A Yarrow Escape

We’ve been fielding a lot of questions about the cyclospora outbreak, so here’s our take:

We’ve seen a lot of food outbreaks over the last few years and they are coming from very large operations. To us, these outbreaks illustrate a broken food system and the many miles (and hands) your food passes through before it reaches your plate.

But honestly, food borne illness can happen anywhere. Which is why we have standard operating procedures in place to make sure our food is safe.

When you get food from us, here’s what you can count on:

👩🏻‍🌾 We have a crew of 8 people, that’s it! Your food is sown, planted, lovingly cared for, and harvested by one of eight people.

📝 Everyone has been trained in food safety procedures, which includes proper sanitizing, washing hands, and not working when sick (to name a few).

🚽 Everyone has access to a bathroom in our barn, must wash hands before returning to work, and our farms septic is far from our production area in a different field across the road.

💧 We test our water to make sure there are no contaminates.

🐓 If someone is working with the chickens-boots and clothes are changed and hands are washed before returning to the vegetable area.

🧑‍🧑‍🧒‍🧒 We eat the food too! Everyone on the crew works diligently to make sure the food is safe for everyone to eat.

🥗Even with food safety protocols, we do recommend that you wash all vegetables before eating.

We’ve enjoyed these conversations because we can tell people exactly what we do and celebrate all the great things about eating local.

If you ever have questions, don’t hesitate to ask…it’s the BEST part about knowing your farmer…you can ask them directly ❤️❤️

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Herbs during the American Revolution! A wide range of herbs were in use in Colonial America for medicine, culinary purposes, dye, and Liberty Teas - replacements for the heavily-taxed British teas.

Some of the herbs used:

🌱 Parsley, rosemary, oregano, sage, and mint were staples in the kitchen garden for flavoring food
⭐️ Borage, for its cucumber flavor in food, was also used for fevers and respiratory infections at this time
🌿 Chamomile, lemon balm, and other mints were used for beverages
🩹 Lamb’s Ears was used to treat a variety of health issues (as a tea and a poultice - for diarrhea, asthma, and neuralgia), and the leaves were used for bandages
🫖 Liberty Teas! Spearmint, peppermint, and native plants including New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) and bee balm (Monarda fistulosa - Wild Bergamot; and Monarda Didyma - Oswego tea) were brewed to replace heavily taxed British teas

Soldiers frequently carried and used chamomile, yarrow, and sage to treat camp maladies, dysentery, and wounds.

[Clockwise from top left: Monarda fistulosa, Wild Bergamot; Ceanothus americanus, New Jersey Tea; Stachys byzantina, Lamb’s Ears; Tanacetum parthenium, Feverfew; Matricaria chamomilla, German Chamomile]

🌿 This Year’s Harvest Is Here! 🌿

We’re so excited to share the fruits of this season with you! Our fresh, homegrown garlic is ready and we’ll be offering:

🧄 Garlic Bulbs
🧄 Garlic Powder
🧄 Garlic Hummus

Nature’s healer in its purest form — packed with flavor and powerful benefits for your body. 💚

Stay tuned for availability and grab yours while it lasts!

What if the plants you’ve been pulling out of your yard… are actually powerful healers? 🌿

So many “weeds” are deeply nourishing and have been used for generations in herbal healing.

✨ Dandelion – supports liver + digestion
✨ Plantain – nature’s skin healer for bites & irritation
✨ Clover – gentle detox + hormone support
✨ Chickweed – cooling, soothing, and anti-inflammatory

At A Yarrow Escape, we believe healing doesn’t have to be complicated… sometimes it’s growing right beneath your feet 💚

🌿 Take a closer look at what’s around you
🌿 Reconnect with the earth
🌿 Escape with Herbal Healing

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Meet Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)—nature's ultimate backyard healer. 🌿✨
With its feathery, fern-like leaves and flat-topped flower clusters, this hardy perennial is so much more than a pretty face. Named after the Greek hero Achilles, yarrow has been revered for thousands of years in traditional herbalism for its incredible therapeutic properties.Here is what makes this ancient plant a true medicinal powerhouse:
🛑 Stops Bleeding FastHistorically nicknamed "Soldier's Woundwort," its natural styptic properties make crushed yarrow leaves excellent for clotting minor cuts and scrapes.
🔥 Breaks Fevers Brewed as a warm herbal tea, it acts as a natural diaphoretic, promoting sweating to help the body cool down safely during a cold.
🌱 Soothes DigestionPacked with beneficial bitter compounds, yarrow helps stimulate bile production, easing bloating and stomach spasms.
🩸 Supports CirculationIt is widely used in women's wellness to ease intense menstrual cramps and regulate pelvic blood flow.
⚠️ Safety Note: Yarrow is a member of the daisy family, so skip it if you have ragweed allergies. It must be completely avoided during pregnancy.

I use my chicken egg shells! I crush them in a mason jar and mix them into the soil I plant my tomatoes with. It makes a huge difference!!

Kitchen scraps can help, but I use them carefully 🌱 A few simple tips I’ve learned:
☕ Sprinkle coffee grounds lightly, not in thick clumps
🍌 Chop banana peels small so they break down faster
🥚 Crush eggshells finely and give them time to work into the soil
🍚 Use rice rinse water fresh, especially for herbs and houseplants
🍵 Mix used tea leaves into soil or compost in small amounts
🚫 Skip anything salty, oily, or seasoned
A little goes a long way, so I treat these as gentle extras rather than a full fertilizer replacement.