News & Articles

Silver Herbs: Planning a moon garden

A moon garden, featuring silver and grey herbs, creates an enchanting nighttime retreat with light-reflecting foliage and calming daytime appeal. Discover drought-tolerant herbs like artemisia, lavender, and yarrow to design your own magical, low-maintenance sanctuary.

Success With Mints

Mints are beginner-friendly, fast-growing, and profitable herbs. This guide highlights key varieties, propagation techniques, optimal growing conditions, pest management, and tips for successful spring sales.

Getting Oregano Right

Oregano, the popular "pizza herb," is a fast, easy, and profitable crop when grown with the right variety—Greek oregano. This guide covers propagation, growing conditions, pest control, and market opportunities.

Calendula: Medicine from the Garden

Calendula, a hardy garden annual, is both a medicinal and culinary herb. It aids wound healing, soothes skin, and adds vibrant color and flavor to dishes, making it a versatile and valuable plant.

Mother Herb: An Interview with Waltraut Richter

An interview with Richters co-founder, Waltraut Richter, explores how her passion for herbs and desire to share their benefits led to founding Richters Herbs, a pioneer in North America's herb industry.

Ultimate Guide to Growing Herbs Indoors

Herbs are rewarding to grow indoors, providing flavour, fragrance, and beauty year-round. This guide covers the best herbs for indoor cultivation, light and soil needs, pest control, and tips for thriving plants.

Ground Cover Herbs from Seed

Herbal ground covers offer unique, low-maintenance alternatives to traditional lawns. This guide highlights options like wild thyme, yarrow, and chamomile, detailing their growth, uses, and seeding tips for lush, aromatic landscapes.

Fall is the Time to Harvest Roots to Make Home Remedies

Fall is the perfect time to harvest medicinal roots like ginseng, valerian, and comfrey, as they reach peak potency. This guide explores their benefits, growing tips, and preparation for home remedies.

Sowing the Seeds of Herbal Happiness

Learn how to grow fresh herbs in your garden with this expert guide. Discover the best herbs for Toronto gardens, from seeds to plants, and start your herbal journey today.

Popular Herbs Grow Happily Indoors

Herbs thrive in Canadian gardens and can be grown indoors year-round with proper light and care. This guide covers planting tips, maintenance, and a selection of popular herbs for indoor cultivation.

Fall Is Not the Time to Be Timid in the Herb Garden

Demystify fall herb planting with beginner-friendly tips for harvesting, drying, and growing favorites like basil, rosemary, and garlic. Get ready to prep your garden for next year’s success!

The 50th Anniversary of Richters Catalogue!

Richters Herbs began in the 1960s with Waltraut and Otto Richter growing European herbs alongside flowers. A 1969 Toronto Star article inspired their first catalog in 1970. Under their son Conrad’s leadership, Richters became a trusted source for diverse herbs, fueled by customer passion.

Introduction to Cryptolepis: Nature’s Antibiotic Root

Cryptolepis sanguinolenta, a West African climbing vine, has long been used for fevers, particularly malaria. Its active compound, cryptolepine, demonstrates potent antimalarial, antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer properties, including effectiveness against Lyme disease and resistant bacteria like MRSA. Interest in cryptolepis continues to grow globally for its promising medicinal potential.

Spring Brings Out the Gardener in Everyone

Richters Herbs, specializing in herbs for 50+ years, sees rising demand for antiviral herbs like elderberry and garlic amid COVID-19. Owner Conrad Richter notes a shift from culinary to health focus. Offering 500 varieties, Richters ensures top-quality, flavorful plants.

Growing Excite-mint for Everything Herbal at Richters Herbs

Richters Herbs in Goodwood, Ontario, specializes in a vast array of culinary, medicinal, and aromatic herbs, offering seeds, plants, and educational seminars. Founded in the 1960s, they now grow over 600 varieties, blending traditional and scientific knowledge to inspire gardeners and herbalists.

Industry Watch: Canada's Ban on Salvia Divinorum

The Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (CDSA) now includes Salvia divinorum under Schedule IV, banning its production, sale, and export due to misuse of its hallucinogenic compound, salvinorin A. This overreach impacts gardeners and collectors using the herb for non-drug purposes, limiting Canadians' rights.

Fresh Herbs Add More Than Good Taste

Adding fresh herbs to meals transforms the ordinary into extraordinary, enhancing flavor and promoting health. Herbs like basil, chives, and thyme not only elevate taste but also support digestion, nutrient absorption, and relaxation. Grow your own herbs and enjoy their benefits for both body and mind!

Industry Watch: The Kava Ban

In April 2014, Health Canada issued its first license for a kava-based product, ending a long-standing ban initiated in 2002 over concerns about liver damage linked to kava use. Despite these concerns, studies and historical use suggest minimal risk with traditional preparations. Germany lifted its kava ban in 2005.

How to Grow Dill

The bold flavor of dill enhances pickles, dips, and fish dishes, making it a must-have in any herb garden. Conrad Richter of Richters Herbs highlights its dual use: fresh leaves and seeds, with varieties like Mammoth for tall gardens and Dukat or Monia for compact spaces.

Be Open-minded and Make the Most of What's in Front of You

Mama Richter, Co-Owner and Head Grower of Richters Herbs, reflects on her journey from Ghana to Canada. Moving to rural Durham in 1996 was a culture shock, but she overcame isolation by joining an African drumming group and engaging with her community. Her advice: embrace change with an open mind to thrive anywhere.

Parsley!

Parsley (Petroselinum crispum), a nutrient-rich herb, is valued for its flavor, versatility, and ornamental use. Both common (curly) and Italian (flat-leaf) varieties are culinary staples, enhancing dishes worldwide. Easy to grow in gardens or containers, parsley thrives in sunlit, well-drained soil. Harvest and store fresh or frozen leaves for soups, sauces, and garnishes year-round.

Industry Watch: Invasive Plant Policy Threatens New Herbs

The CFIA’s invasive plant policy proposes "black" and "white" lists, restricting new plants in Canada. Over 100,000 species face delays or bans due to lengthy assessments, with little evidence for some plants’ invasiveness. Public and small growers lacked input, limiting future plant diversity.

Industry Watch: White Lists Could Ban Most Plants

Proposed "white lists" by the CFIA and USDA could ban over 90% of plant genera from cross-border trade, replacing the current "black list." This move threatens biodiversity, limits new plant introductions, and impacts gardeners, herbalists, and horticulture across North America.

Industry Watch: Health Canada's Comfrey Ban

In 2003, Health Canada banned comfrey products containing pyrrolizidines under the Marketed Health Products Directorate (MHPD) due to liver toxicity concerns. While homegrown comfrey remains legal, selling creams, teas, or pills is prohibited. Challenges include unclear testing standards for the alkaloid echimidine.

The Herb Expert at Richters Herbs

Koidu Sulev, retail supervisor at Richters Herbs in Goodwood, shares her passion for plants, drawing from her Swedish upbringing and pharmacist training. She educates customers about the 900 herbs sold, explaining their culinary, medicinal, and aromatic benefits.