https://www.helpgrowarow.org/news daily 0.75 2021-04-27 https://www.helpgrowarow.org/news/support-vawa monthly 0.5 2021-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1619537420497-UOPJD2RXG5OJVH5836WE/support-vawa.png News - Support the VAWA https://www.helpgrowarow.org/home daily 1.0 2026-02-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/42ead971-875d-416d-9b71-280b9e6ce99b/calendula-salve-tins.jpg https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1618768696446-QVCYOICFCTQLRXHK5Y2C/calendula.jpg Home - Violence against women* is prevalent worldwide. When herbalist Deb Soule first learned about the work of V (formerly Eve Ensler) in the Congo Region to assist women who have been raped and violated, she asked, “How can I be of help?” The answer that came to her was to “grow a row of calendula.” Calendula is a remarkable herb for healing wounds and traumatized tissue and for filling the body and spirit with vitality and light. Used as an oil or salve, it repairs many kinds of wounds, soothes inflamed or infected vaginal tissue, and lessens scarring. As a tea, its sunny flowers assist in the easing of both physical and emotional pain. *In using the term women here, we refer to women who are cisgender, transgender, non-binary, and those who hold fluid identities that are subject to gender-based violence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1618769043241-D0CBG3XLN9U75RG7CPN3/grow-a-row-garden.jpg Home - How can I start growing my own row of calendula? Begin with the intention to help bring healing to women. Plant calendula seeds. Nurture them. Collect their bright flower blossoms. Dry them. Prepare the dried flowers into healing remedies to share with those who need them. https://www.helpgrowarow.org/contact daily 0.75 2021-04-18 https://www.helpgrowarow.org/about daily 0.75 2021-05-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1618772946669-046LIIXUGGYYXL1FJ4CB/seedling.jpg About https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1618773273050-6H08WZB9D649G72QXWUX/grow-a-row-sign.jpg About https://www.helpgrowarow.org/how-to-grow-a-row daily 0.75 2021-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1618775056075-ZD4T534BIN7F59QH4TVT/cultivating.jpg Grow A Row - Cultivating. This brightly colored flower grows easily as an annual. Calendula can be started inside or direct seeded into the garden in early spring. Calendula reseeds readily in the garden and can also be grown in containers on a sunny deck. Plants benefit from starting in cooler temperatures; sow them directly outdoors a few weeks before last frost is expected, or start indoors 3-4 weeks before last frost. Sow seeds 1/2 inch deep. The ideal germination temperature is 55-60F. Calendula grows best in full sun and in well-drained soil that has compost forked into the garden bed. Then mulch the entire bed with a few inches of straw. When direct seeding or transplanting seedlings, thin seedlings that have reseeded and give 8-10 inches between plants so they will have room to grow. On Avena Botanicals’ farm, we have created a 3-year rotation system for our calendula beds. It is better for the soil and for the health of an annual crop like calendula to not be planted in the same place year after year. We aim to pull calendula plants out of the ground by mid to late October. These plants are set aside for mixing into our large compost piles. Each garden bed is covered with a thick layer of compost which is then gently forked into the soil and covered with straw. When putting gardens to bed, it is best to never leave bare soil exposed as this can cause erosion; mulch with straw or plant a fall cover crop like oats. Singing and laughing when working in the garden is good medicine. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1618774946845-DV68Y3WOQ06YSVPMRZI7/collecting.jpg Grow A Row - Collecting. Before gathering any herb, pause in whatever way feels authentic to you, connect with your breath and your heart. Quietly ask permission to gather calendula’s flowers. Let the plants know why you have come and who their medicine is for. When you sense permission has been given, leave a gift; a song, prayer, poem, a gift with meaning. Even when collecting an annual herb like calendula several times per week, attune yourself to the spirit of the plant each time you approach, and leave an offering. Calendula blossoms need to be gathered two to four times per week, in the morning when the flowers are fresh and the dew is no longer present. Regular gathering of this annual herb stimulates the plant to keep producing flowers. Choose flowers whose petals have opened and yet are still in an upward, prayer-like gesture. It is easy to pick the flowers with one’s fingers and thumbs, gently breaking the stem of the flower just below the green base of the flowers. Calendula is full of antiseptic resins which will leave your fingers feeling sticky -- a sign of good medicine. Be mindful when placing flowers into your gathering basket not to place too many flowers in one basket. Flowers start to wilt and sweat if piled too high on top of each other, lessening their medicinal qualities. When gathering more than one basket, be sure to leave your first basket in the shade. Once the harvest is complete, carry your baskets to where you will dry the flowers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1618774390028-V45UV0QE3N34521VL4J6/drying.jpg Grow A Row - Drying. Calendula flowers contain a large amount of water. Eight pounds of fresh flowers equals about one pound of dried flowers. When drying calendula flowers, lay them on their side on a drying screen. As each flower dries, it curls into a tiny ball and the petals stay attached to the flower's center. If laid face down on a screen, the petals tend to easily fall off the center of the flower. Flowers may take 7-10 days to be fully dried. The ideal temperature for drying herbs is 80-100F. If you have a separate room for drying herbs, a fan for circulating air and a dehumidifier are helpful tools. Be sure windows have curtains, as direct sunlight fades the color of herbs. Some people have success drying herbs with an electric dehydrator set at 80-95F. If using an electric dehydrator, be careful to not over-dry your herbs. Check them frequently during the drying process. FEDCO sells an affordable collapsible drying system that works well for folks living in smaller spaces. Once the blossoms are dry, store them in glass jars in a dark cupboard or inside clean brown paper bags that then go inside plastic bags. Be sure to place these bags in a dark, cool, dry and protected closet or cupboard, away from any heat, sunlight, and electrical devices. Dried calendula has a shelf life of about a year. If you have any dried calendula flowers left over from the year, you can enjoy them in relaxing foot baths and full body healing baths. (For more information on growing, gathering, and drying herbs, and making herbal preparations, refer to the book, The Healing Garden). https://www.helpgrowarow.org/the-imperative-of-racial-justice daily 0.75 2021-05-24 https://www.helpgrowarow.org/resources daily 0.75 2021-05-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1619457565283-AUJ5YQLZGXDRV9PTL9R1/calendula-salve-tins.jpg Resources *These lovely calendula salve labels were created by our friends Beth Ebbing Johnson and Jenny Perez, who have been donating calendula salves to projects near Austin, Texas. They created this label for anyone who wants to download it for their Grow a Row salve donations. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1619466618088-27NU6JUFI3HRUEQOJ4WM/calendula-salve-tins2.jpg Resources Grow A Row calendula salve donations created with love in a collaboration with the American Botanical Council and Sacred Moon Herbs in 2019. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/60749992ef948a4ba5d86fa9/1619464815979-IPYN315N35FKLR425OQH/grow-a-row-salve-making.jpg Resources Jenny Perez of the American Botanical Council, Beth Ebbing Johnson, and El Stults of Sacred Moon Herbs creating calendula salve for the Grow A Row project in Austin, Texas. https://www.helpgrowarow.org/calendulas-origins daily 0.75 2021-05-11