Tag: Our Farms

Farm Visits: Creating Genuine Relationships with Our Farm Partners

We recently traveled to our neighboring state of Washington to visit several long-standing farm partners. Peppermint, spearmint, catnip, red clover, California poppy, and oats were among the botanicals we got to see, but even more important than that was getting some one-on-one time with our partners. Opportunities like this are largely possible by being an independently owned and mission-driven company that truly cares about its sourcing. These trips allow us to get boots on the ground to see how the plants are grown and also foster meaningful relationships with our partners. It is an important part of our support for domestic suppliers, while also ensuring that the quality and purity standards you expect from us are met.

There are four core aspects of our farm visits, which help provide the framework for the questions we ask and the ways we can offer our ongoing support.

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October 15, 2025
Pumpkin Seed Oil: A Local Farm Story

Nestled in the lush and green Willamette Valley of Oregon, a generational farm is hard at work growing, harvesting, and processing pumpkins and pumpkin seeds. The farm has been growing seed pumpkins for decades, but after learning about the health benefits of pumpkin seed oil, they recently decided to expand their offerings to include pumpkin oil. Not only did this diversify their offerings, but it also helped to improve their waste stream. (more…)

September 30, 2025
Supporting Wild Harvester Education for a Sustainable Future

In the summer of 2025, Mountain Rose Herbs had the honor of sponsoring and participating in a training seminar hosted by Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) at the beautiful Oshala Farm in Oregon’s Rogue Valley. It was a small, focused gathering of wild harvesters who came together to learn, connect, and share their commitment to ethical wildcrafting. This seminar was part of ASD’s Wild Stewards Program, a vital initiative that supports wild harvesters in Central Appalachia and beyond by improving livelihoods through sustainable practices, fair pricing, and access to new markets. We’ve long admired their dedication to stewarding both people and plants, and we were thrilled to help bring their expertise to the Pacific Northwest.

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July 9, 2025
Bee Pollen: A Superfood to Source Sustainably

During our sourcing tour across Europe, we had the opportunity to experience a unique type of farm visit. This particular stop required us to suit up and engage closely with some pollinator companionsÑhoney bees.

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June 16, 2025
Meet Our Jojoba Farmers in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert

Meet the family whose commitment to crafting the finest organic jojoba oil in the world transcends trends and spans generations.

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May 31, 2025
Cultivated Arnica: A Farm Story About Preserving Traditions and Quality

Arnica montana is an incredible plant called upon in our most common times of need. Specifically, arnica flowers are used topically for bumps, bruises, and muscle soreness. In other words, for basic discomforts of the human experience. It’s so effective, however, that it has made its way onto United Plant Savers’ At-Risk List.

As with all of the botanicals we carry, we are always seeking the most sustainable ways to source herbs to ensure we are engaging in a practice that is beneficial to our farm partners, our customers, and the environment. Luckily, we know some incredible farmers, and after many conversations and a years-long commitment of partnership, we were able to commission a plot of this specialty plant to be grown on a farm in Spain.

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April 4, 2025
Furthering Our Commitment to Sustainability and Transparency: Regenerative Organics

At Mountain Rose Herbs, we have always prided ourselves on a business model that supports a healthy planet and healthy people. That means always adapting to changing certifications and standards that, thankfully, are becoming more supportive of our core values and environmental stewardship principles. While the concepts and strategies behind it are not new, one of the emerging farming methodologies is Regenerative Agriculture.
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March 10, 2025
American Ginseng Monograph + Ethical UsageåÊ

Before jumping into all the amazing qualities of American ginseng, I first wanted to share a bit about my personal journey with this plant. For a long time, I did not feel comfortable working with ginseng. A big part of my herbal practice is ensuring that I’m working with herbs in a way that honors the ecological and social impacts of my choices. As you may know, ginseng is on the United Plant Savers’ At-Risk List and is also in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species list, meaning it is at risk of becoming extinct if trade is not better controlled. Ginseng has been on these lists for many years and remains a plant that continues to be overharvested and poached to the point of ecological harm. Yet over the years, several passionate industry peers have stepped up to the challenge of making ginseng sustainable and accessible while not affecting the already threatened wild stands.

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March 6, 2025
Furthering Our Commitment to Sustainability and Transparency: FairWild

The wild harvesting of botanicals is a practice as old as herbalism itself and many of the cornerstone products here at Mountain Rose Herbs are collected in this tradition. These important herbs may come from the temperate mixed forests of Eastern Europe, shrublands of Africa, or closer to home in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States.
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February 26, 2025
A Passion For Organics

Organics is not a new conceptÑit’s how humanity sustained itself for millennia. There was a time when we didn’t question whether our food was laced with chemicals or genetically altered, yet here we are, living in an era where “organic” has become a movement rather than the norm.
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February 3, 2025
How to Make Vanilla Extract

Vanilla is both unassuming, yet utterly magical. As a child, I remember believing that vanilla was a plain or even boring flavor. Now as an adult, I realize that nothing could be further from the truth. With its delicate and creamy flavor, vanilla is not only enchanting on its own, but it also has the power to draw out and enhance any other flavor that it is paired with. I find myself adding vanilla extract to matcha, hot cocoa, coffee, moon milk, oatmeal, chia pudding, and, of course, almost all my baking projects. With such a variety of uses, it is no wonder that I like to make sure that vanilla extract is well-stocked in my cupboard, which is why I have taken to crafting my own in larger batches. Vanilla extract is surprisingly easy to make at homeÑall you need is whole vanilla beans, alcohol, and a jar. It also makes an awesome DIY gift!

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November 13, 2024
Fair Trade Premiums: What They Are & Why They Matter?

Mountain Rose Herbs is honored to work closely with small-scale producers around the world, either directly or through farming cooperatives. Many aspects of farming, wild harvesting, and processing are difficult and prone to outside pressures like natural disasters, market volatility, and climate change. These challenges are why we partner with Fair Trade Certified operations when possible.

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November 4, 2024
How Contract Farming Supports the Entire Supply Chain

At Mountain Rose Herbs, we feel it is our responsibility to ensure all the botanicals we offer support the entire supply chain. This includes the farmers, the harvesters, and those who call upon them in times of need. One of the strategies we employ to ensure a steady and sustainable supply of organic herbs and spices is contract purchasing. This means that we make projections of our community’s needs, sometimes before the seeds even go into the soil, so that farmers can better rely on the sale of their crops and we can ensure people will have access to what they need to support their health and wellness goals.

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October 21, 2024
The Four Pillars of UDSA Organic & Why They Matter

People often struggle to understand what ÛÏorganicÛ means, and consumer research has revealed that many are not familiar with the regulatory and enforcement processes that uphold the organic seal. In response to this, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has come up with four easy-to-understand pillars that make up the USDA organic label. Each pillar highlights a key component of the National Organic Program’s (NOP) process for developing and enforcing organic regulations.
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October 16, 2024
Midwest Farm Visit: How Farm Trips Support the Whole Supply Chain

This August, I traveled to rural Minnesota to visit one of our domestic farm partners. Lucky for me, there was a break from the previous week’s high humidity and peak mosquito activity, which made for a comfortable visit this time around. I met with Jason, a second-generation farmer and now manager of the organic farm. I began my visit at what they refer to as the ÛÏhome farmÛ where I got to see Jason’s childhood home and the land he grew up on. They still grow some crops on four acres of this land, but the bulk of their growing now takes place in other nearby plots. (more…)

September 19, 2024
Mountain Rose Herbs Takes Big Steps in Herbal Industry Transparency

In a hyper-connected world full of consumption, how do we make the best choices when purchasing products? How do we determine the impact of our decisions based on our values? Now more than ever, we are faced with businesses greenwashing customers, and as a result, consumers have become detached from where things come from or how they have come to be. Terms like ÛÏnaturalÛ or ÛÏtherapeuticÛ are used with reckless abandon and we are given minimal information to make the best choices for our bodies and our planet. (more…)

February 7, 2024
Mountain Rose Herbs: Organic Sourcing from Pacific Northwest Farms

In 2001, we moved Mountain Rose Herbs from California to Oregon to be closer to our farm operations, wild harvesters, and processors. We are proud of the fact that we have nurtured relationships with our Pacific Northwest farm partners for 30-plus years. Today, we source about 75% of our American-grown organic herbs from Pacific Northwest farmers here in the bioregion we call home.

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January 2, 2024
Bee Balm Monograph + Herbal Steam Recipe

There is always happy anticipation around Mountain Rose Herbs when we get the opportunity to bring in a new herbal ally. And when that botanical is grown by one of our passionate, conscientious farm partners right here in Oregon, our excitement is tinged with some home-state pride. So, we are pleased to announce that we are now carrying organic bee balm (Monarda fistulosa) grown at Oregon’s own Oshala Farm! (more…)

December 7, 2023
Could Cutting-Edge Farming Practices Be the Answer to Ginseng’s Survival?

For more than ten years, Mountain Rose Herbs has been working with United Plant Savers (UpS) and other conservation organizations to address the alarming decline in wild ginseng populations in North America. Despite concerted efforts and the support of federal and state governments, as well as ethical ginseng forest farmers and wildcrafters, the state of this precious botanical in the wild remains precarious due to overharvesting and habitat destruction. With that in mind, we are delighted to say that a new way of farming ginseng is providing hope for the future of Panax quinquefolius!
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November 17, 2023
The Value of Fair for Life Certification: A Cacao Case Study

Among the stellar organizations that Mountain Rose Herbs works with, our Fair for Life partnership is one that we are particularly proud of due to the demonstrable good that it does. Its principles impact people and the environments they live and work in around the world, as well as our community here in Eugene, Oregon.

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November 7, 2023
Goldenseal: Planting a Future for One of Our Most At-Risk Herbs

Although goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) was used by First Nations peoples for hundreds of years before Europeans arrived in the Americas, the first written source regarding goldenseal appears in an 1801 series of essays by botanist and physician Benjamin Smith Barton titled Towards a Materia Medica in the United States. Early colonists found a well-established trade network already in place for medicinal herbs, including goldenseal. Indigenous people used it as a dye and also for a variety of health issues, including as a bitter to support digestion, as a skin and eye wash, and as a dental rinse. By the 1830s, goldenseal was also a favorite of practitioners of Eclectic medicine, and demand was increasing exponentially. That demand has never let up and today goldenseal is considered to be one of the most at-risk herbs on United Plant Savers’ At-Risk Medicinal Plants List. There is, however, a potentially bright future for goldenseal thanks to innovations in cultivation. (more…)

December 1, 2022
American Ginseng: A Forest Grown Future

As you know, we spend a lot of time thinking about at-risk herbs and what we can all do to support these botanical allies. The issue of overharvesting in the wild is a key reason why Mountain Rose Herbs is increasingly turning to cultivated herbs when possible and why we support certified organic forest farming, particularly for hard-hit herbs like North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius). We know that to ethically procure these valuable botanicals, they must be consciously and mindfully gathered and harvested. We only work with growers and harvesters who have been fully vetted, who we can trust to cultivate, harvest, and handle our plant allies with the respect and care they deserve. With that in mind, we’d like to show you what successful forest farming looks like.

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September 22, 2022
How to Choose High Quality Herbs and Spices

Recently, as I was making soup with my three-year-old granddaughter and teaching her to pronounce galangal root, I found myself in an extended game of ÛÏname that spice.Û It turns out you can get through an entire elaborate Thai soup recipe with a toddler in this way; I highly recommend it. It goes something like this: Cute toddler points at spice jar and asks, ÛÏWhat is that spice?Û Adult says, ÛÏPaprika. Smell it, what do you think?Û Cute toddler makes funny face and spies another spice that looks similar. ÛÏIs that paprika too?Û Adult is impressed. ÛÏGood eye, that’s smoked paprika. Does it smell different?Û And on it goes like that through the colored jars. In this way, I was reminded that I have so many jars of excellent dried herbs and spices and it’s definitely time to check them for freshness. (more…)

May 20, 2022
Osha: A Supportive, but At-Risk Plant Ally

Photo courtesy of Susan Leopold, PhD, Executive Director at United Plant Savers.

Osha root (Ligusticum porteri) has been in use as an herbal medicine, incense, food, and for ceremonial purposes for thousands of years. When European colonists arrived in North America, osha was already being widely used by First Nations People in the American Southwest and Mexico to treat a variety of conditions, particularly those involving the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. The Zuni people chewed the root in healing rituals and the Tarahumara people used it ritualistically in protection ceremonies. This herbal ally has been generously gifting itself to humans on our continent for millennia, and its renown has spread to other parts of the world. Unfortunately, this increasing popularity has shined a light on osha’s one significant problemÑvirtually all commercial osha is wildharvested because this independent herb doesn’t do well as a cultivated crop. This limitation combined with the ever-increasing demand for osha has many herbalists concerned about the viability and long-term sustainability of this precious botanical. Let’s take a deeper dive into osha.

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February 23, 2022
Why Organic Seaweed is Important

In the last couple of years, the global demand for seaweeds has skyrocketed. It‘s no surprise, as seaweed offers a stunning array of nutritional benefits and packs a unique salty and umami punch due to its high glutamate content. Seaweed is also used in a variety of non-food applications, including cosmetics and beauty products, scientific research, traditional medicinal applications, biofuels, fertilizers, and more. Considering all the uses for these aquatic plants and the increase in demand for such products, it is more important than ever to consider best practices for harvesting and processing these precious materials. It is this consideration that drives Mountain Rose Herbs to work closely with our harvest partners in offering organically certified seaweeds.

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January 6, 2022
Organic Herb Sourcing: The Bigger Picture

In 1987 Mountain Rose Herbs was founded on a commitment to sustainably source all of our botanicals, and since then we’ve made every effort to uphold that commitment. One of the most important aspects of keeping that promise is ensuring transparency in the supply chains for each lot of material that we receive in our warehouse. Maintaining this requires a close relationship between Mountain Rose and our farm partners, and this relationship is managed by our Procurement team.

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December 8, 2021
Yaupon: Rediscovering America’s Forgotten Tea

Sooner or later, everything old is new again. This saying has been sneaking into our day-to-day a lot over the last couple of years as people are rediscovering ÛÏoldÛ methods of being more self-sufficient and resilient in these challenging times. One of our favorite old-new ÛÏdiscoveriesÛ is yaupon tea. When our Mountain Rose Herbs tea team was introduced to yaupon, weÑlike most AmericansÑhad no idea that there was a naturally caffeinated tea plant native to North America. This fact is astounding when you consider that yaupon tea was the drink of choice for literally thousands of years. This delicious tea is supremely sippable and, thanks to plentiful theophylline and theobromine (as well as a host of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, etc.), provides a smooth caffeine boost and focus without the jitteriness that can come from coffee.

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April 15, 2021
Organic Farming in the ÛÏOff SeasonÛ

There’s no denying the enchanting lure of harvest time. The plants soak up long stretches of sunlight and integrate the photons via complex biological mechanisms into helpful and radiant biomass, until that splendid moment in which they are gathered and thoughtfully prepared for your cabinet.

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December 17, 2020
Farming as a Labor of Love

Foster Farm Botanicals has been a valued partner of Mountain Rose Herbs since 2016. They make it easy to supply our customers with a wide array of the high-quality organically certified botanicals that people have come to expect from us season after season. In August of 2019, a few of our team members had an opportunity to visit this special farm and get to know more about its history and the inspiration behind the operation.

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November 9, 2020
A Still Life: Hydrosol Distillation with Our Organic Growers

Hydrosols are pure botanical extracts produced by distilling fresh leaves, fruits, flowers, and other plant material to create aromatic waters. Although they have similar properties to their essential oil counterparts, they are more delicately scented. These high-quality flower waters are loved for their ease of use and versatility in aromatherapy and body care formulations. Recently, we had the opportunity to speak with the husband-wife team who craft our certified organic hydrosols. During a brief lull in the harvest season, they graciously took a moment to tell us more about how they create these delightfully fragrant waters.

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November 2, 2020
From Farm to Bottle: The Story of Our Hops

For over 30 years Mountain Rose Herbs has taken special care to curate our relationships with trusted farmers and partners to provide only the freshest, highest quality, locally sourced botanicals. We are intentionally located in the verdant Willamette Valley so that we may optimize the opportunities for sourcing as much local abundance as possible. These botanicals are the foundation for our line of expertly curated extracts and tinctures. (more…)

September 22, 2020
Endangered White Sage: Procuring Organic Cultivated Salvia Apiana

Mountain Rose Herbs has been in a years-long process of shifting our procurement policies steadily away from wild-harvested botanicals. This policy shift is in direct response to the increasing impact of overharvesting on wild stands of some of the most beloved herbs and spices around the world. White sage (Salvia apiana) is one example. In the past few years, white sage has come under a dual attack. The arid regions that are home to wild stands of Salvia apiana have been badly impacted by climate change, which has caused wildfires and other devastation. At the same time, there has been a meteoric rise in the commercialization of smudging, which has created a lucrative market for illegally harvested white sage, much of it taken from public lands. It is for this reason that Mountain Rose Herbs made the decision in 2019 to procure 100% of our loose-leaf white sage from a special cultivation project in the rocky hills of San Diego County’s North County region. We consider ourselves fortunate to have the opportunity to support such an important project.

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September 18, 2020
Organically Grown Stinging Nettle + Nutritious Infusion Recipe

In our neighboring state of Washington lies one of our organic farmsÑ650,000 acres of herbal splendor amidst an otherwise desert landscape. Thanks to the pristine Columbia River, this region has an unlimited supply of the highest quality water any agricultural operation could desire. Here, head farmer Phil has the space and resources to grow one of our most popular herbs: stinging nettle. (more…)

April 9, 2020
How Fair Trade Helps Women & Families

Women are the leading providers of agricultural work in many regions of the world, including in the fields of our organic farm partners in India. Learn how the Fair for Life fair trade program helps empower this female-led labor force through equitable wages, paid time off, and working conditions that are safe for farmers and the environment.

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February 25, 2020
Flavor and Family Near the Seaside of Sicily

We travel to our farm partners’ fields across the world to maintain close relationships with our growers and learn from one another.
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May 22, 2019
Exploring the Resilient Roots of Albanian Agriculture

Albania’s mountains and valleys teem with rich botanical bounty. Mountain Rose Herbs and United Plant Savers visited its fecund countryside at the peak of the autumn harvest to meet the farmers and wildharvesters who help bring culinary apothecary herbs and fruits to plant lovers across the world (like the ripe and ready hawthorn berries above!).
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April 9, 2019
Heritage & Heat: Organic Pepper Powders from a Southwestern Farming Dynasty

Our farm liaisons travel to the Southwest US to visit the family that’s been channeling the region’s heat into their top-quality organic chili powders for nearly a century!

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March 6, 2019
Botanical Traditions and Innovations in Bulgaria

United Plant Savers’ Susan Leopold and Mountain Rose Herbs’ Jennifer Gerrity travel into the Balkan mountains at the peak of the autumn harvest to visit our organic farm and harvest partners in the Bulgarian countryside.

Amidst the stunning foliage of a golden autumn, I journeyed into the lush valleys and mountains of Bulgaria to seek out the wild plant collection sites where our regional partners harvest an array of our botanicals. Accompanying me on this trip was my esteemed colleague, ethnobotanist Dr. Susan Leopold, Executive Director of United Plant Savers. We wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the horticulture of Bulgaria, meet the people who harvest these plants, observe their traditional methods firsthand, and learn about the culture surrounding plants in the Balkans.

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February 19, 2019
Why Mountain Rose Herbs Exclusively Carries Cultivated Rhodiola

Our farm liaisons travel to America’s northernmost state to visit the revolutionary farmers working to cultivate organic rhodiola in Alaska’s rugged landscape.

Arriving at a property that looks across the water to Kachemak Bay State Park, we have our first rendezvous with a group of farmers engaged in a bold agricultural experiment: cultivating organic Rhodiola rosea in the rugged Alaskan countryside. These folks have staked years of work on the hope that this much-prized adaptogen hailing from Siberia and northern Asia can thrive in the challenging agricultural conditions of their wild home state. For us, it has already been a long day of travel that’s left us more than ready to cozy up with some hot tea and take in the incredible views. But we are here to help with the harvest, and there’s work to be done. (more…)

January 7, 2019
Organic Chaga From the North Woods of Canada

Mountain Rose Herbs farm liaisons travel into Canada’s north woods to visit the harvest sites of our certified organic, wildharvested chaga mushrooms.

The late January landscape of northeastern Canada is stunning, but brutal. This snow-covered expanse presents an imposing front that challenges all who would enter its wild recesses, but our local harvesters know this ground and hike on, undeterred. We follow behind, spurred onward by the promise of encountering an elusive and treasured resident of this hibernating land: Inonotus obliquus, the chaga mushroom.

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December 3, 2018
Organic Passionflowers on the Adriatic:åÊAn Italian Love Story

Verdant fields of our certified organic passionflower flourish on our Italian farm partner’s land. Gianfranco’s family has passed down its agricultural wisdom through the generations while inspiring other farmers to embrace organic growing practices.

Gianfranco’s kind eyes gaze lovingly at the single passionflower blossom he clutches in his hands. He buries his nose deep in its vibrant purple petals and inhales. ÛÏI could have made more money growing other crops,Û Gianfranco says through a translator, ÛÏBut I have a big loveÑI am in loveÑwith passionflower.Û

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October 25, 2018
Scent Stories from the European Countryside

Our Mountain Rose Herbs farm liaisons regularly travel to visit our family farmers. On a recent trip to Europe, David (one of our farm liaisons) met Frank (a fourth-generation farmer) and got to see his fields first-hand.
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September 7, 2018
Why Our Pacific Northwest Farms Grow Organic

Near the snow-capped peaks and pristine glacial streams of Cascadia lies a Pacific Northwest family farm. A gravel road winding up an arid canyon leads to the small plot of land where our certified organic milky oat tops are grown, harvested, and dried. (more…)

August 23, 2018
Supporting Heritage Herbalism in Appalachia

Overlooking the ancient and herb-rich landscape of the Appalachian Mountains.

From the hills of eastern Kentucky to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, there exists an ancient yet vibrant tradition of folk herbalism. The mountains of Appalachia are among the oldest in the world, and their immense botanical diversity hosts an astounding number of useful plants, hundreds of which are found nowhere else on earth. (more…)

August 3, 2018
Why We Go Out of Stock

We know there’s nothing more inspiring for our customers than a fully-stocked apothecary or spice cabinet. Here at Mountain Rose Herbs, we pride ourselves on providing herbal enthusiasts with a veritable buffet of botanical bounty. Our organic farmers across the world do their very best to support us in that mission, and we are constantly inspired by their ability to provide harvests of such exceptional quantity and quality.

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June 13, 2018
Sustainable Cultivation and Wildcrafting in Europe

In Eastern Europe, herbs are a place where two worlds come together. Practices handed down through the generations collide with the realities of the modern world. In the five countries I visited on a three-week trip in June, this juxtaposition was unavoidable.

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April 2, 2018
Harvesting Seaweeds off the Coast of the Atlantic

Seaweeds, also known as ÛÏsea vegetables,Û are widely prized for their rich supply of minerals and their unique umami-packed flavor. Bladderwrack, dulse, and nori are some of the healthful certified organic seaweeds that thrive off the beautiful coast of Maine’s Atlantic waters. I took a trip across the country to visit with our skilled harvesters who devote their life to these flavorful ocean treasures.

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February 14, 2018
Into the Peruvian Mountains for Fair Trade Cacao

Cacao has a long and colorful history beginning in Central and South America. At Mountain Rose Herbs, our fair trade organic cacao powder, nibs, and butter are sourced from an area known as the Cordillera Azul in Peru. There, cacao thrives in fields nourished by seven mighty rivers and abundant rainfall. No irrigation needed! We had the pleasure of traveling to this beautiful region to meet our hardworking farmers who nurture and harvest this beloved botanical.

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January 20, 2018
Cultivating Organic Ashwagandha in India

Ashwagandha is to Ayurveda what Ginseng is to Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s a cornerstone root used through the ages as a part of daily life. A root so treasured that its popularity has spread globally and its use is common.

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December 30, 2017
Reviving a Forgotten Tea Growing Region

Deep in the Himalayan foothills just west of Nepal is a relatively unknown tea region: Kumaon. In the springtime, these hillsides are awash in green. Lush, vibrantly hued tea plants that smell as intoxicating as they taste, grow between stands of conifers. This is where you’ll find Desmond, the manager of our certified organic tea operations there.

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November 11, 2017
From Harvest to Home: Our Organic Ginger

Ginger has been valued as a fresh and zesty spice for centuries as well as a key herb in Traditional Chinese Medicine and many other herbal traditions. Its first recorded uses were discovered in ancient Sanskrit and Chinese texts, and it can now be found in homes across the globe. Not only is ginger renowned for supporting healthy digestion, but it’s also known for its unique flavor that adds a spicy kick to a variety of dishes.

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September 19, 2017
Paving the Way for Organics in Turkey

While we’re passionate about organic agriculture for many reasons, did you know growing organically can reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere? Food production accounts for 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions,* so supporting organic agriculture is more important now than ever. (more…)

August 29, 2017
Find Local Herb Growers!

For those of you who count on Mountain Rose Herbs for dried herbs and spices, we’re honored! But we strongly encourage our community to support nearby farmers who grow beautiful, fresh botanicals too. Your buying power has the potential to fuel your local economy, reduce your carbon footprint, and promote the cultivation of local varieties of the herbs you love.

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June 30, 2017
How to Support Local Growers

We are proud to announce a new herbal resource for our community! We are compiling a list of certified organic local herb growers with under 40 acres in cultivation, so that plant lovers like you know where to go to get high-quality fresh herbs!

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April 10, 2017
Hydrosols: Farm to Bottle

We are so passionate about organic agriculture and quality herbs that we make regular trips to visit our growers. And we always have a blast! Not only does it expand our understanding of our farmers and what we can do to support them, but it also gives us a chance to make sure that the highest quality processing starts before the goods arrive at our facility. This time around, we got to go behind-the-scenes to see how our amazing hydrosols are made. (more…)

April 6, 2017
Cultivating Botanical Diversity through Organic Agriculture

Earlier this fall, we visited our farm that straddles both Oregon and Washington, interrupted by the blue Columbia River running down its middle. The farm’s verdant green fields shone brightly against brown, parched hillsides that stretched as far as the eye could see. The irrigated fields provided relief to the eyes, a soft green that promised healthy harvests yet to come.

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November 2, 2016
Precious Barks: Developing a Sustainable Tree Harvest

Chief Operations Officer, Jennifer, visits with a group of Fair for Life farmers on this intercropped forest farm with yearround harvestability in three stories of the forest canopy.

Increasing demand for spices acquired from tree barks, such as our beloved cassia (a.k.a. cinnamon) is putting many tree species in peril worldwide. At Mountain Rose Herbs, we are passionate about supporting sustainable harvesting that preserves the life and integrity of the tree, rather than killing it. Our Fair for Life Project farmers in India use methods that are unconventional, harvesting only small sections of the tree bark and then allowing the tree to heal completely before taking more.

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October 26, 2016
Helping Ensure a Fair Trade Future

A proud Fair for Life farmer shows off our certified organic nutmeg and mace fruits.

The smiles on the faces of the farmers as I handed them organic cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, and clove saplings were ear-to-ear grins. Today, I had the pleasure of hand-delivering the saplings to one of the 60 farms we collaborate with as part of our innovative Fair for Life Project.

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October 19, 2016
Strengthening Community Roots with Fair Trade Turmeric

Chief Operations Officer, Jennifer, helps field workers prepare our certified organic turmeric farmland for replanting.

As part of my most recent trip to the Mountain Rose Herbs Fair For Life Project in southern India, I visited the remote agricultural village of Kollegala, based in the foothills of the Western Ghats. It’s a fertile farming land with a dry growing season and heavy summer rains. The community in this area makes its living primarily from the sales of turmeric (Curcuma longa). The turmeric growers here represent the largest farming group in our innovative Fair for Life Project, and they grow turmeric exclusively for Mountain Rose Herbs.

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October 12, 2016
Innovating Fair Trade in India

Chief Operations Officer, Jennifer, in our organic Fair for Life turmeric field post-harvest.

As the Chief Operations Officer for Mountain Rose Herbs, I regularly visit our Fair for Life Project in southern India. Most recently, I traveled to the state of Karnataka to meet our organic farmers and check in on important developments there.

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October 5, 2016
Northwest Farm Stories: Growing Hops

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September 29, 2016
Our Organic Farms in Oregon

It’s Organically Grown in Oregon Week!

Mountain Rose Herbs carries many certified organic herbs, and we’re proud to be a part of Oregon’s thriving organic industry! Help us celebrate the 28th Annual Organically Grown in Oregon Week (September 11-17, 2016), a tradition that began in 1988 as a means for acknowledging Oregon’s organic industry and leaders of the organic movement.

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September 12, 2016
Herb Stories: How We Protect Trillium

We are so excited to share this post from our upcoming Free Herbalism Project speaker Susan Leopold, PhD!

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August 25, 2016
Update: Maca Market Report

The old adage ÛÏwhat goes up must come downÛ was proven truer than ever when looking at the maca root market this year. We gave our blog readers this analysis in a previous blog post and thought it would be necessary to provide an update on maca, as well as a glimpse behind the scenes of international botanical markets.

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February 29, 2016
Membership Drive: Win a $1,000 Gift Certificate!

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February 3, 2016
Farm Stories: North American Grown Calendula

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November 19, 2015
Farm Stories: Herbs of Appalachia

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November 12, 2015
Farm Stories: Northwest Summer Crop Report

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September 24, 2015
The Free Herbalism Project featuring Ryan Drum!

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September 21, 2015
Our New Catalog is Here!

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September 11, 2015
New Video: Dandelion with Susun Weed

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August 13, 2015
Farm Stories: Sourcing Egyptian Herbs

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July 29, 2015
Farm Stories: Cultivation of Apiaceae Plants

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July 13, 2015
Guerrilla Herb Gardening for the Earth

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April 22, 2015
Certified Forest Grown Ginseng

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April 21, 2015
Farm Stories: A Look at Root Harvesting Techniques

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March 4, 2015
Growing a Medicinal Herb Garden: How to Start Seeds

Starting herbs from seed can seem a little daunting! While we may be used to starting some summer vegetables in the window sill, the idea of starting yarrow, lavender or arnica plants from seed may seem a little mysterious. It doesn’t have to be. Like other plants, you just need to give them what they need and soon you will have a garden overflowing with all your favorite botanical friends! (more…)

March 2, 2015
New in the Shop: Organic & Fair Trade Turmeric Root

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February 27, 2015
Native Plants are Becoming Endangered Species Too!

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February 25, 2015
Update: How Can We Protect Osha Root?

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February 17, 2015
Plant Stories: Harvesting Damiana in Mexico

Damiana (Turnera diffusa) is a plant native to Mexico and other parts of Latin America that has been a popular medicinal and widely used where it grows wild. In recent years, this herb has gained considerable popularity in the US, Europe, and abroad as a tea, smoking herb, and tincture thanks to its calming and love-inspiring properties.

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February 11, 2015
Herb Stories: The Future of Maca

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January 26, 2015
Stories from the Herbal Path: Portland Plant Medicine Gathering

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January 12, 2015
Farm Stories: Harvesting Roots in the Pacific Northwest

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December 30, 2014
Inside Wild Carrot Herbals

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December 10, 2014
Guide to Saving Herb Seeds!

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September 2, 2014
Photo Thursday!

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August 14, 2014
Propagating Promise at the Native Plant Nursery

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May 21, 2014
Growing Our Relationships with Farms and Farmers

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February 26, 2014
Farm Stories: Appalachian Tour

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February 11, 2014
Photo Thursday!

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January 2, 2014
Our Sustainability Report is Here!

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December 23, 2013
Celebrating Fair Trade Month!

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October 29, 2013
A Future for Ginseng

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September 16, 2013
Farm Stories: Growing Goldenseal

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August 12, 2013
Photo Thursday!

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July 11, 2013
Photo Thursday!

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June 6, 2013
Watch Now! The End Game: Stopping GMO Alfalfa

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May 28, 2013
Beeginners! Giving Bees a Hearty Start with Herbal Bee Tea

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May 20, 2013
Why Choose Australian Sandalwood Essential Oil?

Sandalwood essential oil is truly exotic. This pale yellow oil has soft, woody notes that are extremely tenacious and somewhat balsamic. It has a long history in religious ceremonies and rituals, and is prized worldwide for an intoxicating aroma found in the heartwood of the tree.

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April 26, 2013
All About Vanilla!

Check out this fact-packed infographic we made that follows the fascinating and complex story of vanilla bean production. From orchid flower to ice cream, the luscious flavor and aroma of this cured fruit is powerfully enchanting. You’ll also find a few vanilla recipes and how-tos to try with our organic vanilla beans!

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March 18, 2013
Travel Journal: Visiting Hungary

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October 23, 2012
Photo Thursday!

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October 18, 2012
Photo Thursday!

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September 27, 2012
Stories from the Garden!

These stories come to us from the spectacular herb, fruit, and veggie gardens created at home by folks here at Mountain Rose. Plant-lovers prepare to feast your eyes, have a laugh, and maybe shed a tear of sweetness for the tales shared below. Special thanks to our awesome staff members Carol, Peggy, Ashlee, Karla, and Elvira for these wonderful gifts…

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August 28, 2012