Friday, June 15, 2012

Making tincture with my Herb Buddy


A lovely Friday evening with besties Rachel and Renee. We spend a wonderful evening make tincture from some beautiful plants growing in our community garden plots. Between the two of us we tinctured borage, lemon balm, lavender, artichoke, and st. johns wart. 
Tincture:
Artichoke (Cynara scolymos)
  • 50% vodka
  • Jovial Garden
  • 16oz leaf
  • dosing: 10-60 drops 3-4 times per day
Lavender (Lavandula augustifolia)
  • 70% vodka
  • Jovial Garden
  • 16oz flowering heads
  • dosing: 10-30 drops 3-4 times per day in some water
Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis)
  • 50% vodka
  • Jovial Garden
  • 16oz leaf
  • dosing: 10-60 drops 3-4 times per day
Artichoke, a member of the aster family, is a bitter with cooling tendencies. Cynara scolymus enjoys supporting the liver.
Lavender, a member of the mint family, is a bitter and aromatic herb with cooling and drying tendencies. Lavandula angustifolia has many uses including, anti-inflammatory carminative, diuretic, stress, antidepressant, insomnia and antimicrobial.
Lemon Balm, a member of the mint family, has a slight lemon smell and taste, it is sweet, sour and aromatic with a slightly warm tendency. Melissa officinalis’ indications include anxiety, restlessness, headache, depression, and hypertension. Uses include, nervine, sedative, mild antidepressant, vasodilation, hypotensive, carminative, diaphoretic, antiviral and antioxidant.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Hike and tincture

Spent many hours at Oxbow Park today reminiscing the first day of Arctos and all of the wonderful plant friends that I met. To my delight I remember so many of the plants, actually I can’t think of any that I don’t remember. Today I saw, Western Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Western Redcedar, Red Alder, Bigleaf Maple, Black Cottonwood, Willow, Salal, Oregon Grape, Trillium, Waterleaf, Dead Nettle, Dandelion, Western Coltsfoot, Stinging Nettle, Bleeding Heart, Wood Sorrel, Cleavers, Swordfern and Horsetail. The sun shined it’s warming rays upon us and upon the earth, as it warmed our feet and filled our hearts with joy. My lungs opened in gratitude to the fresh air surrounding us as we mingled among our friends of the forest.
We noticed it interesting that up at the highest point in the park we found Alders, ferns, waterleaf, which associate to with lower elevation near water. Sure enough there was water coming from somewhere up there, however, we did not find the source.
Today, I dehydrated the Hawthorn Berries that have been in my freezer since fall 2011. They came from Woods, who harvested them from the farm. I finally processed the berries today and made a tincture. I also make Poplar Bud tincture from some buds I found on the ground on my walk in the woods. 
Tincture:
Hawthorne (Crataegus spp.)
  • 50%; Grain Alcohol
  • Farmageddon
  • 3-16oz jars; dried berries
  • 42 ounces
Tincture:
Poplar (Populus trichocarpa)
  • 100%; Grain Alcohol
  • forest floor near Sandy River
  • 8oz fresh buds
Lucky me! I’ve been gifted tinctures today including, Wormwood, Valerian, Fennel, Lemon Balm and Burdock Seed. I was able to share tinctures with my friend as well.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Horehound & Cedar Tincture

Three weeks ago I gathered with my lovely herbie friends for a potluck and tincture exchange. Oh how I enjoy my plant friends; the food was wonderful and the abundance of herbs very fabulous.
I came home with Red Cedar tincture, Opium Poppy tincture, Hops tincture, Motherwort tincture and dried Horehound.
This evening I made Horehound tincture.
Horehound (Marrubium vulgare)
  • 50%; grain alcohol
  • Garden of Gradey
  • 24oz of dried leaf, flower & stem
What I know about my new tinctures:
  • Red Cedar in 75% alcohol 
Cedars are the Trees of Life
  • Opium 
  • Motherwort is from the mint family and is said to be a nervine that will quell irritability and anxiety, it may “...drive melancholy vapors from the heart” (Culpepper)