Tincture Time

Today is full moon (12:49PM PST) and so is an ideal time to begin tinctures. Just in time for Halloween. Some folks say you should start tinctures on New Moon and steep them for a couple weeks but I prefer the full moon process. Let the moon work it's waning magic then wax into potency.  I used Woodinville Whiskey Co. Vodka and am making preparations for Yohimbe Bark and American Ginseng.

The way to make tinctures is by pouring 80 proof + alcohol into an airtight container, covering all of the herb/bark content, with a couple inches of room. http://www.kcweb.com/herb/tincture.htm  Remove them from the light (I'm keeping mine covered with a black sweater) and shake once a day, stirring attention.

Why should you believe in the power of tinctures? First you must believe in the potency of plant medicine. The first layer of that depends on the growing conditions of the plant, particularly in the health of the soil. I purchased these herbs from apothecaries, and even though I can have a certain amount of confidence in their "organic" label - I don't really know what the soil conditions are. I also can't be sure of their shelf life, another factor contributing to how effective these tinctures will end of being.

The next layer of potency has to do with the extraction process. Since I am steeping the barks in liquid for one month without heating them, I don't risk destroying volatile oil content. Also the alcohol helps preserve the plant constituents in a way that brewing a tea cannot. The shelf life lasts years longer. Other benefits include lower dosage requirements (a small number of drops compared to however many cups of tea or numbers of capsules) that are assimilated into the body quicker.

Which plants to make tinctures out of? What plant medicine do you need?
Yohimbe http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/759.html
Ginseng http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/967.html

Drying Out Cold Relief

I just spent the evening processing eucalyptus leaves to dry with the rest of my dried herb collection - wildcrafted, or gifts from other gardeners. Some of them are ready to be put to use. Rosemary, two kinds of mint, spearmint, oregano, alder bark, pineapple sage, calendula, and savory.

Not too sure what I'm going to do with each of them. I previously made a tea of rosemary and nettle to settle allergies. That combined with mint could make a great tea. The rosemary (there's a ton of it), oregano and sage will be great for culinary purposes of course. Also oregano, an antioxidant and antimicrobial is said to make a good cold remedy, so will have to be added to that tea.

I'm excited about the alder bark. I harvested it from Enchanted Valley recently. The tree can be found all over Seattle - a sweet native tree. Indigenous use treated poison oak, insect bites, and skin irritations. I've also read it's good for treating colds (and here we are in cold season). Alder contains lupeol, a compound that is antimicrobial, antinflammatory and, apparently, antitumor. I could use the bark to make a tincture. Or a salve.

I've never used savory before, but looking it up now I see it's in the mint family and is typically used as a digestive aid - like mint. A friend recently requested a digestive tea. So perhaps I will combine all the lamiaceae's into a tea (rosemary, oregano, mint, spearmint, pineapple sage, savory). That could be fun. An antimicrobial, cold relief digestive tea. Just perfect to last the winter.

Green Tomato Time

Sometimes you have to make radical changes. I was starting to feel like one of our tomato plants was crowding out the mustard and spinach seedlings so I decided to take the plant out before it's time. There weren't that many tomatoes left anyway, and perhaps some of them would have ripened but now they are good for green tomato recipes. We have four other tomato plants to prepare green tomato recipes for anyway because there will always be green tomatoes at the end of the season. Thanks Black Prince, you've been great, but it's time to make room for the winter garden.

 I am not providing you with any recipes you can't find yourself. But here are some I think look worthwhile:

Green Tomato Chutney - just in time for Thanksgiving

Green and Red Tomato and Corn Soup - since it's the season for corn, anyway

"Southern" Fried Green Tomatoes - cornmeal is the key

Green Tomato Salsa Verde - who doesn't eat salsa?

Green Tomato Bread - could be good with squash too

BL-Fried Green T Sandwiches - BLT's were one of my favorites growing up

With all these options perhaps we won't have enough green tomatoes to go around. I'm excited.

Oso Berry Aphrodisia

In one week I'm headed to a conference in Boulder with my cousin titled Reclaiming Aphrodite, which is designed around empowering women's sexuality. The first (and only) time I went to an oyster bar was with my cousin, too, and now we are going to this conference, well how about that. I'm trying to prepare myself emotionally for this by considering my own sexuality. Are aphrodisiacs more powerful than sugar?

I don't know most of the plants or animals listed on the wikipedia page. Who knew arugula was an aphrodisiac? I knew there were greater reasons why I planted a whole bed of them, only to watch them overtake the yard with all those white flowers. Other startling finds include leafcutter ants, spanish fly, duck embryo, and deer penis. The fact that this grosses me out makes me feel really tame.

Other plants I'm more open to include gingko, ginseng, and damiana. But I guess these aren't the most powerful herbs compared to yohimbe, tribulus and maca. Yet they are all exotic plants way out of my country, and I have to draw the line somewhere. Nor are watermelon and avocados in season here in Seattle, but kabocha squash is... I have already some gingko waiting to be made into a salve/lube.

Here are some other resources on aphrodisiac herbal care:
http://www.anniesremedy.com/chart_remedy.php?tag=aphrodisiac
http://www.aromaweb.com/articles/aromatherapyaphrodisiacs.asp
http://www.angelfire.com/fl5/keywest0/LoveFoods.html

If aphrodisiacs are real than every town must have it's own plant verson. One possibility for this area is osoberry/ indian plum - one of the first shrubs to show new leaves in Spring. The baby leaves taste like cucumber. Bark is used for tea, twigs chewed as an aphrodisiac. An easy harvest from Discovery Park.

Hallelujah, Alliums

I'm so excited to plant garlic again, and this image of all the little cloves splayed on the bed is pretty cute - though better in person - I had to take it. These cloves will all be sprouts in a few weeks.

But anyway I'm curious about the effect of planting garlic right off the sidewalk. My roommate does not like the idea of planting food there because she thinks dogs will piss on it. But I think planting root crops there makes sense, and food might as well be grown there, and garlic is oh so useful.

Garlic (Allium family with onions, leeks. We have some chives growing in the garden, and I'd love a little practice growing leeks.) is a wonderful food/medicine. It contains a couple cool compounds - allicin, an antibiotic, and allixin, an antimicrobial and antioxidant demonstrated to have reduced cancer in mice. Allicin is responsible for garlic breath. The medicine is in the poison. I'm eaten raw cloves when I felt a cold coming on, and even though that never fails to give me nausea, it seems to stave off the worse stuff.

Other fun facts: garlic was used to prevent gangrene back in WWI and WWII. It boosts testosterone levels. In folk medicine traditions out of Europe, garlic was hung in windows, or rubbed on chimneys and keyholes to ward off vampires. Perhaps you need to know that.

What To Do With Dill Seed

I just cleared out a bunch of arugula plants from June and noticed the dill is going to seed. The plant is very large and so there will be a good harvest. I will probably harvest dill weed while I'm at it. What shall I do with all the abundance?

Dill, in the carrot family Apiaceae along with parsley, asafoetida, fennel and queen anne's lace (wild carrot) is carminative - helps relieve gas. These are known as being aromatic plants with hollow stems. Somehow this information makes dill pickling seem that much more cool. This wikipedia entry offers many recipe ideas for using dill among different cultures. I must try making Holy Ghost Soup soon, some kind of vegan version.

I like this website's little bits of anecdote. Dill pillows were placed in cribs to lull babies. A pouch of dill worn could lull one's heart and clear the mind. The plant outside our fence functions to protect our slumhouse, of course. According to herb-magic.com, if I soak the seeds for 3 days then take a dill bath with them I will improve the state of my love affairs. Hmmm...

In addition to being carminative, dill seed is said to be mildly antibacterial due to its volatile oils, and is compared to garlic. I do not believe I've seen dill seed essential oil sold in stores though. Dill seeds also contain antioxidant compounds, calcium and iron. A good plant source of iron is important to know. Here is more information about iron for vegan diets. Plenty of necessity in this plant.

What To Do With Dill Seed

I just cleared out a bunch of arugula plants from June and noticed the dill is going to seed. The plant is very large and so there will be a good harvest. I will probably harvest dill weed while I'm at it. What shall I do with all the abundance?

Dill, in the carrot family Apiaceae along with parsley, asafoetida, fennel and queen anne's lace (wild carrot) is carminative - helps relieve gas. These are known as being aromatic plants with hollow stems. Somehow this information makes dill pickling seem that much more cool. This wikipedia entry offers many recipe ideas for using dill among different cultures. I must try making Holy Ghost Soup soon, some kind of vegan version.

I like this website's little bits of anecdote. Dill pillows were placed in cribs to lull babies. A pouch of dill worn could lull one's heart and clear the mind. The plant outside our fence functions to protect our slumhouse, of course. According to herb-magic.com, if I soak the seeds for 3 days then take a dill bath with them I will improve the state of my love affairs. Hmmm...

In addition to being carminative, dill seed is said to be mildly antibacterial due to its volatile oils, and is compared to garlic. I do not believe I've seen dill seed essential oil sold in stores though. Dill seeds also contain antioxidant compounds, calcium and iron. A good plant source of iron is important to know. Here is more information about iron for vegan diets. Plenty of necessity in this plant.

Herbal Tooth Care

On our walk today my roommate told me she needs some dental care, but don't have no money. She is losing bits of her teeth due to cavities and gum disease. She said she doesn't brush and floss everyday. Of course the number one prevention piece is to stay clean - beginning with diet! Well we all know that, and do the best we can. So perhaps some fun, fresh cleaning strategies are in order. Herbs to appeal to include those with astringent and antibacterial properties, such as tea tree, or all these listed here.

This article published by the Herb Quarterly in 1998 has some straightforward ideas as well as anecdotal evidence relevant to Seattle. Before toothbrushes people cared for their mouth with roots - marshmallow, licorice, alfalfa, or horseradish. I always chose marshmallow flavor from the dentist when I got cleanings because I figured the consistency was similar to the goo I was about to get in my mouth. I haven't been to the dentist in years.

Bored of brushing? Rinses or herbal packs may be applied. The rinse is like mouthwash except brewed as tea and gentler. A tea of witchhazel (astringent) or chaparral (antiinflammatory) can work. Packs are made with water, oil and powders, tucked over the gums. Some roots may be purchased in the powder form. This particular website recommends a  mix five parts alum powder, two parts rock salt powder, three parts black pepper powder, and one part turmeric root powder. Straight out of the kitchen!

I kind of want to start brushing my teeth with roots just to see what my roommates say.