Make Your Herbal Medicines

Herbal tinctures are liquid medicines that rely on alcohol to extract medicinal compounds From fresh or dried herbs. Making your own can be surprisingly easy, inexpensive, and satisfying. Unless you grow herbs in your garden, it’s probably easiest to purchase them directly from Blessed Herbs, a company that sells organic and wild, sustainably harvested varieties.

You’ll need:

• Organically grown fresh or dried herbs
• Cutting board, knife and grinder
• Clean glass jars with lids
• Vodka, 80 or 100 proof
• Labels
• Wire mesh strainer
• Unbleached coffee filters
• 2- to 4-cup glass measuring cup
• Cheesecloth or muslin
• Funnel
• Clean dark glass (amber or cobalt blue)
• medicine bottles with dropper tops
• Chop the herbs with a knife or grind them until fine in a clean coffee grinder. Place 1 part dried herb to 2 parts or more of vodka in a jar, making sure that 1 to 3 inches of liquid covers the herbs. Close tightly and label with herb name and date. Place the jar in a warm, dark place and steep for at least 4 weeks—the longer the better. Shake the bottle daily and add more vodka if necessary to keep the herb material completely covered in liquid.
• After a month (or longer), pour the tincture through a wire mesh strainer lined with a coffee filter and strain into the measuring cup. Place the herbs remaining in the strainer in a piece of cheesecloth or muslin, then twist and squeeze to extract every last drop. (Used herbs are wonderful added to your compost heap.)
• Using a funnel, pour the tincture directly into dark glass dropper bottles and label.

Resources:

• Bulk dried herbs: blessedherbs.com
• Medicine bottles: nutritionsurplus.com
• Making Plant Medicines, by Richo Cech, available at horizonherbs.com