Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Herb Forest Grows!

(click for a larger view)

(in no particular order)

-Wild Lettuce
-Bee Balm
-Elfwort (or Elecampane)
-Clary Sage
-Garden Sage
-Lady's Mantle
-Moldavian Dragon's Head
-Russian Comfrey
-Alpine Strawberry
-St. Johnswort
-Evening Primrose
-tonnnes of calendula (just sprouting everywhere)
-Chamomile (also sprouting everywhere)

Oh!! And how could I forget!







Happy Beltane to all,



Mr. H said...

I would love to hear your thoughts on skullcap. I planted some last year and it is doing great, expanding all over the place. For the life of me I can not remember what my original purpose was for planting it. I know it could assist me if I was bitten by a rabid animal, but am pretty sure that was not the reason I decided to plant it. Do you have any plans for yours? Or perhaps, like me, you just enjoy growing a wide variety of herbs.

Think green, get well.


Kelsie said...

Skullcap is one of the best nervines/sedatives you could ask for. It's excellent combined with "sleep" herbs (like valerian, passionflower, or hops) for when you want to beat insomnia, or you can just take it when you feel like your thoughts are running a mile a minute. I use it in a tincture for tension headaches (blended with lavender, yarrow, feverfew, and lemon balm), and I also use it blended with motherwort and lady's mantle for menstrual cramps (but since you're Mr. H, you probably won't need it for that!). Skullcap is definitely one of my herbal allies, as I can be a very tense person.

It's commonly taken in either tea/infusion or tincture form.

To make a tincture, I use a blend of the whole plant (roots included) and the flowering aerial parts--harvest them just as the flowers open. I stuff a jar with the whole plants/plant parts, fill it to the top with either vodka or brandy, and cap it tightly. I let it sit for at least 6 weeks, remembering to shake it daily. I usually assemble my tinctures during a full moon and decant them during a full moon. After the time has passed, I strain the tincture through cheesecloth into a big bowl (making sure to squeeze the herbs in the cheesecloth to extract every last bit of good stuff), and then funnel the resulting tincture into a cobalt blue or brown glass bottle. Cap it, label it, and it's ready to use!

I've found that the tinctures I made two years ago seemed to increase in strength after about a year. I'm not sure if this is my imagination or if this is actually something that happens.

I hope this helps! :) For all I know, the lesson on tincturing wasn't necessary, but I figured I'd throw it out there, anyway.

And yes! Skullcap's traditional use was to cure people of rabies (not sure how well that worked out...).

Mr. H said...

Thank you so much Kelsie,

Great information, we are going to try your tincture recipe when our skullcap is ready. I actually did grow it for a menstrual cramp remedy...for my wife:), and also for tension.

We grow a wide variety of herbs and have not yet had the opportunity to use many of the medicinal ones.

Thanks again,