Not long before I have to say goodbye to Chanchal and Innisfree Farm here in the beautiful Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. We’ve been so busy that time has just flown.

We had a day of picking and drying Meadowsweet. The herb drier is full, so we had to lay the Meadowsweet out on a table in the barn. This takes me back to my childhood. The Herbalist David Hoffman made my father a herb tea for his stomach ulcer. The main ingredient of that tea was Meadowsweet. This lovely herb has anti acid properties, as well as being an anti inflammatory and pain relieving plant. The tea is fragrant and soothing. I still use this today in a digestive tea blend we make up in the clinic. Meadowsweet Herbal Compound.

The raspberry crop on the farm is spectacular this year, on sunday 70 lbs of raspberries were harvested. A few lbs of these went into a spectacular leaving cake that was baked.
Raspberries are a great crop for the farm, the fruit can be eaten and the the leaves harvested to make raspberry leaf tea. We use lots of this tea in the clinic and it is a must for all mums to be, drunk in the last trimester, two cups per day. I always suggest two good teaspoons per cup. Raspberry leaf is a uterine tonic, and post birth it helps the uterus to contact. We also use it as a bowel tonic, an astringent for mild upset tummies.

On Thursday nights, Chanchal and Thierry host a meal and a movie at the farm. This is a great way to build the community and bring people together. Twenty four people sat together eating food from the garden and enjoying meeting new people.  The chef Joseph Forest is very inventive, keeping on top of the mountains of food that is being harvested daily.

Innisfree farm is a truly wonderful place and I’ve had an incredible trip. What Chanchal has achieved here and the work she does is fantastic. Do check out her website http://www.chanchalcabrera.com/

I’ll be very sad to leave tomorrow. Hope it’s sunny in Scotland!

Dee x