Hello herbalists! Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the never ending tasks before you? I certainly do! often. When I was working as an herbalist and selling my products in town I was really on top of the organization and cleanliness of my herbal apothecary. But as I have scaled back and focused on my own health and making remedies for my family & close friends my apothecary has been ignored. Still, that is no reason to let my apothecary go from sacred to messy. Time for a change!
Over the days resting from the heat and enjoying the beauty of summer I set a small goal for myself. Instead of spending an entire day cleaning my apothecary - or, more likely, a few days in a row as there is so much to do there. I set the goal of spending an hour every day sorting, cleaning, and bottling all the preparations I have in there.
And there is a lot of bottling to do! This day I decided to focus on filtering the echinacea tinctures that have been macerating for a while on one of the shelves and that is what today's short video is all about.
I personally use the entire plant when I make Echinacea tinctures and tend to craft my tinctures at the end of summer or mid-fall as that is when the plant is healthiest and the roots most potent. But, there are times when I need to make a tincture outside of the ideal timing.
The most potent part of echinacea is the roots. Most seasoned herbalist recommend harvesting roots when they are about 3 or 4 years old. It can be hard to wait so long but totally worth is as only after three years does the root accumulate the immune-boosting properties that we are so eager to receive with this herb.
It really is that simple: grow, harvest (mindfully), macerate in alcohol, separate, and please (please!) label everything. Okay so maybe it isn't so simple but I promise you; Herbalism isn't an elite process. Herbalism is the people's medicine!
