Humble Creek Farm: Student Business Spotlight

Shaena Heartwood, owner of Humble Creek Farm – a medicinal herb, fruit, and flower farm offering herbal body care and ritual plant remedies.

An Interview with Shaena Heartwood of Humble Creek Farm

Are you interested in creating an herbal business compatible with homesteading and farming? How to start a business while creating a family and building a community? We think Shaena’s heartfelt honesty and vision will inspire you. Shaena Heartwood (she/they) is a grower, medicine-maker, parent, and graduate of Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine’s Online Herbal Immersion Program. Shaena’s business and family homestead, Humble Creek Farm, is a prime example of how herbalism can weave together community, family, sense of place, and healing.

Humble Creek Farm is a medicinal herb, fruit, and flower farm offering herbal body care and ritual plant remedies. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, they grow and wild-forage high-quality herbs for their community, offer a range of beloved pollinator plants and medicinal herb starts from their permaculture nursery, and are cultivating a space for collaborative education and healing centered around ancestral skills and creative tools for living deeply rooted on Earth.

Shaena recently shared an interview with us for our Student Business Spotlight—a series featuring Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine graduates, their work, and the wide variety of professions herbalists pursue. Shaena is a graduate of our Online Herbal Immersion Program—1,200 hours of our personal training in bioregional herbalism and heart-centered herbalist businesses. To learn more about the spectrum of herbal careers available, see An Herbalist’s Salary and Career Opportunities and Learn How to Become an Herbalist.

Humble Creek Farm tea blends and dried herbs.

I am a mother, herb farmer, folk herbalist, and visual storyteller. My journey with plants began early, growing up on a really sweet little family homestead in northeastern Ohio. Here, my mother nurtured my love for gardening, my best friends were a goat named Violet and a dog named Blue, and my sensitive little self found sanctuary wandering the fields and woods. Many of my summer days were spent foraging wild fruit with my Grandpap in the Allegheny Mountains.

My path meandered through a career in photography and filmmaking, moonlighting in the organic farming + local food movement while navigating chronic health issues. I wasn’t finding what I needed within conventional medicine for my own healing, and in so many ways, I was called back to center and to my roots by the plants. I immersed myself in workshops, plant walks, and herbal literature. I began growing more and more herbs, foraging, and making herbal tonics and concoctions of all sorts, finding a sense of joy and connection that was so undeniable for me.

Today, against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, my wonderful spouse and I tend our small herb farm. I also run a blossoming farm-to-bottle herbal apothecary while homeschooling our two children, who are currently two and six years old.

Please share with us about your herbal business and what it offers the world.

At Humble Creek Farm, we cultivate a diverse array of herbs, flowers, and fruit, and with that abundance, we create seasonal, ritual herbal care products that honor the land and nourish your home and body. We offer dried herbs and tea blends, whole plant-infused body oils, botanical bath blends, serums, salves, hydrosols, and vibrational flower and tree essences.

The Humble in our farm’s name, Humble Creek Farm, is a reminder to us – drawing inspiration from the etymology of the word ‘humble,’ (and ‘human’) rooted in ‘humus,’ or of ‘the Earth.’ It serves as a constant reminder that we are of the earth, and to the earth, we’ll return, with the hope of being a vessel for community and earth healing in the meantime. Our approach is grounded in a reverent and reciprocal relationship with the land, guiding every aspect of our work.

So far, we have mostly sold our herbal product offerings to our local community at various pop-up markets and gatherings throughout the year. Our online farm store is launching soon! Over the last few years, we’ve been able to offer some select fresh herbs to other herbalists and are working to expand our fresh herb offerings to more medicine makers.

A central mission of our farm is to expand the habitat for pollinators and advocate for a pesticide-free future. We aim to be a resource for pollinator plants, running a permaculture plant sale in the spring. As we expand our small nursery and greenhouse, we strive to connect more people with helpful plants.

Another big passion I am weaving into our farm business is kitchen herbalism and the belief that gathering around the table is revolutionary healing work. As I follow the golden threads of my journey and connect deeper to my ancestors’ wisdom, I return to my profound appreciation for food as medicine, for approachable and joyful healing right at home. We aim to be a hub for the community someday – hosting farm dinners, workshops, earth skills and old ways classes, kids clubs, and gatherings with earth connection + ecological and social healing at the heart.

Blooming calendula at Humble Creek Farm.

How did you know this was the right career move for you?

I just love being in the presence of plants, and through the hardest moments of my life, the plant people have been there to hold me in some way. Farming, herbalism, and parenting, especially if done with a lot of care, intention, and respect, are not always easy paths in this culture and this economy. There have been so many times that I felt like I should quit.

And yet, the plants and the guides continue to call me back to myself and to the desire to offer my heart, hands, and skills as a crafty little plant-loving dude to nourish and connect with others.

For a decade, I worked as a wedding photographer, video editor, and university adjunct professor to pay the bills while I finished an independent documentary film, Farmsteaders. All the while, I was on and off a few small organic farms and studying herbalism in the background.

It was so hard to know how and when to take a big leap, especially with a lot of debt, chronic illness, and so on. But still, the dream lived on, and my (now) spouse and I began dreaming of farming together. We searched for years, but it wasn’t until three weeks after we had our first baby in 2017 that we finally found a beautiful little piece of land for sale that was nestled right at the base of a mountain.

It had such a unique mountain creek micro-climate, some pasture, and mixed woodlands, and the seller had just drastically dropped the price. We decided life was already changing in unbelievable and wild ways, so we might as well go for it. It’s been slow and steady from there. We are creating a business that can fit our lives with young children and grow as our children grow.

How has your herbal education, especially the business training inside our programs, supported your business?

I started the Herbal Immersion Program when we were new stewards of our land and trying to start our small business. My time spent at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine helped me clarify my vision, and while I had the structure to deepen my studies. It was a good space for me to go deeper with my skills, like figuring out how to germinate particular herb seeds with a higher success rate, and to get inspiration and advice on crafting our brand and heart-centered approach, ideas about social media and networking, meeting cGMPs for our value-added products, many business adulting details… the list goes on. Since finishing the program, having so much material to reference is comforting.

The bonus worksheets throughout the business training section helped envision specific goals, and I still look back to them often as I work on getting our small business online. I actually just looked back to the “Get Started with Email Marketing” worksheet as I work on getting our farm + apothecary email newsletter started.

Within the community of teachers and students there are so many folks who started herbal businesses and have already been through the growing pains and want to share and help others figure it out.

Shaena Heartwood admires a resilient amaranth.

What inspired you to study with us here at the Chestnut School?

When I began studying at Chestnut School, I was shifting careers while also learning how to grow on our unique land and figuring out how to be a mother.

I had been yearning to get back to my herbal studies and put the pieces together. I wanted the structure of a structured herb school program and knew that, at this point in my life, an online, self-paced curriculum would work best.

I moved to North Carolina in 2011, and soon after, I started randomly meeting Chestnut School alums (or plant people who spoke highly of the program) and loved hearing about the program. This was when Juliet taught a program in person on long weekends throughout the year.

Over the years, I attended some of Juliet’s talks at the former SE Women’s Herbal Conference, and honestly, I just thought she was great and felt like I could listen to her talking about flavonoids all day, haha! I lived almost five hours away in the Piedmont area and dreamed of the year I could finally make the program work. Then, in 2018, I was fortunate to have a little extra money to invest in our farm after I sold TV rights for my documentary film (Farmsteaders) to run on a PBS program called POV. The timing just clicked, and after thinking about it for years, I finally jumped in and went for it.

What do you love most about running an herbal business? What are some of your challenges?

The slow and steady growth has allowed us to start small, learning and adapting to the twists and turns of life’s demands over the past five years. We’ve had a couple of big shifts in our endeavors as we’ve navigated the pandemic and rollercoaster of the last handful of years—parenthood and chronic health struggles—and wow, have we learned a lot!

I love working with the plants, from growing to harvesting to formulating, and connecting to the plants through the entire cycle from seed to finished herbal remedy. I love helping people connect to plants, themselves and the world through plants, and seeing people get inspired by folk herbalism, the people’s medicine.

I love the people herbal farming connects us to—so many open-hearted, generous, creative people who care about the Earth. I love growing and making things people can feel good about putting on and in their bodies. I’m grateful to be able to create a business that can benefit this land, embody our ethics and values, and invest in projects we care about.

As a tired mama and neuro-spicy introvert, I find social media and marketing pretty challenging. Figuring out and maintaining record-keeping and financial systems is not always easy in the chaos of life. It’s not always easy or affordable to make no-waste or low-waste products or to strive for a no-till, no-spray, beyond-organic approach on our farm. It’s expensive and time-consuming to do things respectfully and regeneratively.

We don’t live on the land full-time yet, and my spouse works full-time off-farm, so that’s a particular challenge we’re navigating as we split our time. We are able to be on the land part of the year during the growing season (and stay in a small renovated RV), and we’re hoping to finally start building our house next year.

Bee balm growing abundantly at Humble Creek Farm.

What are three herbs that are essential to your herbal practice/business and why?

Elderberry is such an accessible plant – fairly easy to grow, and to find elderberry supplements and remedies (and treats) like elderberry syrups, gummies, wine, and jams. I meet so many old-timers with fond elderberry stories! I have always loved old European elderberry lore, and as a kid, I felt like I would be ok turning into a tiny elderberry fairy forever. Also, elderflowers and elderberries offer such an approachable and pleasurable experience, making it easy to get people to take such tasty goodness! This plant has become integral in our small farm business. We have a small elderberry orchard (with five varieties of elder) that we expand a bit every year, and I’ve started selling cuttings and rooted elderberries. We are building up infrastructure to begin selling frozen and dried berries to more of our regional community of herbalists and small businesses.

Saint John’s wort – Oh, where to begin! Some of my favorite names for this plant that I’ve heard are Saint Joan’s Wort and Sunwort, and I especially love the last one – this plant seems to embody the radiant strength and light of the sun. This was one of the first herbal medicines I fell utterly in love with, especially after seeing one of my first herbal mentors pouring a finished ruby red tincture that had somehow come from those radiant little yellow flowers! I couldn’t get enough of its magic. This plant has been with me for the journey so far, and its connection has always felt very ancestral to me. Through the years, I’ve personally taken SJW internally for mental health support and to assist in easing lower back pain. I also adore this plant topically and energetically, either as a massage oil or as a vibrational flower essence (and these two things, body oil and flower essence, are fantastic ways to connect with this plant if you are on medications that are contraindicated with internal use). We grow SJW and craft an exquisite body oil that we offer seasonally, and it also makes its way into other body blends, serums, and salves. This plant is so deeply soothing to sore muscles and nerves in need, is healing on skin, and somehow always feels healing to my soul. I slather myself in this oil, especially in the dry, dark winter.

Rose (particularly wild roses) – This is another plant I have long felt a strong ancestral connection to in so many ways, from the symbolic and subversive histories of rose to physical remedies to a deep spiritual healing (and wow, so many people and cultures around the world adore rose! understandably). Rose shows up emotionally as a potent healer for our most profound despair and helps protect and reinspire a sense of belonging in this life. Rose is the petal and the thorn. And rose is such a powerhouse for skin healing as well. Both organically grown and wild roses find their way into our botanical bath blends, herbal oils, salves, a couple of tea blends, and flower essences. I especially love wild rose vibrational flower essence as a daily way to anchor my own tender heart into this world and feel that loving cloak of protection around me. Oh, and rose water!! (*sprays myself in the face*)

Can I cheat and add one more short answer? Chickweed! I love this wonderful plant for our green salve, and it is maybe my favorite plant friend to nibble in the early spring and teach to new foragers and kids!

Humble Creek Farm’s Calendula Oil can be used to soothe and protect skin.

Do you have any words of wisdom for those just starting their herbal education who are interested in starting a business? What advice do you have for budding herbal entrepreneurs?

It’s okay to take your time. I say this for myself as much as anyone else. Stay the course, keep going, and refine your skills. They will come together in beautiful ways you may not be able to see yet, and there is no need to rush them.

Herbalism is seeing a huge resurgence, which is lovely, and with that, I see folks falling in love with the herbal path and immediately trying to make a new hustle. Give yourself time to learn, connect to herbal elders and community, blossom in your skill set, hone in on your unique gifts and passions, and make space to listen to the plants and honor the bigger ecosystems you exist in. Beware of letting the grind of late-stage capitalism steal your soul. You can be excited and share that joy with others without immediately needing to make a profit off of it. Sometimes, we need to give ourselves time to root down and take this advice from the perennial plants around us.

And if you’ve been at this a while and the dream of offering your unique herbal healing endeavor to the world has been burning away in the bottom of your belly and deep in your heart, but you’re having a hard time, be gentle with yourself and keep going. I can’t tell you how many false starts I’ve had in the last 10+ years, how many times I have felt like such a failure. I have been severely impatient with myself because I could not figure out how to make this dream work with the available resources.

Some perennial things take time – sometimes, it takes a long time. For years, I dreamed of finally starting an herbal products business, but I couldn’t make it happen. But at that time, I was able to learn a lot. Behind the scenes of my life, I made dozens of batches of medicines to send out to community herbalism projects and communities reeling after major traumas hit.

Dried red corn at Humble Creek Farm.

I learned as I formulated remedies for my closest community members and navigated my own intense health upheavals. I learned hard and valuable lessons, like ruining large batches of medicine, killing hundreds of perennial plants at a time, and trust me, the list goes on and on. During that time, I learned other skills that have expanded my herbalism journey – from birth work, dowsing, and reiki to trying for hours to get a feral toddler just to take a freaking dose of echinacea.

For folks new to studying herbalism and want to get deeper in an approachable way, the kitchen is a great place to bring herbs into your life. And the garden too, of course! Even if it’s teeny tiny. Start where you’re at. And what are the herbs of your ancestors? What spices did they love? What did they eat when they needed care? What teas did they steep for a belly ache or a bad dream? What are the plants around where you live now? What plants connect to your heart while randomly strolling past them one day?

Take your time getting to know the land you are working with. Learn the patterns and how the seasons and weather move through. Get your soil tested (some states have free soil testing available through Extension offices!), and take good care to tend to the soil every season. And talk to your local old-timers and gardeners – many folks love sharing seeds and talking plants and may even give you some hard-earned advice for a successful garden season or when to harvest creasy greens, or who knows.

Anyway, you got this, I love you.

Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine graduate and herbal business owner, Shaena Heartwood.

What do you think is next for you on your herbal journey?

Right now, we are really *in it* with our young farm + family + herbal business, so tending to steadily and sustainably growing those aspects of life is a priority. I’m excited to keep expanding our berry orchards, planting fruit trees, and putting in more forest medicinals.

We’re also excited to grow our community! As the farm grows, we plan to eventually start hosting classes, workshops, dinners, seed swaps, and gatherings, and I’m looking forward to that. I’m also looking forward to eventually scaling up some of our herbs and heirloom fruits and vegetables to sell seeds to regional seed companies and directly to gardeners.

I’m excited to keep exploring and learning my ancestral healing traditions (Southern Italian, Sicilian, Slavic folk herbal traditions, and general mountain granny witchery). Someday, when our kids are bigger, I’d love to return to school for clinical herbalism and offer those services from a peaceful little spot on the farm.

I also dream of working more with non-human animals with herbal care, rehabilitation, and energetic healing work. The list of herbal dreams goes on and on!

A basket of golden chanterelle mushrooms harvested from Humble Creek Farm land.

We’re so proud of our students!

We hope this interview inspires you to check out Humble Creek Farm and support a small, earth-centered herbal business. Perhaps you’ll find some inspiration for your own herbal business.

Connect with Shaena on Instagram and Facebook.

To see what our other graduates are up to, and the wide variety of businesses they run, check out our Student Herbal Business Directory.