Tucson Herbal Medicine CSA


Now available in Tucson, AZ– a locally produced herbal medicine CSA!  Ethically crafted herbal medicines from the deserts and mountains of the southwest, handcrafted by Clinical Herbalist, Darcey Blue of  Blue Turtle Botanicals. 

Darcey Blue is the clinical herbalist, wildcrafter, plant whisperer, medicine maker and owner of Blue Turtle Botanicals.  In recent years,  the development of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA's) has blossomed all across the country.  In this unique partnership, communities support their local farms, business and ecosystems by purchasing a share at the beginning of the season, and are rewarded with rich, healthy, locally grown food and products for a specific amount of time. 

In light of this development, Darcey Blue has created a unique Herbal CSA!  Much like farming, earth centered herbalism is based on long term relationships with the land and the plants harvested, and the skill and art of making medicines, formulas and finished products from the raw plants.  Herbal products have become widely available in health food stores across the nation, allowing more people more access to natural plant medicines, but what is lacking from this model, is precisely what the Community Supported Agriculture movement has done for farming, and what it can do for herbalism!  It provides sustainable, healthy, locally produced plant medicines made by with the skill, knowledge,  intention, love and magic of your herbalist.  And now, the Herbal CSA in Tucson, AZ!


·          6 months of fresh, local herbal medicine 
·          2 locally produced products each month (tincture, salve or tea)
·          Informational newsletter with each package describing the products, the plants and how best to use them
·          Local pick up in Tucson,  AZ each month at a central location (delivery available for an extra fee)

Shares begin June 1! 
Sign up today for one of the CSA shares for 2012!

6 months of fresh, locally produced Herbal Medicines
for $199

Contact Darcey today to sign up
or purchase your share below!



Herbal Medicine CSA in Tucson, AZ









Everyday Nourishment Tele-Seminar May 5, 2012 with Herbalist, Darcey Blue


Do you....
feel like you are running on empty?
feel unsatisfied after eating meals, and wonder whats missing?
feel that you want and need EASY ways to nourish yourself?
feel that you know how to take care of everyone but yourself?
want to learn about what herbs and foods are supportive to improve your vitality every day?
want to begin and maintain a simple and effective self nourishment routine?

I'm inviting you to join me for my free teleseminar-
Everyday Nourishment on May 5, 2012!


I'll be sharing with you the simple ways you can incorporate safe, natural herbal medicines, delicious nourishing foods, and natural self-care practices into your every day routine to boost your natural vitality, improve your energy level, and increase your satisfaction and enjoyment of living your life!


Health and vitality stems from our small day to day actions- the meals we eat daily, the herbs we use to nourish our bodies and the ways we cultivate and preserve our life force - and I will be sharing the ways I have found to practice nourishment every day in my own life, and those of my clients.

You will come away from the call with several easy changes and practices to begin to incorporate into your daily routine- whether you choose just one or several- I know that you will see positive changes that result in better energy, more happiness, and less stress by making these small adjustments in your day to day habits.

I'll be offering a special gift to all the call participants, so be sure to listen in for the gift at the end of the call, and in addition I'll be be giving away an Artemis Elixir Infusion for Women to 3 lucky callers- names will be drawn from all call registrants and announced on the call!!

Mark your calendar now!
Date: May 5, 2012
Time: 1:00 pm PST (4pm EST)

Remember if you can't make the call live, there will be a recording for you to listen to on your own time, so be sure register to receive the recording information after the call!
Register for Everyday Nourishment with Herbalist, Darcey Blue today!








Nettle Hummus with Roasted Garlic, Onion, and Preserved Meyer Lemons

After the Community Plant Medicine Circle this week in Tucson, AZ, where we talked all about Nettles for a couple of hours, sharing stories of medicine making, recipes, harvesting and clinical uses, I felt extra inspired to include Nettles in my menu today.  I had all the lovely ingredients for hummus in the house, and a gathering to attend where hummus will be appreciated.

Nettles are so nutritious, and so easy to incorporate into your daily life, to add extra mineral nutrition and green love to everything.  Sure, you can drink nettles infusion regularly, I do, but I like to eat them even more!  This recipe can be made with dried nettles if you don't have access to fresh, but fresh will be even tastier!

Nettle Hummus with Roasted Garlic, Onion and Preserved Meyer Lemons
2 c cooked chickpeas
1 c dried nettle leaf (or 2 cup steamed and chopped fresh nettle leaves)
1 head of roasted garlic
1/2 roasted onion
1/2 preserved meyer lemon, or 4 slices
1/2 c olive oil
1-2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 tsp ground cumin seed
1 tsp chile flakes
(optional- 1/4 c tahini or almond butter)

In an oven on 400 degrees, roast 1 head of garlic ( just chop the top off the garlic and drizzle with oil), and 1/2 peeled onion, until both are soft, and browned.  This might take 20-30 min.   Peel the roasted garlic and use the individual cloves in the recipe, discarding the skin.

In your food processor or blender, blend all the ingredients until smooth and creamy.  You may wish to add more olive oil or lemon depending on your taste.

This is a sweet and mild hummus, different than when you use raw garlic. But bursting with flavor and nettle love.  Serve with carrot sticks, crackers, on salad or however you like hummus best!

Desert Gold: Californa Poppy (Escholtzia californica)

The delicate golden blossoms of the California poppy blanket the desert hills in Mid February- shimmering in the warm sunlight and shivering their paper thin petals in the warm breeze.
In a good rain year, the desert will have a carpet of gold from the large numbers of poppies.  In a dry year, we are lucky to find a patch here or there.
This is one of our spring ephemeral flowers, that is here today and gone tomorrow, blooming only for a few weeks in the spring, when there has been enough moisture over the winter.
But lucky for us herbalists, from all over, this medicine will grow very easily from seed, in your garden at home, when provided water.

California Poppy has long been one of my favorite and most frequently used sedative nervine herbs - from the time I began to study desert herbal medicines almost 10 years ago.  It is in the Poppy Family (Papaveraceae) like Oriental Poppy, but its medicine is gentle and safe enough to be used by children and teething babies, but effective enough to put an adult in pain into a relaxed enough state of mind to get to sleep.

I most often use this little gem for insomnia with pain, particularly musculo-skeletal pain- sore muscles, body aches in flu, injuries, or generalized pain that keeps one awake at night.  I find I use this plant much more often than I have ever used Valerian,  in similar situations of pain and insomnia.  I have found that California Poppy doesn't usually leave people feeling groggy the morning after using it, but it can make you feel a bit groggy during the day if you take it before bed time.   I have also found that it can be extremely helpful for people who can't fall asleep due to excessive thinking and worry, or who wake often in the night from worry.  Its also helpful for those with day time nervous spasmodic jitters and/or anxiety.

Its excellent for kids, or adults, who won't lay down and go to bed and rest, either as habit or when feeling ill.  I have also seen it relieve the pain of teething babies when the tincture is applied to the gums.    It is a reasonable though mild antispasmodic, and can help to quell spasmodic muscle pain or spasmodic cough or digestive system, while encouraging rest and relaxation.

California poppy does not seem to be at all addictive itself, and may possibly be useful in helping those coming off opiate medications dealing with addictive tendencies.  It is safe for general use on a day to day basis, but may show up on urine drug tests (as will poppy seeds from muffins.)

It tastes ghastly, no matter what form you use it in, but I generally recommend the tincture for ease and speed of effectiveness, (that and that no one wants to drink poppy tea! bitter!).  An elixir is also another easier way to get the medicine down.  I tincture my poppy fresh in 95% alcohol for the strongest form of the medicine, using the whole flowering tops- including seed pods, flowers, stems and leaves- and even a few small roots on smaller plants.  I have seen it available sold dry from herb suppliers and herb stores.  But considering how easy it is to grow,  I would suggest growing it yourself and making your medicine fresh as possible!

For insomnia I usually recommend people take 15 drops 4 x in the 90 min before bed time, pulsed at 30 min intervals.  For anxiety and jitters- 10 drops every 5-10 min until relief.  For pain, larger doses are appropriate, and I find that two droppers  (60 drops) helps with the pain of broken bones, menstrual cramps, injuries, mild headaches or other pain, and the dose can be repeated in 30 min/1 hr.   Remember that you might feel groggy from large doses used in the day, so please do not try to drive or operate machinery after taking California Poppy during the day.  It works beautifully in formulas with other nervines or sedatives and often makes it into my formulas for insomnia, or combined with other herbs for pain relief.

There is so much more to this little plant than I can fit it here, but truly it is a treasure to have such a good, effective and safe medicine that grows abundantly in yards or in large patches in the desert in good rain years.  Especially if Valerian doesn't suit you ( as it doesn't suit me at all), you may find that California Poppy will do the trick.  If you are wondering where to get  this medicine-and you can't find it at your local health food or herb store, I'll have a fresh batch of c. poppy elixir made from wild poppies this spring available in a week or so.  Just let me know if you are looking for some!

Wishing you the best of sleep and spring abundance!