ONLINE HERBAL
MEDICINE MAKING COURSE

Have you ever felt confused trying to figure out which is the most potent preparation for each herb?

Or which type of remedy is the most effective for a specific condition?

I understand how hard it is to navigate the deluge of herbal information out there, and find a resource you can trust.

With over thirty years under my belt making medicine and teaching about herbs, I've come up with a course that is chock-full of tips for addressing common ailments at home with your very own tinctures, syrups, poultices and salves. If you have children, the course is peppered with kid-friendly recipes and tricks for getting them to actually take their medicine.

Bonus: You’ll be learning all about herbs while you save money—whipping up a medicine chest full of the highest quality
remedies to be found!

Juliet Blankespoor

~Juliet Blankespoor

Green Mastermind at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine

Watch Our Video About the Online Medicine Making Course!

Online Herbal Medicine Making Course Outline (150 hours)

MODULE 1

Foundations of Medicine Making

Introduction to Medicinal Preparations • Cultivating Relationships with Healing Plants • Infusions and Decoctions • Herbal Tinctures • Herbal Honeys and Syrups • Herbal Vinegars • Flower Essences • Energetic Plant Medicine • Guidelines to Foraging and Wildcrafting • Native American Plant Gathering Practices • Harvesting and Drying Herbs • Poisonous Plants and Notable Constituents • Introduction to Herbal Actions

Giving a child medicine.

MODULE 1.1

Herbal Safety

Introduction • Essential Oils and Allergic and Topical Reactions • Adulteration, Contamination, and Notable Constituents • Herb-Drug Interactions • Pregnancy and Lactation • Serious Health Conditions and Concerns • Herbal Safety & Contraindications Guide • Herbs to Avoid in Pregnancy and Lactation Chart

Close-up of a calendula flower.

MODULE 1.2

North American Herbal History and Traditions

Connecting With Your Own Herbal Lineage & Honoring Other Traditions • An Introduction to the History of Herbalism in North America: European, Native American, and African Influences • A History of European & North American Colonial Herbal Medicine • A History of Native American Herbal Medicine • A History of Black Herbal Medicine from Africa to North America • History of Latin American Influences on Herbal Medicine in North America • Black Herbal Elders with Lucretia VanDyke • Herbal Accessibility: Uniting Culture & Community Gardens

MODULE 2

Bringing Healing Herbs into the Kitchen

Herbal Meads • Confectionary Balls • Herbal Pestos, Sauces and Hummus • Bone Broth • Fire Ciders • Bitters • Shrubs • Infused Syrups • Herbal Cocktails & Mocktails • Compound Butters • Culinary Vinegars & Oils • Herbal Popsicles & Iced Teas • Herbal Salts • Edible Flowers • Mushroom Concoctions • Herbal Ice Cubes

MODULE 3

Topical Herbal Preparations and Natural Body Care

Infused Oils and Salves • Compresses and Poultices • Introduction to Hydrotherapy • Introduction to Aromatherapy • Facial Serums • Body Butters • Salt Scrubs • Bath Salts • Aromatherapy Sprays • Aromatic Massage Oils

BONUS

Guide to Herbal Livelihoods

Herbal Products Businesses: An Introduction to Current Good Manufacturing Processes (cGMPs) and Product Labeling Requirements • Further Learning and Networking: Organizations, Media, Conferences, and Clinical Programs • Optional Herbal Business Planning Worksheet

Herbal Livelihoods Guide

Our Herbal Livelihoods Guide boldly traverses business topics such as insurance, marketing, legalities, websites, labeling, and an introduction to the GMPs (the FDA’s legal requirements for manufacturing herbal products in the United States). Learn how to make high quality medicine, start an herbal products business, and effectively market your goods! The Printable Herbal Livelihoods Guide PDF is peppered with motivational tips and filled with ALL of Juliet Blankespoor’s insider scoops for running an herbal business.

In the Herbal Livelihoods Guide, You’ll Learn: 
  • Which type of insurance you’ll need
  • How to distinguish yourself from the crowd with your own herbal mojo
  • The legal requirements for practicing herbalism in the United States
  • How to properly label your herbal products
  • How to market your wares or services through social media and list-building
  • Where to continue learning, connect with other herbalists, and stay up-to-date with herbal laws and regulations
  • What the cGMPs entail and where to learn the regulations
Juliet’s apothecary.
Asia Suler preparing calendula for drying.

The Herbal Livelihoods Guide also features:

  • Introduction to the Herbal Livelihoods Guide
  • The Heart of Livelihoods: Business Ethics and Inspiration
  • Herbal Livelihoods: Tour of Herbal Careers
  • The Nitty-Gritty of Herbal Businesses: Insurance, Legal Entities, Marketing, Websites and Social media
  • Herbal Products Businesses: An Introduction to Current Good Manufacturing Processes (cGMPs) and Product Labeling Requirements
  • Further Learning and Networking: Organizations, Media, Conferences, and Clinical Programs
  • Herbal Livelihoods Optional Clarity and Goal-Setting Worksheet


The Guide is delivered as a printable PDF. This material is most applicable for those who plan to start their own herbal business or incorporate herbal medicine into an existing business. The Guide is not part of the required course materials for the Medicine Making Course, but instead is enrichment material for professional herbalists and herbal entrepreneurs! Note: If you wish to follow the FDA’s guidelines for manufacturing herbal products, you’ll need additional training beyond this course. We provide a solid introduction to the guidelines and a springboard of resources that focus solely on the FDA guidelines.

We've had over 6,000 students from more than 50 countries enroll in our online herbal classes. Here are just a few glowing testimonials from the course...

Lola O’Brien

"I've taken many different online herbal courses and this is by far my favorite! It is stunning, gorgeous, fun and very informative. The videos are fun, the manual is stunning, and I really enjoy the progress aspect and review worksheets and quizzes. I was worried it was a little too basic for where I am at in my studies, but it turns out I'm filling in a lot of critical holes in my knowledge base. I'm in love with this course and am having a fabulous time studying with it."

~ Lola O., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Doula, writer, entrepreneur and stay-at-home and homeschooling mom to 3 kids

SaDonna

"I can’t tell you how blown away I am. It’s such a gift to feel connected to a community of healers, and I feel like I am receiving guided, individual instruction with each lesson. Although the lessons are fun and funny, each time I am left with a deep respect for Juliet and Asia, and the wisdom they are passing on. Thank you so much for creating such a gift for the herbal community and aspiring herbalists like me."

~ SaDonna H., Washington State
Wellness Coach, stay-at-home mom

Lori Rose

"Perfect for the person new to herbal medicine making or the magic of the plant world. The videography is so incredibly beautiful and fun that you would never know you are in a class, the photography is so captivating that you won't dare print the course handouts in black and white, the web design is spectacularly user friendly, and the information is incredibly thorough. It is a refreshing mix of feeding your mind, body, and soul as you explore the synergies between the plant and human worlds, and they remind you to slow down and appreciate the gifts that plants bring to us while we work to learn their magical wonders both intellectually, experientially, and spiritually."

~ Dr. Lori R., Cleburne, Texas
Life Sciences Instructor

Darlene Rose

"Can't tell you how much I love this program. It's informative and witty which makes it fun to read through, and I absolutely love the photography. I am a picture person so the more pictures, the more I absorb! It's easy to access, responsive and skill-building. Thank you so much!"

~ Darlene R., West Virginia
Author of "Endocrine Disrupted"
Holistic Nutritionist and Wellness Consultant

Course Bundle Savings:

Foraging + Medicine Making

Ready to build your own herbal apothecary with your wild bounty?

Dive deep into the world of botanical medicine by learning how to craft homemade herbal medicines and natural body care products.

Learn more about the Online Foraging Course here

Learn more about the Course Bundle here

*A third of the Medicine Making Course material is already included in the Foraging Course. The pricing reflects the overlap in material, and you'll save on the two courses if you enroll with the bundle!

Because of the seasonal nature of the Foraging Course, it needs to be taken first if you enroll with the bundle, followed by the Medicine Making Course.

Not quite sure which of our online courses
is the best fit for you?

Take a peek at our full Course Comparison Chart
to get started on your herbal journey!

This online course is self-paced
and you can start as soon as you sign up!

The course will be yours for life! However, you have six months
from your enrollment date to ask questions and gain a certificate.

new-year-sale-graphic-24

Medicine Making
Payment Plan:

$119

$99

6 monthly payments

Medicine Making
Full Payment:

$599

$479

Save $115 when you pay in full!

* Full payment includes FREE printed course manual!

* * Course manuals for full payment enrollments will ship within 4 weeks. Free printed manual offer only available for US residents at this time. All students receive a free electronic manual upon enrollment. 

Medicine Making
Payment Plan:

$119

$99

6 monthly payments

Foraging + Medicine Making Bundle Plan:

$119

$99

14 monthly payments

Medicine Making
Full Payment:

$599

$479

Save $115 when you pay in full!

* Full payment includes FREE printed course manual!

Course Bundle
Full Payment:

$1,399

$1,119

Save $267 when you pay in full!

* Full payment includes FREE printed course manuals!

Medicine Making
Payment Plan:

$119

6 monthly payments

Foraging + Medicine Making Bundle Plan:

$119

14 monthly payments

Medicine Making
Full Payment:

$599

Save $115 when you pay in full

* Full payment includes FREE printed course manual!

Course Bundle
Full Payment:

$1,399

Save $267 when you pay in full

* Full payment includes FREE printed course manuals!

* * Course manuals for full payment enrollments will ship within 4 weeks. Free printed manual offer only available for US residents at this time. All students receive a free electronic manual upon enrollment. 

This online course is self-paced
and you can start as soon as you sign up!

You can begin the course anytime - and it's yours for life!
However, you have six months from your course start date
to ask questions and gain a certificate.

Medicine Making
Payment Plan:

$119

6 monthly payments

Medicine Making
Full Payment:

$599

Save $115 when you pay in full

* Full payment includes FREE printed course manual!

* * Course manuals for full payment enrollments will ship within 4 weeks. Free printed manual offer only available for US residents at this time. All students receive a free electronic manual upon enrollment. 

If you’re not fully satisfied, we’ll give you a complete refund up to 2 weeks after you enroll.

Here’s what you’ll be able to do after completing the program:

  • Use your own teas, tinctures, syrups, salves and oils to address common ailments at home
  • Build up your medicine chest with natural, high-quality botanical remedies
  • Indulge yourself with luscious body butters, creams and scrubs
  • Teach your children to prepare their own herbal medicine – laying the foundation for self-care and knowledge of natural medicine
  • Infuse more herbal shazam into your food and drinks
  • Lavish your loved ones with beautiful and tasty herbal-based gifts
  • Develop herbal products for a homespun herbal business
  • Create a value-added medicinal or culinary product for your farm
  • Spoil yourself with the savings won by handcrafting your own medicine and natural body care products
A bowl of dried floral tea.
Wringing out herbs.

The online course includes:

  • 25 closed-captioned instructional videos and 57 lessons, clearly organized into 5 modules
  • Step-by-step instructions for each lesson, available online or as printable pdf booklets of each module 
  • 100 herbal recipes, ranging from medicinal preparations, wild foods dishes, natural body care products and culinary herbal concoctions
  • 368-page printable course manual (PDF), including herbal profiles, written and photographed by Juliet Blankespoor
  • Herbal Livelihoods Guide
  • Review worksheets, experiential projects, and quizzes at the end of each module.
  • Access to our team of herbal experts for questions and guidance via Q and A emails for six months after enrollment
  • Self-paced learning – watch the videos and prepare the recipes as you fancy, however, you have six months to gain a certificate (optional)
  • Lifetime access to the course materials, including all indexed videos and written course material
  • A 150-hour certificate of completion, upon completing all the required coursework within six months

The online course also includes:

  • Access to our student forum where you can share triumphs, troubleshooting, and more with a lively community of herbal enthusiasts
  • Your passport to endless creativity in the kitchen with medicinal and culinary preparations
  • Primary Video Instructors: Juliet Blankespoor and Asia Suler

Bonus perks:

  • 10% discount off bulk herbs and medicine making supplies at Mountain Rose Herbs’ online store during the six months you are enrolled in the course
  • Discounted membership to the American Herbalists Guild for new and renewing members, includes a discount to their annual symposium
  • Plus many more student discounts!

These bonuses are not included in the cost of tuition and are subject to change. 

Pouring dried rose buds into a pot.

Meet Our Instructors and Contributors

Core Instructors

Featured Contributors

Taking notes on pine.

Interested in our Online Herbal Immersion Program?

If you’re interested in our longer, in-depth Online Herbal Immersion Program but aren’t quite ready to jump in, you can get started by enrolling in our Herbal Medicine Making Course (which is included in the Herbal Immersion Program). 

You can simply apply all your tuition toward the Herbal Immersion. ($599 will be deducted from the cost of the Herbal Immersion program).

The program lays out a clear path for your herbal journey. It begins with building healthy soil and germinating seeds, extends into growing and harvesting each herb, and culminates with you creating a treasure trove of herbal allies.

If you’ve had trouble getting herbs to grow from seed or figuring out where to place them, or even knowing what to do with the plants you’ve successfully grown, then we have you covered!

The course is self-paced, so you can access the lessons on your own time, on your own device

Watch Our Sample Video from the Course -
Herbal Vinegars!

A few more kind words from Herbal Medicine Making Course students:

Christina

"I am so honored to be a part of such a magical journey. The whole thing is so beautifully put together. It feels very personal and real as opposed to being distant and dry like one may think an online course would be. It's also super sweet to witness how much work and dedication you all put into the course. It's amazing!! Thank you for teaching such important, vital and healing information!!!"

~ Christina T., Mars Hill, NC
Teacher and aspiring baker

Stephanie

"Before I began studying with the Chestnut School, I already had high expectations. This course has blown all of my expectations out of the water. The videos are amazing, and the content is so well written and thought out. You can tell that they poured their hearts and souls into it, with the intention to give you the best online education possible. I've been to other herbal schools, researched every single one... and this one is by far the best. Whether you're a newbie or an expert, this course offers something for everyone."

~ Stephanie D., Orange, CA
Stay-at-home mom

Miakoda

"I thought the information was awesome!!!! Although I was familiar with the basic practices, the extra information and recipes were so delicious and concise. Beautiful photographs, videos and text will make an invaluable resource to enjoy for the rest of my days studying and practicing. Honestly this is one of the only courses I have taken that hasn't been slightly disappointing because it was lacking in some way. Way to go!"

~ Miakoda W., Charleston, SC
Owner of White Wolf Apothecary

Eleni

"Living in Greece, taking herbal courses from the States is my window to the world. The course was great even for someone quite experienced with most parts of it. It brought everything together and helped me to understand some things better or improve others. There are many “universal” recipes using culinary herbs or weeds that can be found most places in the world. There are recipes that I have already made so many times that I will remember for ever, like the nettles pate which is on our table every day!"

~ Eleni C., Corfu, Greece
Herbalist, educator, stay-at-home mom

Tour Our FAQs

You’ll have the option to be part of a private student forum where you can share triumphs, troubleshooting, and inspirations with a lively community of herbal enthusiasts. Currently, this forum is held on Facebook. If you have questions for our staff, you can look through our FAQs at the end of each lesson, as well as our general Q & A board. If your question is still unanswered, you’ll send it to us via an e-mail form. In most cases, your questions will be answered by one of our moderators within 24 hours (Monday through Friday). You’ll be able to ask us questions and seek guidance for six months after enrolling. After this time, you’ll still be able to connect with other students via our student forum but the moderators won’t be available for questions. Since you’ll still have access to the course after six months, you’ll have continued access to our growing bank of common Q & A’s. (Our herbal team isn’t available by phone or private e-mail, except to provide assistance with technical issues or problems related to accessing the course. Please note that we can’t answer questions related to personal health due to legal and time constraints.)

We explore the therapeutic uses for many of the herbs featured in our recipes. The course includes a 40-page printable manual of herbal profiles. However, the primary focus of the course is how to make herbal medicine, natural body care products and culinary preparations. We do offer a more extensive program on growing and using herbs – Herbal Immersion Course, which you can upgrade to at any time (see the following question).

The Medicine Making course is included in the Herbal Immersion Course. If you enroll in the Medicine Making course and decide you want to dive in deeper, you can deduct the $599 tuition from the Herbal Immersion Course. (All of the tuition for the Medicine Making Course will be applied toward the tuition of the Herbal Immersion Course.) The Immersion is a longer, more in-depth program that focuses on growing medicinal herbs and their therapeutic uses. See the details here. The Medicine Making course touches on the healing aspect of individual herbs, but is introductory.

The medicine-making course is only available in its entirety. We don’t sell the individual modules.

Juliet Blankespoor is the green mastermind and herbal fanatic behind the program. She has been making herbal medicine for twenty-five years, including formulating her own tincture and natural body-care product lines. Juliet has been actively involved with other aspects of herbal medicine over those decades, including owning an herb nursery and directing an herbal school.

Asia Suler is a writer, teacher and herb-lover who simply lives for medicine making. She is the creator and concoctress behind One Willow Apothecaries, an Appalachian-grown company that offers lovingly handcrafted and inventive herbal medicines. Once a student at the Chestnut school herself, Asia now teaches homegrown medicine making at schools and gatherings across the country. Read their full bios here

Most of our students enroll in the program for their own personal use, and aren’t looking to gain a certificate. If this describes you, feel free to move at your own pace, watching the videos and preparing any of the recipes as you fancy. Since the course is yours for life, there’s no pressure to complete the materials at a certain time. But remember that you only have six months to ask us questions. We believe this deadline serves as an extra nudge to explore the course materials. You will, however, have continued access to the graduate forum for as long as you’d like—a diverse place to seek support amongst the ongoing community of herbal medicine-makers.

For those of you who would like to earn a certificate, you have six months to complete the program. Upon completion of all assignments and electronic submission of experiential projects, (within 6 months of enrolling and after paying your tuition in full) we’ll send you a beautiful printable certificate via e-mail. The certificate will state that you completed this 150-hour course and list the subjects covered. Currently, there is no certifying or licensing agency in the United States for herbalists, so there is no such thing as a certified or licensed herbalist, despite what some schools advertise. However, many people find that a certificate fairly represents the hours and dedication poured into one’s herbal studies. Additionally, a certificate offers a sense of pride for completing the program. We want to be clear that we are not an accredited University or vocational school. We are a school of traditional herbal medicine. Read more about herbal certification here.

We offer need-based scholarships to our online courses that are awarded around our mission of promoting equity and inclusivity in the field of herbal medicine. For details and to receive a notification when we reopen the application period, see our scholarships page.

Yes! All weight and volume measurements are given in both standard (non-metric; ounces and cups) and metric (sensible; grams and milliliters). Please note Villagers does not ship internationally so their student discount is available only to students living in the US.

When you enroll, you will receive a list of kitchen tools and materials, used in most of the recipes. These include items you may already own, such as assorted Mason jars, an electronic scale, stainless steel funnels and labels. How much you spend on ingredients and materials will differ, depending on how prolific you are with the recipes and what tools and ingredients you already own. We estimate you might spend anywhere from $100 to $400 depending on these factors.

We have worked hard to offer this program at an affordable price and ask that you respect all the time, effort and trust put into its creation by keeping your login information to yourself. When you sign up for this course you enter a pact of community trust along with every one of the students and teachers. It is, of course, always okay to share your own insights and inspirations with friends and family, but building a healing community begins with respectfully supporting one another in our livelihoods. So we thank you in advance for helping us to build a stronger, more trusting community by keeping your login information to yourself.

However, we do encourage sharing your course materials with your children ages 13 and up. We want to nurture the next generation of plant lovers and medicine makers. This is a great program for homeschooling families with older children and teenagers interested in herbal medicine. If you wish to share the course with your children, be sure to watch our sample videos and lesson plans to gauge the level of instruction before enrolling. Please contact the school for more details if you wish to use this program for your homeschooling curriculum.

Yes, all of our course videos are closed captioned. We believe in making our content accessible to everyone, so we’ve ensured that all videos come with accurate and synchronized captions. If you encounter any issues with the captions or need further assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our support team.

The primary mission of the school is to educate about holistic healing, which includes discussing socioeconomic factors that affect health, safety, and freedom. A healer cannot truly practice holistic herbalism without understanding and addressing the stress, violence, and discrimination that marginalized people face on a daily level. If a person isn’t safe–or faces discrimination that affects their access to basic necessities and optimal health care–because of their race, religion, age, ability, sexual orientation, or gender identity, then their health is affected. It’s that simple.

The discrimination that affects human rights is a universal concern–transcending political affiliation. We believe these topics are central to any productive conversation regarding holistic herbalism (which takes into account how societal influences affect health, safety, basic human rights, and well-being).

Click here to read the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Anti-Racism Statement.

Still have a question?

Don’t hesitate to drop us a line.

Not quite ready to register? Sign up for our newsletter for the nitty gritty!

You’ll get our FREE 100-page Budding Herbalist Guide eBook, plus lots more!

SUBSCRIBE & NAB THE GUIDE