Tinctures.

I'll start by saying, I never quite saw the use for making my own tinctures, they are certainly easy to find in health food stores, and I probably would trust the consistency and potency of a store bought one, more than I'd trust my own...but all that aside, not only is it very easy to do, it is kind of satisfying to know that in a pinch, you would know how to use the plants around you to help heal yourself. With everything up in the air with the healthcare debates, and the idea always being thrown around to more strictly regulate vitamins and herbs and supplements in general, it's nice to know that you could provide for yourself and your family if things started getting crazy...and the things you were used to depending on, became scarce.

Certain plants lend themselves to just making simple infusions (think "tea": putting the fresh or dried plant in boiled water), or decoctions (boiling the plant in the water for varying amounts of time, depending on the plant)...but if it's a plant you can ingest, you may want to tincture it to have a highly concentrated and stable form of it on hand for when the fresh plant isn't readily available (think winter, or when you're traveling).

So basically, all you need are some sterilized jars, some 100 proof alcohol (which means it's a 50/50 mix of alcohol and water--keep that one out of reach otherwise, it could do some damage to 'ya), and the plant material you would like to tincture (it can be fresh or dried).

I used the leaves of some first year Mullein plants (helpful for respiratory ailments, among other things), and some Lemon Balm (calming for anxiety, depression, insomnia), to make two separate tinctures.

I collected the plants, using only healthy looking plant parts, (in this case the leaves of the plants), cleaned them, finely chopped them, put them in the previously sterilized jar, and added twice the amount of alcohol, as plant solids. Then, I have been shaking them twice a day, while leaving them in the sunlight (a windowsill) and will continue to do so, for two weeks. Some say they will be more potent if you start them on the new moon (which I did) and end them on the full moon (which I plan to). It's also not a bad idea to think about the ways they can help heal as you shake them...I know, it sounds wacky, but it can't hurt. At the end of the two weeks, I will strain them through some clean muslin, and transfer them to dark bottles, filling them as full as possible to avoid oxygen breaking them down, and store them in a cool dark place.

Plants!

I took an herbology course at the end of June, and at the time, I was a little disappointed with it. Now, a few months later, I have to admit that it really helped stir my interest in medicinal plants that we just know as "weeds" that grow all around us. I've been pretty lucky this summer to have gone on some plant walks both guided and with friends, and feel like I'm finally starting to recognize many of the little things growing all around me.

The first self-guided walk, that a friend and I went on, reminded me of walking through a large museum, or trying to get through all the galleries in Chelsea. You really had to choose what to look at, because there was so much. You could either stop and look and try to identify each plant you saw, or you could take stock, and keep moving and until something catches your eye. We were armed with plant identification books, and it helped that my friend had been through that patch of woods many times, and had seen many of the plants earlier stages (like flowering) which really help with identification.

Jewelweed was the first plant that I feel like I really made friends with. It was nice that it was such an exact match with all of our guidebooks as well. Much like when you learn a new word, you start to hear it everywhere you go, once we saw and identified the Jewelweed, we couldn't stop seeing it at every turn. It is definitely an invasive species, and you can see why once it gets to its seedpod stage, they literally POP! and spray the seeds all over the ground.

Its use is mainly for skin irritations, and the leaves and stems are especially helpful for the poison ivy rash. You can just mash them up and put them directly on the skin. They start to become a bit mucilaginous when you break and squish them, making it easier to apply to your skin. I also took some home and heated the chopped leaves and stems in oil (on a very low heat), for several hours, then strained out the solids to make a topical Jewelweed solution to have on hand.

The other photo is of Virginia Creeper, which was the first one I identified all by myself! Fun stuff. I started some herbal tinctures on Friday, so I'll post those photos soon!