Herbal Wellness Products

Nature Integrating Is Magic

Not just for witches and warlocks J but it’s also for Brothers & sisters of the love of nature. From MJ recommended

Transcript

Hi Brothers and sisters’ lovely friends, my name is Bevin Cohen; I’m the owner of the small house farm, Michigan.  Author of the books saving our seeds.

 The Herbal Practice & Philosophy. 

The artisan herbalist coming soon from new society publishers today will talk about making herbal teas tinctures.  Salves at home, we’ll talk about the equipment that you’re going to need—the basic procedures to craft all these herbal wellness products in the comfort of your own home or Summer day garden with friends and family.  So, first, we’re going to start with herbal tea.

Now, let’s get started. 

A water infusion the most popular form.  A water infusion, I suppose, is the herbal tea. 

So, let’s go ahead.  Brew ourselves some tea right now.  Now, the first thing we’ll need is some herbs.  So, I got.  A lovely herbal blend right here, but when you’re just getting started practising herbalism.  Learning how to make these types of things, I always recommend starting.

 A single herb beginning, with one single herb is going to give you the opportunity.  To learn about that herb, the flavor profile the herb aroma, may have when you use it.  So, get yourself.  A notebook, laptop, Home computer get yourself an herb.  Sit down.  Take a seat.

Take the time to experience and explore this herb.

Everything that it has to offer now, I got an herbal blend that we’re going to use, here that we’ve created. 

So, let’s go ahead. to Brew that up for an herbal tea what.  We must do first is select what we’re going, using to brew there’s.  A wide variety of choices here; we’ve got some stainless-steel tea balls; we’ve got these types of baskets that will nestle on the top of your teacup.  We can use reusable tea bags, whatever it may be; Whatever you have accessible to you, they are nice.  We can use them over.  Over again.

herbal tea little ball

So, I’m going to choose our little ball now,

For one single cup of tea, we’re going, wanting oh, about A half tablespoon to, A whole tablespoon of herb.  Then our favourite teacup.

 Some hot water now, with the water infusion what’s happening here is the hot water is the menstruum that we’re using to extract the chemical components, from the plant material to create our information now, with a cup of tea that we’re going, to use, as   

A beverage, uh we’re just going, to let it steep for about three to five minutes or so.  You’ll notice that it’s ready because you’ll.  You’ll be able to get the aroma.  The flavour from them from the herbs in your beverage if you’re looking for A more potent, more medicinal brew, you can take your herbs. 

Please put them in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours to give that water time to extract as many water-soluble chemicals from that plant material as possible.  A technique that’s

A process known as a decoction

going to work well with flowers leaves many of the aerial portions of our plants, but if we’re dealing with something that’s um twigs bark thickly coated seeds these denser parts of the plant we’re going, wanting to use, A process known as a decoction.  All this simply means is taking the plant material.  Boiling it in water, will break down those cell walls.  Release the chemical constituents that we’re trying to extract from this plant material.  So, that’s.

A water infusion now, we don’t always have to use it as.  A tea either water infusion can be handy, A topical wash or can be used in the making—a compress.

A herbal compress

 is simply taking an herbal infusion um.  Then.  A bandage or.  A rag or something like that is soaking it with the tea.  Then using that topically on the skin, there are several applications for—a compress, but.  We may get into that.  A little bit, but that is the basics—a water extraction herbal infusion simple stuff. 

Now, got some delicious tea to enjoy for the rest of the video second thing we’re going to talk about is known. 

An alcohol tincture

Now, A tincture is like A water infusion except instead of using hot water as we menstruum as our extraction material we’re going to use, alcohol.

While some chemical constituents in our plant are water-soluble, almost every chemical component is.  A plant is alcohol soluble.  So, A tincture is A very potent herbal extract. 

Lovely So let’s walk through how simple it is to make one now; the first thing that we’re going to need to make our tincture is.  In this case, a container to do our extracting, I’m going to use, this mason jar, but you can use whatever you have available at home you can reuse.  A jar from your kitchen, whatever it may be, the second thing that we’re going to need, is our herb, in this case, we’re going to use, this lovely dried nettle leaf.  We harvested earlier in the year.  Um, I prefer to use dried herbs when I make my tinctures, but if only fresh is what you have available, you’re going to want to let it sit around for A few days to kind of wilt.  A little bit let some of that moisture out of the plant before you get to work with it.

So, then simply what we’re going to do here is take our herbs to pack them into the jar now, there’s A couple of ways that.  We can measure our spice to alcohol ratio many times; you’ll find what’s called the folk technique is simply fill in the jar up with the plant material you have.  Then adding your alcohol until it is, you know, about.  A finger or two’s depth past the plant material is just ensuring that your plant material is fully submerged. 

I always recommend keeping notes in your herbal notebook on the techniques you’re using the recipes you may be making this way; you can refer to that later to reproduce these successful recipes.  So, if we’re going to do something like this, I think it’s essential that.  We measure the herbs alcohol that We use in our tinctures that way.  We can perfectly reproduce it every time.  We make it as We become more experienced, as herbalists.  We start to use herbs that are potentially toxic in larger doses um it’s imperative that.  We keep accurate records of measurements of the medicine that we’re making.  So, if we’re going to do, we’re going to want to measure the weight of the herb.

Ratio to the volume of the liquid weight to volume We use the folk method for this demonstration.  So, lovely we’re going, adding our menstruum or alcohol that we’re going, being used to extract to submerge that plant material now, in this situation wholly, I’m using

vodka

right.  You can use any alcohol extract that’s going to work best for you you’ll find in.  So many old recipes mention brandy as the alcohol of choice.  The reason that I like to use, vodka though, is because it has a minimal scent.  Minimal flavour allows the herb itself to stand up in the recipe showcase itself we’re going to be, using, this is uh chopstick here.  We’re going to poke our plant material down.  We’re essentially just moving around helping release the air getting the air bubbles out of there.  As far as potency goes, you’re going to want to use, A 40 to 50 per cent alcohol which would be 80 to 100 proof it’s essential.  We use A strong enough alcohol. 

So, we get. A good extraction.  That’s also going to ensure shelf stability in our final product.

from four to six weeks now

So, now, at this point, we’re going to want to cap our tincture off.  Put it away.  A calm, dark place, the proper extraction time here will be anywhere from four to six weeks now; you can let it go.  A little bit longer than that, it’s shelf-stable. So, more than six weeks will be okay, but it’s not going to get any more potent at that point.  So, four to six weeks is going, to give us. 

A lovely, potent extraction now, we’re going, wanting to label our tincture when.  We put it into storage.  So, we’re going to want to put on it the herb’s name the alcohol that.  We use, for the menstruum, the potency the proof of the drink that.  We use, d, and the date you can use, today’s date if you like or the date when the tincture is going.

Being ready either way that you choose is fine, but you want to make sure that you’re consistent with that labelling to avoid any confusion in the future; also.  But the same information in your notebook that way, you’ve got it to refer you back to you on another date I’m going, putting this away as I said. 

A calm dark place for about four to six weeks: lets it extract once it’s ready.  We can take it out.  We can filter.  Bottle it let’s go ahead.  Do that I’ve got right here; let’s do this one this is.  A beautiful extraction that we’ve been working.  Where do you see this all right now, we’re going, getting?

A jar, so we can filter this out?  We’re going, needing an um screen to filter this case lovely I’m going, using, this funnel that I’ve got you can get one of these at.  A brew supply place these are super handy it’s.  A funnel with a removable screen for filtering It’s easy to wash since that screen comes right out; oh my gosh, look at that colouration right there beautiful now, you can tell I didn’t empty the entire jar.  You would want to do that uh if you were doing this at home.  You’d like to make sure you press that plant material to squeeze any little bit of tincture out of there that you can; you don’t want to waste any of it you can use, any sort.  A process you wish to you can use, something.  A potato masher everybody’s got one of those at home, or you can even get your hands on. 

French press

A tincture press piece of equipment specifically for this, but you can use something.  A French press like you’d use, for making coffee very.  Remarkably similar.  Significantly less expensive just to squeeze this plant material out of there to make sure you get every drop of this potent medicinal.  Once you have your container like this, you’re probably going to want to package it into something.  A little smaller.  A little easier to use, sorry to recommend these bottles to the miniature house.

We use these two-ounce guys.  Uh, this just seems to be the right size.  A good amount of medicine comes with this dropper top now; the dropper top’s essential.  Remember how I mentioned how almost every chemical constituent in the plant is alcohol soluble, Is!

A very potent medicinal extract, whereas with our tea, we’ll drink it by the cup with our tincture.  The dose is measured by the drop anywhere from two dots too.  A teaspoon exceedingly small quantity, right, so this type of package is perfect for that sort of thing.  Again, you’re going to want to label your jars. 

jars. Proper labelling

Proper labelling is key to successful herbalism; even if it’s just simply herbalism at home now, let’s move on to our third herbal extraction.  In this situation, what we’re going to use, is fat.  We’re going to extract the fat-soluble chemicals from our plant material.  What we’re going to use is oil, so the process is like how  We make our alcohol extraction tincture.  Water infusion teas right.  So, we’re going to start with our plant material. 

olive oil

I think today we’re going to make some calendula oil; look at this beautiful stuff, huh, beautiful golden colour.

So, the same technique now loads our jar up with herbs.  Then add our oil now, just as.  We did with tincture going, filling our jar up to a certain level depending on how much space.  We have available to us.  Then we’re going to top it off with our oil again.  About.  A finger or two just past the top of the plant material again.  We are ensuring that.  We have that plant material wholly submerged under, the oil we’re going to use, the folk technique once again.  But if you wanted to retake accurate measurements.  It would be the volume of oil.  A ratio to the weight of the herb.  That way.

We can reproduce the same oil time.  Time again.

In the same way, in this case, we use  olive oil.  It’s readily accessible to most folks.  You can get it at the grocery shop, but almost any kind of plant oil is going to work there’s—a few options.  I’ll give you.

A little bit of guidance based on my experience since we’re making products that will go on to our skin   Going on the skin of myself, my family and friends are important to me to use quality ingredients through a small house all the herbs.

We use, are wildcrafted from our area are grown right in our Garden.  So, we’ve already developed that relationship but the oil that.  We choose to use, is just as important if you’re purchasing oil at the grocery shop, you want to ensure that you use, and expeller-pressed oil it’ll say expeller press, specifically on the label.  As means that the oil is extracted using pressure, essentially squeezing the seeds or nuts.  Pulling the oil out of them now, this is opposed to chemically extracted oils which several are more refined, less expensive oils at the grocery.  Grocery Shop may be.  Are removed. 

A chemical called hexane is, you know, A couple of molecules away from being gasoline.  Not necessarily something I would want to put on my body or the body of those that I love, it’s also important to note that the oils that. 

We use, are derived from plants.  Just as.  We choose the herbs that.  We use, based on their properties, the plants that these oils come from also have properties that they can offer to our medicinal products—so choosing wisely, what oils.  We use, will enhance the quality of our products.  Ensure the highest satisfaction for us.

We share with we’ll put the cap on this jar.

Everyone that.    We’re going to label it again.  We’re going to want to put the herb in here the menstruum that you’re using the type of oil.  This date now, again.  We can either use today’s date or the date four to six weeks from now; our oils are going to want to extract for four to six weeks, remarkably like our tinctures.  So, again, whatever style of labelling you use, whether it’s today’s date or the finished date, is consistent with your labelling now; we’re going to pack this guy away on the shelf and let it sit to extract; let’s fast forward four to six weeks. 

Our oil is ready to go.  So, we’ll go ahead.

Pull it off the shelf.  In this case, now, we’re using.  A lovely jewelweed oil is from

jewelweed. 

We harvested uh.  Put into the oil to extract on 8 13 2019.  so, this stuff is more than ready to go, just like our tincture after six weeks.  We can leave it in the jar if necessary if the plant material is submerged correctly.  So, it’s away from the air; it’ll sit simply fine like this, but it’s not going to get any more potent than it would at six weeks.  So, we’ll get our jar out; we’ll open it up now; we’ve got to strain it off.

So, for that, we’re going, to be needing.

A jar.  our strainer again.  We’re going to use this handy guy right here with the removable screen; go ahead.  Pour our oil through the mesh; just want to make sure that.  We remove any of the plant material all right we’ll call that good now, if we’re going, going all the way again, just like our tincture.  We would want to use something to squeeze this plant material to get all that oil out of there any bit of oil.  We could drip dry we’re just going, to let this guy sit over here all right now, here is our nicely extracted jewelweed oil now, we could use, it topically just like this, but sometimes that can get.  It is a little bit messy.  What if I needed to take it on the road?  What if I was going camping or something?  I’d like to make this a little bit more portable.  So, at this point.  We could take our infused oil.  Make several products with it with the incorporation of

beeswax

  We could turn the soil.  A solidified product.  A salve.

A lotion or.  A bulb to do that; we would need, of course,

the beeswax our oil—a double boiler

of some sort.  We’ll talk about some of the options herein.  A second.  then.  A final container for our sav lotion or ball now, any kind, of the container is going, working whatever you have available at home.  Still, I always recommend using glass now; really, you just want to avoid soft plastics, the liquid that we’re going to pour into here this melted beeswax.  Oil is going to be quite warm.  You do not want to pour that into a soft plastic; it’s going to be quite dangerous?

A pot of water on.  A hot plate.  That’s going; working simply fine into that we’re going, using, this container right here this is where we’re going, melting our beeswax.  Then blend it with our oil right now; if you don’t have something like this, that’s fine; you can use, A metal bowl over the top of this boiling water.  So, it’s important to remember, though, that this bowl is going to get hot right. 

So, you're going to want to use the oven mitt or some hot pads or something when you pick it up just to make sure.

We can avoid any injury; we’re going to go ahead.  Turn this guy up nice.  Warm get it going; we’re going, putting our oil into our container, add the beeswax that we’ve weighed outset it into the water all right.  So, after.  In a few minutes, we’ll see that our beeswax has begun to melt.  It is blending right into our oil.  So, we just want to stir it up occasionally, keep it moving kind, and speed the process up.  Once our beeswax is fully immersed in the oil completely melted, we’ll turn it off.  Remove The heat is removed from our container; remember again if you’re just using it.  A metal bowl or something makes sure, uh, you’re protecting your hands from the heat.

 All right, love it.

So, from this point on, everything that we’re going to do will be warm.

 So, you want to be cautious at home to avoid any kind of injuries now, to make our product again.  It comes down.  A ratio of wax to oil right now will be the wax by weight to the oil by volume.  Based on the amount of beeswax that.  We use, it’s going, being the final solidity of our product the more wax.  We use, of course, the stiffer the products going, to be less wax.  A little bit softer.  So, it’s a matter of preference, but what we’re going to start as.  A beginning ratio to get you going is ounces of beeswax by weight to every 16 ounces of oil by volume.  You can move that ratio in any direction you need depending on the size of the product the amount of fat you’re working on.  So, we’re going, wanting to weigh our beeswax.  Measure our oil.  We have the ratio going to work for what.  We need then we’re going, wanting to use, our double boiler now, if you have—a double boiler at home that’s perfect, but.  We can fabricate something with what.  We have available to us uh here we’re using.

We’re going to pour our oil into it.  A good container, all right.  as this cool, the beeswax will harden back up.  It’ll solidify our product.  Remember, the ratio of wax to oil determines how stiff the final product is going to be.  So, something.  A sav or A .

Flowers and roots can make potent medicinal stinging nettles urticant do now; you’ll see stinging nettles if you can look at it up close the hairs on the plant at the end of each strand is.  A trichome is formic acid.  Other histamines chemicals in it that, uh, that’s where you get your severe effect from,

lip balm

 or.  A lotion will require slightly different oil ratios to wax but start with the balance that I gave you see how that works for you.  You can adjust it to your preferences from there.  It’s just that easy to make teas tinctures.  Salves at home now that we’ve covered the basics of crafting their products we’ve got.  With a little bit of time left, let’s talk about some of my favourite plants to work with well; these herbs that we’re talking about here are what I like to refer to as local allies’ allies is in. we have.  A synergistic relationship.  We work together as.  A team, these herbs aren’t just commodities to be bought.  Sold no, they’re friends.  We work together to create powerful medicine for ourselves for families Brothers & sisters.  For our communities’ herbs like Dandelion, you know, from the French dent de Leon as in the tooth of the lion now, the entire dandelion plant is used, full to us the Ariel portions the leaves stems.

 but nettles are.  A potent herbal medicine great for arthritis inflammation.  The stock itself can be made into cordage to make ropes blackberry now; the entire genus rebus is full of medicinal benefits, not only is the fruit high in antisystem.  Other antioxidants but the leaves themselves can be made.  Several healing teas jewelweed oh my gosh look at this I love, jewellery.

So, impatient uh, touch me not from the dispersal mechanism of the seed right now, the juice the sap inside of the stems of jewelweed is—an excellent remedy for poison ivy apple.  A day keeps the doctor away; our food is medicine and 

Red clover.

I love red clover.  Salads it’s got.  A nice sweet flavour to it I also love, to use, it in tea there’s.  A lot of studies right now.  A compound that they found in red clover that they believe um helps fight cancer.  So, that’s an exciting development they’re watching closely right now; the red clover is just a delicious addition.  Several herbal remedies plantain I could talk all day about plantain now; this is the broadleaf plantain plant to go major there’s also the veneer leaf lanceolate.  They can use interchangeably wonderfully beneficial now; this herb is probably the most well-known you could take a plate of the plantain.

Chew it up apply it right onto it.  A bug bites.  It’ll stop with the itching.  The swelling.  the pain, wonderful, wonderful herb

witch hazel

oh my gosh hammed male is Virginians.  We use, uh, which has quite a bit of a small house.  We create a topical astringent from the bark.  I love the leaves of the plant I love, witch hazel because it flowers in the fall; the species that grow here where I’m at in Michigan flowers in the fall.  These beautiful flowers goldenrod love, it now, most people want to say the goldenrod is part of their seasonal allergies in the fall, but that’s not even close to true the pollen from goldenrod is far too heavy to be spread.  It’s the ragweed that flowers Shed’s pollen around the same time that causes our allergies.

 A tea from

goldenrod can help relieve these allergy symptoms

 We don’t have time to get into that debate right now, but it is important to note that the berries of autumn olive are edible, as are the leaves we can be used to make. A delicious tea queen ant lace wild carrot all carrots that we’ve come to know.  Love, today to have all been derived from this wild plant, you can tell the roots still smell like carrots.  It can be used, just.  A carrot.  the flowers we can make.  Delicious jelly

Elderberry very extremely popular herb uh elderberry syrup elderberry wine I use, the flowers from our old berries.  We make.  A tincture from it um terrific for boosting the immune system is antiviral and marvellous for cold.  Flu season chicory, which is all over the roadsides in the late summer right now, you can use chicory roots to roast them.  Use, it as.  A coffee substitute

white pine that’s the state tree here in Michigan has five needles that come together.  A cluster that’s how you identify the white pine; it’s the only Pinus where the collection of hands comes in.  A set of five like that is highly high in vitamin c.  the leaves uh can use, d the needles.  A tea.  we can brew.

A tea from them in the wintertime precisely what.  We need it when we’re battling cold.  Flu season, especially if.  We haven’t prepared in advance.  We don’t have some herbs in the stock.  We can still get to the white pine regardless of how deep the snow,

Maybe Mullen or, uh, my friend’s son calls it, a toilet paper plant, but not allowed to tell that story anymore, uh Mullen is.  A marvellous herb great for respiratory issues, it’s a biennial.  So, the first year you’ll see this rosette, the second year it’ll put up its flower stalk with those beautiful yellow flowers you see on the roadsides

yarrow Achillea-mill-folium

yarrow Achillea-mill-folium

 it’s.  A styptic herb which means it helps stop bleeding.  So, you can take the leaves of yarrow.  You can chew them upright on the spot.

Apply them.  A cut.   will stop bleeding almost on contact; it’s antiseptic too.  So, it’s lovely on cuts.  Abrasions like that the wintergreen I could go all day talking about wintergreen, one of my favourite herbs to work with wintergreen has.  A compound on the leaves known as methyl salicylate is like what they use d to make

aspirin. 

So, we can use wintergreen uh well.  We can ingest it as.  A tea or even use, it topically for pain relief sorrel oxalis nice sour treat that you can find when you’re weeding your gardens delicious addition to salads strawberries the leaves of strawberries can be used, d in.

A lovely tea to help with menstruation issues discomfort.  Cramping stellar chickweed media, there’s.  A beautiful early spring herb that we’ll find growing in our Garden makes.  An excellent topical treatment for itches.  Rash.  Another skin conditions,

horsetail, high in silica, can use this to make medicine for our nails.  As well as our hair.  A nice wash for our hair to help brittle hair.  Baldness yellow doc now, you’ll find yellow duck growing quite often in the same places that you find stinging nettles, which is lovely because yellow dock

 Leaf helps with the burn from stinging nettles, it’s almost like mother nature has.  A plan the whole-time

yellow dock

I love, violets, in the spring I love, to use, them as a tea the flowers add.  A nice beautiful colour to the brew sumac staghorn sumac here um the berries at the top can be used, d to make a delicious lemonade like beverage lamb’s quarters Kino podium alba delicious incredibly high in vitamins.  Minerals, um like.  Wild spinach, that’s how you could consider this one.

violets

Saint john’s wort

has.  An extensive list of users, so that.  We don’t have time to get into it right now, but look at this beautiful plant serviceberry avalanche here now; we should be using serviceberry simply.  A landscaping shrub, it’s just beautiful.  It’s native; it flowers early, early in the spring.  Then later in the year, around June, it’ll produce these delicious berry mustard now, all the basics.  We know, have all derived.  Wild mustard, um.  The mustards grow wild in local fields.  Along our roadsides is edible as well Brunelle

vanilla Vulgaris

It’s.  As you can tell by its name, a marvellous herb has prescribed to heal even since antiquity.  Several ailments uh heal if you will burden this is like mother nature’s original version of Velcro good blueberries bone set now, bones that are fun, although the name would imply that its use, d for healing bones broken bones’ best use, das.  A cough suppressive medicine, it’s.  A wonderful you can make.  A syrup from it to help ease.  A heavy cough now, what’s interesting about these herbs, however many herbs that.  We just spoke.  The multitude of benefits available to us when.  We get to know these plants all those plants are within a comfortable bike ride from my house within.  A mile from where I live, it’s essential as herbalists that

Lavender

We think local, buy local.  We are locally one of the most important things that.

Lavender excellent for keep in the house and home creepy Crawley is flies and pest away from the home if you planted in front of the door this plant loves a lime soil well-drained. And it also provides a pleasant entrance for your grandmother and grandfather.

We can do to make our little corner of the world.  A better place is to focus on being as local as.  we possibly can thank you.  So, much to the seed savers exchange for allowing me to share my herbal passions with you today.  I enjoyed this time.  We got to spend together if you like this presentation.  Your man a vast knowledge Bevan going, and I thoroughly enjoyed Reading your information. I hope you don’t mind me giving it my little own twist. Either way I’m going to leave this connection to your book, so everyone can read it. Take care and hope to meet up with you one day in the future Nice one brother. Best regards MJ

If you’re interested in learning more about herbs, I recommend this new book,

 The Artisan Herbalist,

available now at theartisanherbalist.com.  Thank you.  so, much you please share the link of your brothers and sisters and drop a message to Bevan he will thoroughly enjoy that. Show him the link to this page and say hello. Please add your findings through digital file along with the photographs of your newly experienced birds, colourful what you know and learn about many plants that you see here smell touching taste. One person to Search the globe for the right plant is impossible. Bottom billion brothers & sisters Sharing the knowledge of nature and the animals that live upon the plants and around the plant. Is a wonderful experience to share. I do love this planet Earth, and I also love you. Thank you to listening and reading god bless you.  From MJ