Making of tinctures and making of flower essences.

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Ah... one of my favorite subjects... the making of things...

Tinctures like Lynques stated is easy... its' so easy you wonder why in the world you buy those expensive little bottles off the shelf!?!?!?!

A good link on how to make herbal tinctures... so to save space here (as I tend to get lenghty... mmmm have to work on condensing)... www.homehealthresource.net/tinctures.html

At times my bedroom dresser looks like a pharmacy... bottles of this and that sitting there getting infused with the properties of a particular herb...

misshaped bottles ... tall, short, round oval... anything works that has a tight fitting lid for shaking....which should be once or twice a day...

but then again.. I have stuck such jars in a book shelf to hide from company... <<>> and then months later found it... that's okay too...

I normally aim for a minmum of 6 weeks... prefer 3 months... so that means staying on my those and keeping organized...

I do raw vinegar and gylcerine tinctures as well...

Now... for the making of flower essences....

remove the vibrations of the bowls, funnels, 100% white cotton cloths I use in in straining the essence... and the jar in which will hold the essence in storage...

glass bowls with no markings, cuttings ... just a plain bowl... filled with spring or distilled water (I have mineral in my water)...

if at all possible... fill the water filled bowl with the desired flower blossoms... where they float on the surface... preferrably not under water... but one or two blossoms suffice too...

the bowl is normally set close to the plant in which you are infusing the spirit of the plant... however, sometimes the sun can not reach the bowl with its warming rays...so the bowl is moved to reach the extracting rays...

the early morning sunshine is the best... and the bowl is left to set for about 3 hours... if it should cloud... I let seat a bit longer...

it is amazing to watch the water... many times you will see tiny bubbles of life coming forth... looks almost like champagne...

then to the house we go... I normally figure 1/6 - 1/4 brandy.. can be vodka.. for the size of jar I'm using to store the essence in... (I happen to get brown glass vitamin jars from a herbal distrubtor that I boil clean and remove labels)....

the funnel goes into the jar, remember the brandy goes in before the essence... the cloth, I normally keep back nice white 100% cotton handkerchieves for the strainer of the flowers and bugs...

oh, yes, the bugs like the essences too!!! flowers I normally put in a shallow bowl of water to enjoy a few more hours... that's if they are not wilted bad...otherwise compost pile..

cap the jar... label.... because they all look the same!!!! you now have your mother stock...

I normally write a date of made... so I have an idea how old it is...

it is quite easy to make... and flower essences are easier to take... 3-4 drops... 3-4 times daily...until relief!!!! Re: Making of tinctures and making of flower essences.

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Okay, here is how make my tinctures. This is for the leaves and flowers. I have a used blender that is only used for herbs. If I use fresh herbs, after I rinse and drain them, I cram them into the blender. just 2 inches from the top. Then, I fill the blender with vodka. Make sure the herbs are covered in vodka. Put the lid on, and press DESTROY! let it run for a minute or two. Then dump the whole mess into a jar, put the lid on, and put it away from sunshine. It will need to be shaken everyday, just don't let it sit in sunshine. You can make a basic tincture by letting it sit for two weeks, but if left longer, it makes a stronger tincture. Much better. Also, if you need that tincture NOW and don't have time to wait, use it now. What you just created is stronger than what you can buy. Pour out enough to get you by for the two weeks while the rest is soaking. You will need to up the dosage on the newly made tincture, but it will help you.

After the two weeks or however long you want to make it, Pour it thru a cloth towel or a clean t-shirt. Bundle up the towel or t-shirt and wring it out to get as much liquid from the herbs as possible. Label RIGHT THEN and put up.

See? Easy.

Now the tincture that Yarrow and I just discussed is called a 1-power tincture. You can make another tincture, doing the same thing only the liquid used is the tincture you just made. The only vodka you use is to just top it off. This is called a 3-power tincture, and it is strong.

For the 7-power tincture, do the same again using the 3-power tincture as the liquid base. Whoa! The Incredible Hulk of Tinctures!

Now I make for my immune system herbs and infection herbs and antibiotic herbs, they become 7-power herb tinctures. Let's kick those bad germs in the you-know-where! If an herb has certain toxins in a normal tincture, don't make it into a 3- or 7-power tincture. Not good. Could hurt.

The dosage from tincture to tincture varies. But lets say, you just made an echinacea tincture. and turned it into a 3- then a 7-power tincture. now for a 1-power, you might use 2 droppersful or a half a teaspoonful of tincture 3 times a day. for a 3-power tincture, use only a third of that. For the 7-power tincture, use only a seventh of that.

Okay, lets go back to basic tinctures. I told you how to make a fresh leaf/flower tincture. But what about the stems, seeds, and bark tinctures. Let them soak in the jar for about 72 hours before you put them in a blender (and then only put in about a cupful at a time). They need to soak and soften before you put them in a blender. You can ruin a blender motor trying to cut them now. Just wait until they soften before you do it.

Enjoy.

Lynques

-- SAR01 (rauch01@yahoo.com), November 30, 2001