We had a mullien plant come up years ago. Never had another since. Is it better taken as seed, or dig up a root to propagate. I really need to get some of that going.
I may have a few eldereberry blooms in a few weeks from my new plants.
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I may have a few eldereberry blooms in a few weeks from my new plants.
@Bacpacker Just throw a mature seed stalk down on the ground where you want it to grow. That's it! Walk away and wait, always comes up for me.
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Well I'll keep an eye out for a seed head or 3 here coming up
Perfect timing - I've been eyeballing folks' elderberries. I need to take a drive and get some from the mountains. (As opposed to me shimmying over someone's fence to gather them without permission - which I wouldn't do by the way.)
Elder is one of those plants you can set your calendar by. Some plants sprout, bloom, grow according to the weather. Others by the moon, still others synced to the calendar year and they ain't talking!
It's easy to see elderberry blooming in early summer here. Just read my warning about water hemlock, started a thread about it. It's very similar to elder but... deadly.
It's easy to see elderberry blooming in early summer here. Just read my warning about water hemlock, started a thread about it. It's very similar to elder but... deadly.
I purchased my elder plants. Just got them in the ground late April. But they are looking good.
What stage do you pick your blooms, very early, or near drop?
It blooms for about 10days. Plants in full sun will start blooming first. Even while blooming... single plants will sometimes have blooms in various states of maturity.
Also, single large blooms will have various states of maturity across it.
So, in answer to your question... single blooms don't have stages. They constantly change from one edge of a bloom to the opposite.
I see blooms, I harvest blooms.... simple.
Also, single large blooms will have various states of maturity across it.
So, in answer to your question... single blooms don't have stages. They constantly change from one edge of a bloom to the opposite.
I see blooms, I harvest blooms.... simple.
Good deal thats easy enough. Gotta start keeping a close eye out for them now
It's probably different where you are, but we have such drastic elevation changes, it begins blooming in the valley in spring. The longer you wait, you just have to go to a little higher elevation to find it in bloom - the longer you wait, the higher you go. It is handy in some respect, a longer window of opportunity.
There's not a lot of elevation change here, not enough to notice differences. I live where 3 geological zones meet so I see a wide range of plant species. Not to far away there's a place with dozens of plants distinct to that location. It's a protected area now, on a white water river. It's an amazing canyon several miles long,
I have elderberries growing. What do you use the blooms for?
It's a very long list, start here...
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/elder.10190/
or here
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/elderberries.1245/
Heal All aka Self Heal aka Prunella vulgaris. An ancient woundwart, used for millennia for treating wounds. It has many other uses, its a mint so a nervine. It has antibacterial and antiviral properties.
I had no intention of harvesting it today but I've learned with wild plants... If you see it and it's ready, harvest it. It's about 3 days from peak but with the price of gas I'm not driving 40 miles back there on monday. So I harvested enough for a couple quarts of tincture.
Here's a thread about the plant.
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/t...d-tea-a-wonderful-plant-to-get-to-know.13064/
It has tiny white/purple blooms. It's was growing in a mass of weeds. Annoying to harvest and still keep out plants and leaves I don't want.
I had no intention of harvesting it today but I've learned with wild plants... If you see it and it's ready, harvest it. It's about 3 days from peak but with the price of gas I'm not driving 40 miles back there on monday. So I harvested enough for a couple quarts of tincture.
Here's a thread about the plant.
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/t...d-tea-a-wonderful-plant-to-get-to-know.13064/
It has tiny white/purple blooms. It's was growing in a mass of weeds. Annoying to harvest and still keep out plants and leaves I don't want.
I think I might have found a late patch here at our place. I thought it was already gone.
I did harvest some elder blooms last night. Question how long should I soak them? Or should leave the material in the tincture?
I did harvest some elder blooms last night. Question how long should I soak them? Or should leave the material in the tincture?
That part in red. . .yea, I need to get that through my thick skull.
You have the “The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook” don’t you? You want to make a volume tincture right? Page 151 answers your question.
The rule of thumb is a month but… the way I learned… It’s a tincture, not a race. If after a month I still don’t have an immediate need for a tincture, I leave it alone. I leave the plant material in the jar. For instance, elderberry, 1st week of June. I probably won’t need it until flu season. December? I’ll strain it out then.
I don’t strain out the plant material until I need to. 6Months, a year? It’s not hurting the tincture to leave the plant material in it. I’ll turn the jar over occasionally as the months go by. When I have time, indoor project, I’ll pick a day and strain out all the tinctures that need it, might do a dozen quarts, take a couple hours.
What happens over months, the tincture will sometimes have more sediments in the liquid. That’s like gravy on the biscuit, a good thing. The water and alcohol is still a solvent. Over time it’ll continue to breakdown plant material, albeit very slowly. I use #9 cheese cloth to strain. If sediments go through the cheese cloth they stay in the liquid. Sediments in a tincture are a good thing usually.
Plants don't wait. Yesterday I went to a friends farm to help them harvest elder blooms. I told them last Sunday they'd better harvest the next day, elder was almost gone. Yesterday when I arrived the blooms were gone. They didn't get any. They intend to make elderberry jelly when the berries are ready but they were bummed they didn't get to make bloom tincture. I warned them!
This is why I always keep a stock of vodka and pure grain alcohol on hand. Plants surprise me all the time, I try to always be ready when they do.
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I have a few of these growing in my yard. I never get rid of them. I have a friend who has a herniated disc and is in pain now. How would I use this to help him, if he would use it? Dried leaves in tea? Tincture? He has a son who is a surgeon, so not sure he would follow this, but I can give it a try.
There are 10 or so pages just in the books by "Wood" that answer your question. Several of the other books I posted give the details also.
There is no short "do this" answer to your question. If you want to use plant medicine learn the plants, every detail, then you'll know how to use it.
https://www.homesteadingforum.org/threads/herbal-medicine-books-peanut-recommends.6745/
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I think I have that book. I'll go look in a bit. I'm in a ZOOM meeting now.
Anybody ever use raw potato mush on sun/welding burned eyes?
Erg! That's not one of the ones I got. Will now have to go add it to my list
(PS sorry to butt in to the conversation)
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No, but a slice of raw potato is supposed to be good for that.
works better crushed. 
A whole page of goodies, just scroll down past the Ads
https://urbansurvivalsite.com/trees-prepper-familiar-with/
A whole page of goodies, just scroll down past the Ads
https://urbansurvivalsite.com/trees-prepper-familiar-with/
Well Peanut I dug thru a big basket of books I had purchased, mostly herbal type, and some on gardening/propagating. I do have "The Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook". I actually had read thru a good part of the book when I first got it. In particular the chapter that included page 151.
Having said that I didn't go with making my tincture correctly. I don't have a scale to weight the mass with. And I didn't chop the blooms, nor did I measure the vodka I used to soak it in. I just crammed all the blooms in a small jar and covered it with liquid. I did pull the blooms out tonight and chopped them very fine and put it back in the liquid. My guess it will be a weak batch, but I plan to let it soak until winter.
I will get a scale and do it properly next time.
How about tobacco?
Smoking 1 cigar per week seems to have cured my COPD/sleep apnea.
A wad from a smoked cigarette butt moistened in spittle or water draws out bee/wasp venom from a sting. A tincture made of the leaves kills bedbugs just don't use it on your bedding. also makes a dandy
herbicide.
Smoking 1 cigar per week seems to have cured my COPD/sleep apnea.
A wad from a smoked cigarette butt moistened in spittle or water draws out bee/wasp venom from a sting. A tincture made of the leaves kills bedbugs just don't use it on your bedding. also makes a dandy
herbicide.
@Bacpacker what you made is called a "Simplers" tincture, nope, not misspelled. I started out making Simplers tinctures. These days I make "Volume" tinctures.
The down n dirty difference between a Simplers and a Volume tincture...
With Simplers tinctures the dosage is not consistent year to year and can not be compared to tinctures made by others. Or even the last one you made.
If you intend to rely on plants as medicine on a regular basis, Volume tinctures are the way to go. Consistency is a bigger deal than it sounds.
All it takes is a $30 digital scale that can measure down to one gram (or .04 ounces) to make Volume tinctures. They are not difficult to make, just simple math.
The down n dirty difference between a Simplers and a Volume tincture...
With Simplers tinctures the dosage is not consistent year to year and can not be compared to tinctures made by others. Or even the last one you made.
If you intend to rely on plants as medicine on a regular basis, Volume tinctures are the way to go. Consistency is a bigger deal than it sounds.
All it takes is a $30 digital scale that can measure down to one gram (or .04 ounces) to make Volume tinctures. They are not difficult to make, just simple math.
Thank you!!!!!! I seldom run across "recipes" for volume tincture. I of course make simplers tincture - just learned that! I've questioned the year to year, plant hydration & growing conditions etc. and have never received an answer. This makes sense!
Yep, me butting in again - sorry.
Even making volume tinctures there is variation year to year. No two growing seasons are the same and no 2 fields contain the exact same plant nutrients.
To be more consistent I harvest from the same locations year to year and the same week (depending on the plant).
I also try to make tinctures in good growing years for individual plant species. I try to keep a 2-3 year supply of any tincture I make. If there are a couple bad years with scrawny, sickly plants I can wait until a good year or season happens... Then I stock up again.
Even though I'm still harvesting wild plants these few simple things keep any variations negligible.
To be more consistent I harvest from the same locations year to year and the same week (depending on the plant).
I also try to make tinctures in good growing years for individual plant species. I try to keep a 2-3 year supply of any tincture I make. If there are a couple bad years with scrawny, sickly plants I can wait until a good year or season happens... Then I stock up again.
Even though I'm still harvesting wild plants these few simple things keep any variations negligible.
Thanks Peanut. Simple things for simple minds.
At least it's not just trash.I'll order me a scale and make volume tinctures going forward.
Lady, the book Peanut mentioned "The Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook" has tons of info in it. It's a large book and has nearly 400 pages. Even though I haven't finished going thru it, I've learned quite a lot already.
