Half Moon Herbals

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Half Moon Herbals

Nikola Barsoum is a certified Community Herbalist, Permaculture Designer and Ecological Farmer

The practice of herbal medicine is one of relationship building with the plants and the lands where one lives, and is a practice that is woven within all peoples histories. In gratitude and in joy, we plant, tend, harvest, prepare, drink-in and teach about healing herbs - as well as the process of reciprocity and giving back. Half Moon Herbals builds herb gardens using permaculture principals. Thr

ough observation, creative design and polyculture plantings we grow in a way that encourages respectful engagement and restoration of the surrounding ecosystem.

06/09/2026

I always feel a calm kind of confidence from knowing (a little) about how to tend small moments of physical hurt and upset.

A bleeding cut.
A swelling sting.
A shock that needs a grounded moment of care.

The more I learn, the more these moments feel less urgent and more relational. I can trust and ‘get behind’ the response our bodies mount - while also offering comfort and stability to the emotional/spiritual/mental aspects of a moment of trauma. I still have a lot to learn, and I also notice my feeling of calm grow with the more practice I get in using these skills - knowledge + experience is everything here.

Therefore, on behalf of growing this feeling of calm confidence within our selves and our community here in the Grand River Watershed, in a few days, Heather .earth.remedies and I will be hosting a small Herbal First Aid Learning Circle

This isn’t a formal ‘class’, as neither of us are experts in first-aid. Instead, it will be a welcome space to:

* sit in circle and learn together as a community
* share what we already know (and what we don’t)
* explore a number of simple, practical approaches to herbal first aid, and openly discuss our experiences in a variety of situations
* touch, smell, and deepen our relationship with a few familiar plants
* role-play and practice some of what we’ve discussed

I’ll be bringing my own first aid kit and unpacking it with you honestly, without pretending to have it all figured out.

If you’ve been curious about:

* how to actually use herbs in everyday situations
* building a small, meaningful herbal first aid kit for yourself
* or simply spending time in a grounded, plant-centered space

…you are welcome to join us!

Register with the link in my bio to let us know you’re coming! Drop-ins are also very welcome! These circles are open and accessible, pay-what-you-can, offered by us as in the spirit of a gift. ❤️

Saturday June 13th, 9:30am-12:00pm
The YurtKW, 508 Duke Street W., Kitchener

06/02/2026

Check your wine caps! We are reaching the end of the last flush, but it was a good one here in the Grand River Watershed! Wine caps (Stropharia rugosoannulata), also known as Garden Giants or King Stropharia, are currently growing in the woodchip filled swales of our large veggies garden as well as in a simple pile of wood-shaving strategically positioned under our rain barrel overflow spout at home. Both have been flushing beautifully this spring and we are re-inoculating as we dig up and refill swales this year. The mycelium filled swales have a fun little bounce to them when the mycelia get dense… it feels similar to walking on the springy forest floor of a healthy old growth forest. Mushrooms are so wise and so so important.
We are grateful to be in relationship with them. ❤️

05/11/2026

Thank you .earth.remedies for leading our recent Herbal Learning Circle: Botany for Herbalists!

Together at , we explored the gardens through a hands-on herbal scavenger hunt (fun!), practicing how to observe plant patterns as a way of building familiarity and relationship over time. We focused on three key medicinal plant families: Asteraceae, Rosaceae, and Lamiaceae, learning how to recognize their shared characteristics in the field.

We also discussed the medicinal actions commonly found within each family, helping us understand how plant identification and herbal use are deeply connected.

I’m grateful to everyone who joined us with curiosity and care! These circles are a reminder that learning about medicinal herbs is not just about memorization and focused study, but about developing attentive, ongoing relationships with the living world around us. ❤️

05/05/2026

This Saturday we gather again at

You’re invited to a Herbal Learning Circle centered on botany through the lens of relational herbalism. Together, we’ll explore how plant families can guide our understanding of medicinal actions, and how careful, simple observation helps us recognize and relate to the plants around us. We’ll also consider the differences between wild medicines and cultivated varieties, and what those distinctions may teach us.

This is a space to slow down, listen, and learn with the plants—and with one another.

Please let us know if you plan to attend via the registration form linked in comments. Drop-ins are welcome! ❤️ See you soon! ✨
earth.remedies

04/24/2026

Not flowers?? No friend, these are the beautiful leaves unfurling right now of our beloved Elder (Sambucus canadensis, I believe). How delicate and stunning! Like little broccoli, hahaha, and one of many signs of spring.

04/19/2026

Thank you for a truly profound first herbal learning circle yesterday morning that included a few songs and some beautiful personal sharing!

As the first circle of the year, we focused on the foundational process of meeting the plants and learning WITH them (not just about them), in order to deepen into our practice of Relational Herbalism.

So, we primed our senses and went out to sit with a tree and listen deeply. What came back from this was a little shocking to be honest, with how clear the message was.

The trees here are asking for us to witness them, and invite them into our spaces. We ended up setting out a seat for them in our circle (which I will keep doing in future circles, for them).

There was a big theme of death and dying in this forest, and lots of feelings of missing of friends (deer and bear)- overall grief at the loss of what was (what the land here used to be, community, health, ecosystem vitality and overall identity of the land), and also there was a deep feeling of peace and a message to stop ‘trying so hard’ and just be. That the small simple lives are vital and important. That death brings rebirth. And that the frustration and anger are shared.

It was truly powerful. Thank you all so much for joining us, on a morning that was down pouring with rain no less (!), to do this good work together. I want to do more of these specific types of circles together. I want to hear more from our mother trees here. ❤️

04/14/2026

This weekend we gather!!

With the return of spring, we’re opening another season of herbal learning circles, rooted in relationship, curiosity, and community. ❤️

These gatherings are intended to be accessible and foster cross-cultural herbal sharing. You don’t need to have any experience. Just come as you are, bring a friend, and join us as we deepen our connections to the plants, the land and each other.

DATES & DETAILS:
All sessions are Saturday or Sunday mornings, 9:30am-12:00pm.

Full descriptions of each Learning Circle can be found on the website www.halfmoonherbals.com

Sat April 18th - Tree Medicine: Getting to know our local trees through embodied exploration
Location: Breithaupt Park, Kitchener

Sat May 9th - Botany 101 for Herbalists: Identifying plants and their growth patterns
Location: The YurtKW

Sun May 31st - WORK PARTY: Herb Garden Prep, Planting & Permaculture
Location: Petersburg Community Garden

Sat June 13th - Herbal First-Aid: How to assemble a small home or travel herbal kit.
Location: The YurtKW

Sat June 27th MAKER SESSION: Tea-Blending: Making Nourishing Teas that Support Our Nervous Systems
REGISTER HERE
Location: The YurtKW

Sat July 25th: Tasting Herbal Waters: Teas, Infusions & Decoctions in Practice
Location: The YurtKW

Sat Aug 15: Herbal Touch: Oils, Salves & Skin-Based Healing
Location: The YurtKW

Sat Sept 19: Choosing your Medicine: Tinctures, Vinegars & Oxymels in Everyday Use
Location: The Yurt KW

Sun Sept 27: WORK PARTY: Herb Garden in Action Location Location: Petersburg Community Garden

FALL/WINTER Learning Circles (dates TBD)
Oct: Setting Up Your Home Apothecary
Nov: Drop-Dosing: Awakening Our Senses with a Mystery Herb
Nov: MAKER SESSION: Cough Syrups and Cold/Flu Remedies
Dec: Community Resilience & Adaptability: Herbalists Activating Systems Change (a disucssion and visioning circle)

03/26/2026

Scarifying my marshmallow (Althea officinalis) seeds today and dreaming of a future for my grandchildren… Every year I learn something new, but this slow soothing process has been the way I scuff up hard seeds to help them break dormancy for years now. Maybe I can try something new - how do you do like to do this?

03/03/2026

Processing Ashwagandha (Withania somnífera) seeds today. The little red/orange berries in their paper-thin dried lanterns are so promising and beautiful. The seeds are delicate, smooth oval disks.

I start my Ashwagandha seedlings on a heat mat to help improve germination. These seeds about a few years old, so I’ll germ test first. I told myself I wouldn’t do any of my own veggie seedlings this year (thank you for growing some trays for me!) so I could make room for more medicinals (and a few perrenial veggies) in my little indoor seed starting rack.

This all feels so timely, as we’re currently in the fourth week of the online Medicine Garden Planning Circle, which has us finalizing the large pattern permaculture designs for our gardens and starting to focus on herb selection - so exiting!! So grateful to be doing this work alongside each of you.

01/26/2026

Amidst the aggressive forces at play in the world, the heartbreak of genocide, ecocide, dominance, and exploitation, I find refuge in my garden. I find solace in the sun and the cycles. I find a safe haven to grieve, and to remember what being held in connection feels like.

The process of growing and tending my food and medicine has been a personal salvage. I also see it as a kind of martial arts side step. A sway. Not resistance, per se. But a drop in a river flowing another way. 🙂

It is a process of weaving myself back into the web of relationship with the living world. Back into connection with those upon whom my very life depends. And somehow, I can still forget…. Without the practice, the awe of sprouting seeds, the wonder of working with wild species and healing spaces, the continual observation that guides discernment about how to interact, and the resulting upswell of my will to act on behalf of life…the amnesia returns.

The forces driving disconnection are strong, and also subtle. I am a child of late stage capitalism, and so easily entrained back into consumer, transactional mentalities. My garden, however meagre, however small, is my path back home again, to who I am meant to be.

I am grateful that I took a chance in my young 20s and followed my heart towards an agrarian life. I am grateful for those around the world who sing to the plants and the water, who treat seeds with deep reverence. Oof, it brings tears to my eyes.

And I thank you, who are reading this, for your own practices of connection and practical acts of love, to land and life.

I humbly invite those seeking support in this direction to join our garden planning circle this winter. More info in the comments (just follow the link). Cost is no barrier. DM me directly with questions.

This practice is about collective liberation, and about facing that direction together, to the best of our ability. ❤️

Address

Mary Allen Park
Waterloo, ON

Website

http://www.halfmoonherbals.com/

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