SUMMARY

As numerous forms and dosages of Daucus carota/ wild carrot are detailed
in this article, I am summarizing them here for easier reference. Please be
sure to carefully read the summary and January 2007 update to
understand the contra-indications for usage in case they may apply to
you, especially regarding hormonal changes.
Please note that wild carrot may be less effective if taken daily. It appears
to be at its most reliable used simply as a "morning-after" herb, taken 8-
24 hours after intercourse, up to 3 times within a minimum of 24 hours
and a maximum of 72 hours. All methods of usage are limited to 1-3 times
after sexual intercourse.
Fresh flowers:
Tincture: 1-2 droppers full (25-60 drops) are taken alone (or mixed with
Dc seed tincture) in hot or cold water, or added into wild carrot seed tea.
The author uses this form, but notes that it has less scientific or herbal
research behind it than any of the other methods.
Tea: 3-6 whole flower heads are brewed for tea by pouring 8 oz. boiling
water over the herbs and steeping them, covered for 15-30 minutes (up to
one hour). Drink one cup (fresh flowers can be eaten, but no reliable
information is available about their effectiveness as a contraceptive used
this way.)
Dried Flowers:
Tea: 2-3 flower heads are steeped, covered, in 8 oz. boiling water for 15-
30 minutes (up to one hour). Drink one cup
Fresh Seeds:
Tincture: 1/2 -2 droppers full (13-60 drops) are taken in water, alone or
mixed with Dc flower tincture. The tincture can also be added into a cup
of wild carrot flower tea. OR: 7 drops are used 3x daily, taken in water for
3 days following sexual intercourse, with the optional addition of using
them this way for the first day or two of menstruation.
Dried seeds:
One teaspoon of seeds is freshly ground * just before use and stirred into a
glass of cold water. Drink one glass, 8-12 hours after intercourse, or at
least within 24 hours. (Dried or fresh seeds can be chewed, 1 teaspoon
per dosage, but are more likely to cause vaginal dryness this way. This
method has the longest historical record).
Tea: One tablespoon of seeds is lightly ground in a mortar and pestle just
before use and brewed for tea by pouring boiling water over the seeds and
steeping them, covered, for 15-30 minutes.
* Note: it is suggested that no more than 3 days (one tablespoon) of seeds
are ground at one time and that they be stored in an airtight, glass
container.
UPDATE JANUARY 2007
I gather wild carrot seeds when they have turned from green to brown and
are seed-like in texture — a little crunchy as contrasted with soft, mushy,
and/or not fully formed yet. I gently bruise them, fill a jar with them, then
cover with 100 proof vodka, letting the tincture steep for a minimum of 6
weeks. You can shake the tincture if you like. I love the flowers too, and
find them gentler, tastier, and also effective. I gather flowers with the red
center in late morning when they are in full bloom, gently bruise them,
and follow the same procedure described for the seeds. I am most
confident mixing them together with the seeds, though there is a long
history in Appalachia of using just the flowers as tea, once after sexual
intercourse. Whether you make your own or buy it, THE TINCTURE YOU
USE SHOULD SMELL STRONGLY OF CARROT. I currently make mine the
simpler’s method with 100 proof vodka.
The definite CONTRAINDICATIONS for using this plant for this purpose is
during or closely following a period of intense hormonal shifts, such as
after: coming off the pill or other HRT, having an abortion, pregnancy, or
miscarriage.
Regarding use during breast feeding, I’m simply not sure. If the cycle
hasn’t returned regularly, don’t do it. If it has, I think I might, it depends
on the woman and I’d say to proceed with caution. Finally, digestive flora
needs to be healthy...be careful after using antibiotics, for example.

Again, what needs to be withdrawn is the herb! I do think that the seeds
and flowers are safest, and most effective, used LESS
FREQUENTLY (because I do think it is likely a hormonal action/reaction
that makes them prevent implantation). If it is hormonal, causing a
temporary shift in the progesterone/estrogen balance in the womb,
then it’s possibly like temporarily upping the progesterone, and then
taking it away, causing the uterine lining to be unsuitable for the
implantation of a fertilized egg. What I do, and what I suggest now, is
that the seeds and/or flowers be used 1-3x after intercourse. I usually do
a dosage of tincture (1/2-1 dropperful each, seeds and flowers) 3x, once
every 8-12 hours after intercourse, though using them 3x within 72 hours
(ie once every 24 hours for 3 days) has been effective too. I feel most
confident when I or the woman using them takes that first dosage within
12 hours. I haven’t ever seen any problems with fertility after stopping the
use of wild carrot. Many women have had healthy babies following years of
wild carrot seed use. Recently a former apprentice of mine, now an
herbalist and homeopath herself, informed me that she has had about 50
women using wild carrot as their sole means of contraception for the past
3 years. She has them use the tinctures in the way described here and
there have been no unwanted pregnancies as a result.
I have seen pregnancies result even when someone was using wild carrot,
but then again, I’ve seen pregnancies result when a couple was relying on
condoms, the pill, an IUD, fertility awareness, and most recently, in a
couple where the woman had had her tubes tied!!! So, nothing’s a
guarantee except (I think) total abstention.

I never try to convince anyone about wild carrot for implantation

prevention, I see it as a gift, a treasure to share for anyone who wants to
receive it. I want all babies to be loved and welcome and for women not to
need to get abortions and for all of us to learn how to be in such deeply
intimate relationship with our fertility (and each other) that every child is
consciously called in, and otherwise, we are re-directing our fertility
energy elsewhere...into our creative projects, into the universe as LOVE,
into our relationship with our beloved, the possibilities are as endless as
our imaginations.

Wild Carrot (Daucus carota)

The carrots that we buy each week
at the grocery store
Were often gathered from the wild
by those who came before
Her root was slightly different then,
white, and tough, and slender.
Botanists later got the plant
to grow orange and tender.
But wild or tame, her smell and taste
remained about the same.
She just got easier to chew
when proper she became.
The carrot’s a biennial;
she blooms the second year.
Her root gets much too tough to eat,
once the flower appears.
And when it does appear
we see a most familiar face.
Are you surprised to learn wild carrot’s
really Queen Anne’s Lace?
By Gretchen Gould
RESOURCES
Sources of Daucus carota:
The following sources may be happy to start providing Daucus carota
flowers, upon request:
Healing Spirits (607) 566-2701 (seeds)
Cedar Spring Herb Farm (508) 430-4372 (seeds)
Ryan Drum PO Box 25, Waldron, WA 98297 (seeds)
Sunstone Herb Farm (845) 657-6059 www.sunstoneherbs.com (seeds and
tincture)
Bear Wallow Herbs (530) 462-4784 www.BearWallowHerbs.com
Avena Botanicals 1-866-282-8362 www.avenabotanicals.com
NYC stores:
Penny's General Store (212) 614-0716 (By Appointment Only).
Flower Power: (212) 982-6664 (seeds).
Fertility Awareness Teachers and Classes:
Ilene Richman www.fertaware.com (212)475-4490
Katie Singer www.fertilityawareness.net (505) 820-0773
Source of Fertility Lens:
The Ovu-Tec Fertility Detector can be found at http://www.ovu-tec.com/
Herbalists who teach about Daucus carota:
Susun Weed www.susunweed.com (845)246-8081
Lise Wolff (612) 823-8246
Donna Eaton (508) 430-4372
Phyllis Light (256) 586-8654
Ryan Drum PO Box 25, Waldron, WA 98297
Robin Rose Bennett (973) 697-9977
robin@wisewomanhealingways.com www.wisewomanhealingways.com
FOOTNOTES
1. John Riddle, Eve's Herbs, Harvard University Press, 1997.
2. Norman Farnsworth, (with Bingel, Cordell, Crane, Fong) Journal of
Pharmaceutical Sciences, 1975.
3. Kaliwal BB, Ahamed RN, Indian Journal of Physical and Natural Sciences,
1987, and Kaliwal BB and Ahamed RN,
and Rao MA, Comparative Physiology and Ecology 9:70-74, 1984.
4. John Riddle, Contraception and Abortion, 1992.
HERBAL REFERENCES
Eve's Herbs: A history of Contraception and Abortion in the West, John
Riddle, Harvard University Press, 1997.
Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance,
John Riddle, Harvard University Press, 1992.
Peterson Field Guides to Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants, Steven
Foster/James Duke, Houghton Mifflin, 1990.
Herbal Abortion. Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Uni Tiamat, Sage Femme,
1994.
American Medicinal Plants, Charles Millspaugh, Dover Publications, 1974.
The Energetics of Western Herbs, Volume II, Peter Holmes, Snow Lotus
Press, 1989.
Natural Birth Control: A Guide to Contraception through Fertility
Awareness, Katia and Jonathon Drake, Thorsons Publishers, 1984.
Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year, Susun Weed, Ash Tree
Publishing, 1985
Henriette's Herbal Homepage www.ibiblio.org/herbmed
SCIENTIFIC REFERENCES
Farnsworth NA, Bingel S, Cordell GA, Crane FA, and Fong HHS (1975).
Potential value of plants as a source of new anti-fertility agents. Part
1. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 64 (April}: 554.
Kaliwal BB and Ahamed RN (1987). Maintenance of implantation
by progesterone in carrot seed (Daucus carota) extract treated albino
rats. Indian Journal of Physical and Natural Sciences Section A7: 10-14.
Kaliwal BB and Ahamed RN, and Rao MA (1984). Abortifacient effect of
carrot seed (Daucus carota) extract and its reversal by progesterone in
albino rats. Comparative Physiology and Ecology 9:70-74.
Kant A and Lohiya NK (1986). The estrogenic efficacy of carrot (Daucus
carota) seeds. Journal of Advanced Zoology 7:36-41
Kong YC, Xie JX, and But PPH (1986). Fertility regulating agents from
traditional Chinese medicines.Journal of Ethnopharmacology 15: 18-19.
Lal R, Gandhi M, Anakaranarayanan A, Mathur VS, and Pharma PL (1986).
Anti-fertility effect of Daucus carota seeds in female albino
rats. Fitoterapia 57: 243-246.
Lal R, Sankaranarayanan A, and Mathur VS (1984). Anti-fertility and
uterine activity of Daucus carota. A preliminary report. Bulletin of
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh 18:
28-31.
Sharma MM, Lei G, and Jacob D (1976). Estrogenic and pregnancy
interceptory effects of carrot (Daucus carota) seeds. Indian Journal of
Experimental Biology 14: 506-508.
© Robin Rose Bennett, Wisewoman Healing Ways, 2007. First published in
the NEHA journal in a slightly different version, Autumn 2002.