Organic Tincture and Glycerite Inventory

Nov 22, 2009 $15.55 per 50ml dropper bottle

Ashwagandha Root
Astragalus Root
Betony whole herb
Black Walnut inner bark
Burdock Root
Calendula Flower
California Poppy Flower
Cat’s Claw Bark
Chamomile Flower
Cleavers whole herb
Damiana Leaf
Dandelion Root and Leaf
Devil’s Claw Root
Devil’s Club Root
Echinacea Root
Elderberry
Eleuthero Root (Siberian Ginseng)
Ginkgo Leaf
Goto Kola Leaf
Hawthorne leaf and berry
Lemon Balm leaf
Licorice Root
Mint (four) leaf
Motherwort whole herb
Nettle Leaf
Osha Root
Parsley (medicinal)leaf
Pau D’Arco Bark
Rhodiola Root
Rosemary whole herb
Skullcap whole herb

Saint John's Wort
Vervain leaf/flowering heads
Violet Leaf
Yarrow stem, leaf, flower
Yellow Dock Root
Usnea Lichen

Glycerites

All Better Glycerite

Sleepy Bye Glycerite

California Poppy

Mint

Please email me for further information.

Local to Vancouver, BC, Canada sales only.

Thank you.

Root Tinctures; Glycerites, Hot-Oil Infusions

Remember to sterilize all your equipment and jars so that your product will be safe from the various pathogens around. I use the dishwasher. Wash your hands before you do any work with herbs and make sure they are really dry. Clean all surfaces you will be working on. Osha Root

This is a great time of year to make root tincture as long as the plants are a few years old and the roots are mature. Echinacea, Ginger, Goldenseal, Horseradish, Licorice, and Osha are all wonderful herbs that we can tincture for our family.

Echinacea Root

Dig up the root/s and wash really well removing all dirt. Chop finely and let sit to allow the moisture to evaporate somewhat. The root can also be put in a dehydrator for a few hours. Do this especially if you have only 50% Vodka as the menstruum. 50% Vodka is 100-proof, which means it is half alcohol and half water. The fresh plant, like us, is up to 70% water. If we remove the water portion from the plant material the tincture won't grow a mold.

American Harvest Dehydrator

If you cannot dry the material, then use a stronger alcohol such as Everclear.

I finely chop the root I'm using to offer more surface area for the menstruum to extract the medicinal properties from the plant.

Ginger Root

When adding the alcohol, cover the plant material, shake the jar a bit, and then add an inch of alcohol above that. Use a jar that leaves very little head room.

Astragalus Root

Label the jar with the date, name of the plant, and strength of the alcohol. Start a journal or a 'word file' on your computer to keep track of what you make so you can do it again in the future.

Calendula Drying

There are many awesome books and websites that will let you know the dosage to take. The dosage is different for adults and children so research is very key to this part of the process.

You can also make a Glycerite for kids in the same way as above except that you use organic vegetable glycerin.

Calendula Hot Infused Oil

To make an infused oil, I use the slow cooker and keep the temperature low. Don't allow them to go crunchy.

Using dried herbs and flowers instead of fresh eliminates the chance of mold, mildew, and bacteria invading the product. Always chop them well so there are more surfaces for the menstruum to extract from.

I use the Simplers' Method ie: if I have one cup of dried herb, I add enough oil to cover it by an inch in the pot I'm using. One cup of dried leaves is going to fluff up quite a bit so you can add more oil. One cup of dried root will hardly fluff up at all.

Some say to use five ounces of oil to each ounce of herb. If you go by ounces, eight ounces of dried herb such as calendula flowers or motherwort leaves will weigh less that eight ounces of burdock root. The herbs that allow the oil to go right into them can really fluff up and almost look as though they were just picked. You will need to use more oil with these.

Some also say to use 1 cup of herb to two cups of oil. I find I then have to add more oil as it fluffs up. So, there are many ways to do this. There are many recipes online for various oils.

Calendula Tincture

The most important thing you can add to your tinctures, oils, and ointments, or any other product you are creating, is your love and good energy. If you are doing the harvesting, sing to your plants, ask their permission to be taken, take them gently, treat them kindly, don't approach them if you are angry or not at your best. The same goes for when you prepare them - add love, then joy, then peace, and good health. Whisper to your tincture that it is good medicine made to help people become strong, to help their own self-healing abilities to gear-up.

Heart of Gaia Gardens and Products 2009

This year, we grew sixty medicinal plants in a hundred pots set in rows around our yard. We also have a bed of Calendula (on the left), which produces bright orange blossoms that are later mixed with jojoba oil to create an oil; sometimes beeswax is added to create an ointment.
























Norm created a Herbarium for me that doubles as a kitchen island. We house 96 jars of dried herbs and 126 bottles of tincture.











Teas: lemony, spicy, minty, anise flavours.














Tinctures and Glycerites: Violet Leaf, California Poppy, Saint John's Wort, and Medicinal Parsley.













Spices: Basil, Chives, Oregan, Parsley, Rosemary, Sage, and Thyme














Flowers: California Poppy, French Lavender, German Chamomile, Nasturtium, Heartsease, Dandelion, Wood Betony, Marshmallow, St. John's Wort, Calendula, Passionflower, and Feverfew

Cycles of life in the garden

About 90% of that which we over-wintered made it through the storms, ice, and snow. This year, we had temperatures well below freezing and did lose a few of our plants. In November, we put the plants under the stairs and covered the side with poly, leaving the stair risers open for ventilation, and in the little greenhouse.

It was so good to see everybody when we took them all out at the beginning of May. Over the last month there has been an explosion of green and colour in our yard.

Laughing Buddha Gardens 2009, featuring 60 varieties of plants:

Culinary and Medicinal: Arugula, Basil, Chives, Parsley, Rosemary, Garden Sage, Spinach, and Thyme

Flowers and Medicinal*: Day Lily, English Daisy*, Hydrangea, Jasmine sambac*, New Zealand Tea Rose*, Pansy, Petunias, Stocks, and Tiger Lily

Medicinal: Ashwagandha, Bergamot, Wood Betony, Bitter Melon, Calendula, California Poppy, Catnip, German Chamomile, Chocolate Mint, Elderberry, English Mint, Eucalyptus, Fennel Seed, Feverfew, Gotu Kola, Heartsease, Herb Robert, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Licorice, Marshmallow, Meadowsweet, Motherwort, Nasturtium, Passionflower, Peppermint, Sacred White Sage, Saint John’s Wort, Schisandra berry, Skullcap, Soapwort, Spearmint, Speedwell, Stevia, Sweet Violet, Sweet Woodruff, Uva Ursi, Verbena, Lemon, Blue Vervain, Wild Indigo, Yarrow, Zhi Mu, and Zuta Levana

All the seed is organic and so is the soil; it is all GWP - grow without pesticides. I just allow nature to take her course. We also have a composter that takes care of kitchen and garden waste and that is added to the soil each year. Every year we are able to collect the seed to grow next year. This is the cycle of life in the garden.

So, we have some seeds, small live plants, dried plant materials to make herbal remedies and pot pourri, teas, tinctures, ointments, oils, and creams for sale at our place. We follow the safe practices act when creating our products.

The herbs are harvested at the right time and at their peak. They look, smell, and taste just like the fresh herbs do so this shows they have not lost any of their potency.

Today at lunch, we enjoyed a lovely salad of spinach, arugula, parsley, basil, and chives. Our tea was a fresh combination of the four mints: Chocolate, English, Peppermint, and Spearmint. Yum. I love my job.

In August, I start my Herbal Training with Rosemary Gladstar. I'm looking forward to delving into yet another wonderful course on herbs by another amazing Herbalist.

I am also giving a course on herbs in August in our Laughing Buddha Gardens. Hope you can join us for some scrumptious food and a real-life learning experinece. See you then.

Love Lyn

100 Best Herbs for your Health & Wellness

Kelly was kind enough to send me this link for her article so I could share it with my readers.

http://www.nursingdegree.net/blog/32/100-best-herbs-for-your-health-and-wellness/

Thanks Kelly...

Morning Harvest

6:30 am: I went out to our garden and harvested betony, calendula, California poppy, chamomile, gotu kola, speedwell, skullcap, placing it in my little basket, one stalk, then a flower, another leaf, omming and singing, praying and thanking, feeling the sun on my neck, smelling the sweet scents of the earth, hearing the morning songs of the birds.

Poetry of life.

The bounty escapes onto the counter.















Unique unto itself, it is easy to sort.













Betony








Calendula








California Poppy

Chamomile








Gotu Kola








Heartsease








Peppermint








Skullcap











Speedwell







By 8:00 am, they are on trays and ready to go into the dehydrator.


















It will take eight hours to dry the herbs. Then they will go in their jars.










4:00 pmThese herbs are organically grown. With proper handling, they retain their vitality, effectiveness, taste, aroma, and colour.

Balancing the Imbalances

It is my belief that we become ill due to an imbalance in the body. These imbalances come about through:

1. A diet lacking in the daily intake of nutrients and phyto-nutrients

We need a variety of fresh, live foods and herbs every day. Allow yourself a sweet treat once a week and thoroughly embrace and enjoy it with no guilt.

2. Lack of physical movement

Take yourself out for a walk every day for at least 20-30 minutes. The benefits of this one act are amazing and I hope that, at the end of a month, you’ll be able to tell me all about it. Do one better for yourself and go dancing on a regular basis.

3. Not enough water

We need at least 2 quarts of water daily to nourish our cells and clear out waste products. Tea, coffee, soda, and juice do not do this. Juice is good if it is fresh but don’t count it as part of your water intake, and it is very high in sugar.

4. Not enough rest and sleep

Being able to stretch out and relax is one of the most important blessings to our overall well-being. Retiring at a time that will ensure we get seven to eight hours of sleep each night is a key to healthy living. If an opportunity presents itself to have a nap, take it and enjoy the luxury of being peaceful with your self. It seems so simple but it is vital to your life.

5. Improper breathing

Most people ‘shoulder breathe’ and the breath may make it only to the breast bone; we need to take our breath down into our power centre about an inch below the navel.

6. Limited evacuation of waste matter

Each day we need to sit in the washroom at around the same time and relax each muscle involved in the process of elimination. We can say prayers, read spiritual literature, chant OM, or whatever it takes to relax our bowels and allow free-flow of that energy.

7. Feelings of being disconnected from ourselves, our loved ones, our neighbours, our planet, our Spiritual Being
Make a connection to someone you love every day. Ensure you have a good uplifting or funny story to tell them to make their spirits soar with laughter and joy. You will feel wonderful when you do this – like you are ‘a part of’ the life around you. You will attract great people and keep the friends you already have.

8. Enormous amounts of stress

We live in a 24/7 world and we all feel like we are the most important one and that things cannot get along without us. As well as putting your e-connections to bed by a reasonable hour, so you can watch a good movie, take yourself out of the game one day a week. Do something for your self – shop, lunch with a friend, personal grooming, drive in the country – whatever it is that will nourish you on all four levels of being: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

9. Lack of tools to deal with stress

Take a course in meditation, Reiki, balancing your Chakras. There are lots to choose from, such as: Tai Ch’i, Reflexology, Sound Healing, Crystals, etc…Continue, develop, and/or explore the topic of hobbies. Make a list of those that interest you and begin your research, finding ones that really resonate with you and feed your Inner Child.

10. Irregular clearing and balancing of the energy field

Develop a relationship with an Energy Worker and see that person regularly. It is suggested to go twice a week for two weeks then every two weeks for two times, then once a month for maintenance. This protocol (these six sessions) will generally clear up those daily, bothersome, and chronic situations, and regular sessions will keep your energy system clear and strong.

As individuals, there is a lot we can do for ourselves. When we do for ourselves, we empower our life with hope, gratitude, peace, and joy. We begin to harmonize the dense energies that have been created through unbalanced living.

Life still happens; devastating illness, which had been already set in motion through years of unhealthy choices, may still come to us. By following these simple remedies for healthier living, we will better be able to ‘survive and thrive’ through most of what life has to offer in a serene and grateful manner.

Taking a regular inventory of our wonderful and attractive qualities is a good daily practice, as is doing a ‘gratitude list’ for that which we receive each day and hold dear to our hearts: our family, friends, home, food & water, overcoming a fault, doing something a better way… there is always a lot for which to be grateful.