family that takes up most of their time. Lessons are not live, so you do not need to coordinate any scheduling. You can expect to dedicate one to two hours per week to reading and videos, depending on how much time you need to process and absorb material. There's no homework or tests, and if you fall behind, that's okay! Catch up when you can, I'll continue sending you new lessons each week and you can get to them when you get to them.

  • Can I move through the course at my own speed?

    Yes, to a certain extent. Due to the seasonal nature of how the material is presented, lessons are released on a monthly basis. If you fall behind, that's okay. Catch up when you can and let me know how I can support you. If you're wanting to move faster, though, You won't be able to skip ahead.

  • Is there any homework or tests?

    Nope!

  • Which growing zones will the course apply to?

    A good portion of the perennials we will discuss will be hardy in USDA zones 3-10. Some are only hardy in zones 6-10, and a couple hardy to zones 9-11 that can be grown as annuals. If you're not sure what a growing zone is or what any of this means, that's okay! We'll be covering it in the course.

  • What if I live in the southern hemisphere?

    The way we will be profiling the plants will be laid out mostly as they appear throughout the seasons in the northern hemisphere. ie: we'll be meeting the plants that pop up in the northern hemisphere's Summer during the northern hemisphere's Summer. So while those in the southen hemisphere will likely miss out on the aspect of walking outside and harvesting the plant they just learned about (if it's something that grows well in their growing zone), there's nothing wrong with learning about plants out of season! So long as you want to learn about plants that are mostly native to the US and Eurasia. On top of that, a large portion of the information you'll learn will be foundational (meaning how and why plants work, how to extract and make medicine with them, etc) so the seasonal aspect of the plant profiles can be worked around.

  • What if I'm unable to or don't want to grow the plants myself?

    There is still so so so much to learn about herbalism other than how to grow them! We cover herbal actions, research and traditions behind the plants, medicine making, seasonal energy shifts, and more. You can always source your herbs through my webstore Spirit Haus Botanicals or through my recommended suppliers!

All Rootcraft students get a 20% off lifetime discount at Spirit Haus Botanicals!

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