Yellow Dock, the Natural Iron Supplement

When I decided to write I was not certain where to start or even how to get people to engage.

Well, I have yet to figure out the latter part, however, I have decided to base all my topics on the herbs I use personally, be that in tinctures, soaps, balms, flower essences or syrups.

The thought of having something to write about every week was daunting, I had no idea where to start, and the truth is that I am not a herbalist on paper, although it certainly is part of what my dreams entail for the future. I have a smallish garden and most of my plants grow in pots, plastic containers, and baths. Every new week that rolls by have me admiring the beauty of my potted garden and then selecting the herb that I wish to talk about and share any experiences I may have.

I would also like to point out that my initial thought of tackling this task of weekly write-ups was to simply point our 3 to 5 facts about the herb (even though there are so much more to add) and to share a recipe and perhaps indicate one of my products that are created with the featured herb. This seemed like a good strategy, nothing too personal or too involved. Sufficient to share some information that may be of interest to others.

Admittedly, I am such a recluse, for me personally, it is hard to put myself out there to the world. I feel safe in my bubble of silence and little interaction. However, always working on the improvement of myself and building the courage in little steps to put myself out there I follow certain podcasts for guidance.

This week I heard on one of those podcasts, that if you want to be known as something or someone, you have to tell people what you want them to know. They would hardly conclude on their own, and this is how you actually build your brand. People are also more endearing to those who open themselves to the world and stand in their authentic being.

Essentially this means, I need to share more of me, every time I write so that the readers can get to know me better and decide whether they either like what I have to say, or not, and accepting, that either way will be okay.

So what do I want for I’naturals?
It is my desire that I’naturals are known for the light energy that lives in each and every product I create.

My gift is the ability to connect with nature and to create products that carry light and love, along with an energy signature of gratitude for all who choose to work with me and who’s sentience lives on in my products.If I could choose one thing to be known for, it would be for the loving energy I radiate and the ability to add this energy into all I do.

Now that I shared a bit about me, let’s not delay any further and get straight into my herb for today.

RUMEX CRISPUS, BETTER KNOWN AS YELLOW DOCK

I was asked once if I also work with Yellow Dock which normally grows with Stinging Nettles. To which I replied, I have never heard of Dock, moreover, I have Stinging Nettles growing on my lawn and there certainly is no Dock growing amongst them. That said, my friend was from a different country and naturally, our landscapes differ.

I left it there since I have neither seen nor heard of Dock before and did not spare it another thought. Then one day in Autumn, I went to the park to harvest Dandelion leaves for salad, as I strolled the landscape, suddenly in front of me, I noticed the tall and towering greens. The minute I saw them, I immediately knew this was dock (and PS, not growing with Stinging Nettle).

I was so excited, I could hardly wait to get home and learn about their healing properties. Those herbs that grow in your surroundings are more often than not, the herbs that will benefit your health.

Imagine my surprise when I realized that Yellow Dock is a natural iron supplement.

About Yellow Dock

Yellow Dock is a bitter and all bitters are good for digestion. It not only stimulates bile, which helps to move the digestive tract, hence it is known as a mild laxative, it also stimulates the digestive enzymes that help to break down the food for easier digestion. While it is great to use as a mild laxative at times, it can cause dependency and to take dock specifically for constipation on a continuing basis is not advised.

Most skin conditions are related to poor digestion and poor liver function. We naturally shy away from bitter foods and really only want to consume “nice tasty” foods. The reality is that our bodies need these bitters in all the shapes and form they present themselves to us for the taking. Dandelion is a bitters too, growing in all sorts of places, your lawns, the parks, you may even stumble upon dandelion sprouting out of concrete!

Yellow Dock is also a natural iron supplement and used to treat symptoms of anemia. For me, this is the most significant part about Dock, myself having anemia and low iron, I may be biased. It is said that Yellow Dock helps to free up the iron stored in the liver, making it more available to the rest of the body.

While the roots are used to for tea or tincture, the leaves when crushed and applied as a poultice offer soothing relief from burning itch. This is where the Yellow Dock and Stinging Nettles come in, when growing together in their landscape, Dock offers to relieve where Nettles provided a stinging reminder of their being. Though the trick is to use new leaves growing close to the ground.

Yellow Dock as an ointment can be used for itching, swelling and shingles, in fact, every time I learn of a herb I find that they most interchangeable and many of them offer similar relief. Dock leave can be used in healing salves which are very easy to make on your own.

Yellow Dock grow in areas close to water, which is where I found it the first time. Yellow Dock prefer moist soil, and either full sunlight or partial shade. I have brought some home and replanted them in my buckets, they are currently growing in a partial shade spot and a loving it. They grow up to 1,5 meters high and their lance-shaped leaves can grow as long as 30 centimeters long. I have read that the seeds of Yellow Dock are viable for up to 80 years. That is amazing; especially if you consider storing seeds for crop preservation.

Yellow Dock as food, can be eaten raw, but in small quantities. I use the leaves in salad, having said that, certainly not every day or even every week. Dock leaves must boil in several changes of water to remove as much of the oxalic acid from the leaves. I guess the more you forage and get to know your wild herbs the easier it becomes to integrate them into your daily life. Personally, I would not cook them; it just seems like too much work for me. I am much happier to have some leaves in a salad every now and then. Having said that, if my landscape was different and I lived off the land, I would gladly boil the dock and integrate this herb into all sorts of wonderful edible dishes.

Harvesting Yellow Dock root for medicine, my comical first attempt which will forever be etched into a loving memory. It was not an accident that I stumbled upon Dock that afternoon in Autumn. For us in the Southern Hemisphere that is the time to harvest roots for medicine. You should also only harvest second-year plants which you can identify by the fact that they have seeded.

When I read up about the best time to harvest dock it said during a full moon, and that the roots are not to be exposed to light. Heavens me, I must have been the first person harvesting at four in the cold dark morning. It was drizzling, dark except for the bright moon, which is sufficient to admire the landscape, but less so do inspect where to dig up roots.

I parked my car too far (naturally, I only realize this once I am done and need to carry my loot back). Everything was filled with mud, everywhere, I kept on falling, and my phone which I used as a light to find the best places to dig was no longer white. I was one muddy mess. My great sense of humor found the comical in it all and could laugh at myself as I carried my harvest back to the car. My innate ability, or refusal to toss out what I may not need, created a bigger load to carry back as my one bucket became a bucket and a basked and an armful, all that plus the spade which was not light, made the carrying back to my car all too comical.

Of course, it did not end there, the roots need to be preserved while fresh and I spend 6 hours in my kitchen rinsing the mud off and preparing the root for tincture. I rinsed leaves and added them to my dehydrator for later use and once I put aside the roots too young and small, I went outside to my own garden, thanked them for coming along, and replanted them in my very own landscape.

Yellow Dock and its magical properties, it is said that you could use this herb to clear blockages and cut binding ties that prevent you from moving on. It is also a good luck herb and can draw in money, success, business, and sometimes even love. It is a great herb for any business owner embarking on a new business venture.

In no particular order, information has been found from the following links which you are welcome to click on or further reading, should you wish too:
https://www.mdidea.com/products/proper/proper01003.html
http://medicinalherbinfo.org/herbs/YellowDock.html
http://www.ediblewildfood.com/yellow-dock.aspx
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/yellow-dock/yellow-dock-herbal-uses.htm
http://naturallysimple.org/living/2016/08/04/yellow-docks-versatile-history/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumex_crispus
https://www.herbazest.com/herbs/curly_dock
http://herbalriot.tumblr.com/post/54671042454/magickal-uses-of-yellow-dock
https://theherbalacademy.com/3-medicinal-roots-to-harvest-in-fall-dandelion-burdock-and-yellow-dock/

AS FOOD

As previously said, Yellow Dock contain oxalic acid and should be well cooked. If eaten raw, limited quantities are advised. I found some lovely recipes online if you wanted to try cooking and creating with dock. Soup is one of those dishes I would happily eat every day.

Red Lentil Soup with Dock Leaves

Ingredients (serves 2)

• 1 cup soaked & rinsed red lentils
• 3 carrots, diced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon whole coriander
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• a bunch of young dock leaves 1-2 cups, chopped (I urban foraged these)
• a small bunch of cilantro, chopped
• juice from half a lime
• salt & pepper to taste
• cream or coconut milk

Method
Saute carrots, onion, and garlic in some olive oil until onions are translucent. Add the lentils which have at least been well rinsed, or soaked. Add enough water to cover 3-4 cups. Cook for about 20 minutes over medium-low heat. While the lentils are cooking, in another pan toast the whole coriander, cumin, and cardamom until fragrant. Grind in a mortar & pestle removing the green pods once the seeds have been emptied out. Mix with the paprika and set aside. Chop up the dock leaves and squeeze the juice of half a lime over them. Lightly saute and season with salt & pepper. Add to the soup. At this time also, add the seasonings and salt to taste. Cook until the lentils are fully cooked, about another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in a handful of cilantro. Serve with a splash of cream and enjoy!

Link: http://hungerandthirstforlife.blogspot.co.za/2012/03/wild-things-round-up.html?q=curly

Curly Dock Seed Crackers with Wild Herbs

Ingredients

• 1 cup unbleached (preferably organic) white flour
• 1 cup ground curly dock seed flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons minced crow garlic stems
• 3 tablespoons minced money plant seed pods and blossoms
• 3 tablespoons sheep sorrel seeds
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter cut into half-inch cubes
• 1 large farm egg
• 1/4 cup water

Method
Mix dry ingredients (but reserve one tablespoon of sorrel seeds) together. Add cold butter and cut into flour with a pastry cutter until well mixed. Add egg, vinegar, and water and combine until dough forms a softball. Let the dough rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Using a rolling-pin on a floured board, roll out until dough is 1/8 inch thick.

Link: https://gathervictoria.com/2015/04/28/curly-dock-seed-crackers-with-wild-herbs-for-prosperity/

Dock Bread
Making bread from Dock seeds is very simple. You will need a spice grinder or grain mill and the following…

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dock seeds (~1/8 cup ground)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 egg
• Optional spices: vanilla extract, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, etc.

This recipe makes a single serving of bread (~4 oz), or if you add more sugar, a cake.
To start, I grind my seeds for about one minute in my spice grinder until they make an acceptable powder. I can never grind all of the seeds entirely since they are too small. So expect to see some remaining in your flour. Also be careful to not inhale dust from the freshly ground flour when you open your grinder.

Method
Making bread from Dock seeds is very simple. You will need a spice grinder or grain Secondly, mix all of the ingredients together into a microwavable mug. Stir well and microwave for 60-80 seconds at full power. Make sure to pay attention to your bread as it may swell above the rim of the cup. I just stop and start the microwave as needed until the bread feels cooked enough. The resulting bread has a very fine texture and is spongy. Dock might make a decent cake flour. However, the bread is dense and can be a little bitter tasting, similar to rye. The sugar tends to lighten the flavor. If you do not like the taste of this dock bread, you can make your own version where you substitute in another type of flour to make it more palatable.

Link: http://sparrowchef.blogspot.co.za/2015/07/wild-food-recipes-yellow-dock-bread.html

I went out this morning to harvest seeds and make dock bread and I am so impressed that I think harvesting seeds will have to become a weekly thing. This bread was absolutely delicious, I added vanilla essence (home-made of course) and once cooked I ate mine with homemade butter and carrot jam.

Always remember when making anything with wildflowers or weeds, they should be free from pesticides!

NATURAL HEALING

If you are already familiar with digestive bitters, why not make your own? I have found the following recipes for you to try.

Ginger Yellow Dock Digestive Bitters

Ingredients

• freshly grated ginger or dried ginger root
• fresh or dried yellow dock*
• 80-proof vodka**

Method
Fill a jar with a tight sealing lid 1/3 full of grated ginger and another 1/3 of chopped fresh yellow dock leaves. Or fill 1/4 full of dried roots and another 1/4 of dried leaves. Pour vodka over herbs until the jar is filled. Cap tightly and set in a dark place to sit for a month or more. When a month has passed, strain out ginger and yellow dock with a cheesecloth or fine sieve. Store in a dark jar (like this one), or place in a dark spot. Use 1/4 teaspoon 20 minutes before eating. *I used yellow dock leaves, but the roots are available online (here) and you can use them instead.

Link: http://raiasrecipes.com/2017/06/ginger-yellow-dock-digestive-bitters.html

Orange Blossom Digestive Bitters
Digestive bitters enhance the digestive response over time and are a great choice for those who have poor digestion or absorption issues. This digestive bitters recipe has a pleasant orange blossom flavor that even my kids approve of. If you’ve never made a recipe using parts, I explain it all below…totally easy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup or less boiling water
• 80 proof decent quality rum to fill your container
• 1 part yellow dock root
• 1 part dried hibiscus blossoms*
• 1 part dried orange peels
• 1 part burdock root
• 1 part dandelion root

Method
Decide how much tincture you want to make, and choose a jar that’s roughly double that volume. Choose a unit of measure that will fill the jar ⅓ to ½ full of herbal material. My jar holds about 8 cups total, so I want between 3 and 4 cups total. (The herbs will swell a LOT when you add liquid.) A one cup measure would be 5 cups…too much material. A half cup would only give me 2½ cups of herbs. I’d be better off choosing ¾ cups as my unit of measure, which gives me 3¾ cups of dried materials. Perfect. The beauty of using a recipe with parts is that you can scale the unit of measure to any size jar…even using half teaspoons if you desire a very small jar of tincture. Add your herbal material to the jar. Put a kettle of water on to boil, and when it’s boiling add a few ‘glugs’ of water…really just enough to pre-moisten the herbs a bit. This just wakes up the herbs and speeds the process in the alcohol. Fill the jar to the top with 80 proof rum. Seal jar with a plastic lid, and sit in a dark, cool place. The next morning, check to make sure that the herbs are still submerged under the rum. They will have swelled quite a bit. Add more rum as needed to cover the herbs. Allow mixture to steep in a cool dark place for 3-6 weeks (although I will strain and use some early on.) Strain by placing a mesh strainer over a bowl with a pouring spout. Line strainer with a tea towel and add a paper towel over the tea towel. Pour finished tincture into the towel-lined sieve, and allow it to drain over the bowl. When it’s mostly drained, gather up the towel and begin to twist the top and squeeze the herbs to press the remaining liquid out of them.

*omit for pregnant and nursing Mamas, or substitute with red raspberry leaves.

Dandy-Byrd Liquorice Digestive Bitters
This digestive bitter recipe is one that I designed for myself, since I enjoy the taste of licorice, and don’t tolerate yellow dock. Because this recipe is written in ‘parts’ you can easily scale it up or down depending on the unit of measure that you use. I’ll walk you through it.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (or less) boiling water
• 80 proof decent rum to fill your container
• 2 parts burdock root
• 1 part dandelion root
• 1 part fennel
• 1 part licorice root*
• ½ part dried orange peel

Method
Decide how much tincture you want to make, and choose a jar that’s roughly double that volume. Choose a unit of measure that will fill the jar ⅓ to ½ full of herbal material. My jar holds about 8 cups total, so I want between 3 and 4 cups of herbal material. (The herbs will swell a LOT when you add liquid.) I have 5½ total ‘parts’ in this recipe. A one cup measure would be 5½ cups…too much material. A half cup would only give me 2¾ cups of herbs, which is a bit shy. I’ll move to the next size up, and go with a ⅔ cup ‘unit’, which will give me 3⅔ cups of herbs. Perfect. The beauty of using a recipe with parts is that you can scale the unit of measure to any size jar…even using half teaspoons if you desire a very small jar of tincture. Add your herbal material to the jar using the unit of measure that you selected. Put a kettle of water on to boil, and when it’s boiling add a few ‘glugs’ of water…really just enough to pre-moisten the herbs a bit. This just wakes up the herbs and speeds the process in the alcohol. Fill the jar to the top with 80 proof rum. Seal jar with a plastic lid, and sit in a dark, cool place. The next morning, check to make sure that the herbs are still submerged under the rum. They wil have swelled quite a bit. Add more rum as needed to cover the herbs. Allow mixture to steep in a cool dark place for 3-6 weeks (although I will strain and use some early on.) Strain by placing a mesh strainer over a bowl with a pouring spout. Line strainer with a tea towel and add a paper towel over the tea towel. Pour finished tincture into the towel-lined sieve, and allow it to drain over the bowl. When it’s mostly drained, gather up the towel and begin to twist the top and squeeze the herbs to press the remaining liquid out of them.
Store tincture in a cool dark place. To use, I fill a small glass dropper jar.

*pregnant or nursing Mamas will want to sub anise seed for licorice.

Link: http://gwens-nest.com/digestive-bitters-recipes-part-iii/

Yellow Dock Tincture
Tinctures are created by adding fresh or dried plant matter into alcohol to extract the medicinal properties of the herb and to preserve the medicine for later use. I have some Yellow Dock tincturesavailable in the I’natuarsl Shop and you can purchase yours on the following link yellow-dock-herbal-tincture

IN CONCLUSION

I am not a qualified herbalist, nor do I claim to be. I am passionate about natural healing and I share what I have learned and how I personally use or apply the herbs in my own life. Always do your own research, and only use herbs once you are certain they are safe and have consulted with either your doctor or a qualified herbalist. Your health is in your hands.

I welcome your feedback on my article.

• Do you have Dock growing in your surrounding area?
• Have you ever tried to cook with Dock?
• Do you make your own tinctures?