OOPS Rosemary Gladstar note on herbs~comfrey, etc.~Long

[Guest guest]

went crazy when I hit enter to begin a new paragraph and sent an

unfinished note:  Sorry about that:

 

Rosemary said it best when she encouraged folks to learn one herb every which

way possible before moving on to another.  Think hers was Red Clover.  Think she

played with it, studied written works, discussed it, learned all about it, and

played some more.

 

When I am doing my research, playing, learning, I read most of my library to

refresh my mind on that herb.  You never know when you'll find a new attribute

of an herb that you had been missing in the past. Talk to herb friends, research

online and then I begin my serious concocting.  <grin>  My favorite search on

the net is:  herbname then properties and see what comes up.  Sometimes it is

just for craps and giggles, others it is to see if there is something out there

than I may have missed in previous research.

 

Herbal concoctions are like cooking, a bit of this, some of that, etc., until

you get the right synergy that works for you.  Just like essential oils, some

herbs may work better for one than another.  Every hear of folks that react the

opposite of what they should with a drug, etc.?  Same thing with natural

synergies. 

 

It also depends on how much product you intend to make too.

 

My rule of thumb has always been:  1:1 whether it be herb to alcohol for an

extract or an infusion with oil.  Sometimes for that extra ummmph, I will redo

an infusion with another 100% amount of herb after straining the first one off. 

It's all about the playing until you feel secure in your own recipe thought

process.

 

Some years I infuse via sunlight for weeks, months, then let it set some more. 

Others, I may use a slow heat method if working on a recipe that will take days

and weeks to make anyway. 

 

This year, I used a one year old Arnica infused oil in Fractionated coconut oil

due to unlimited shelf life, then added a one year old infused Helichrysum

italicum, used fresh Comfrey leaves and then when that was finished added

Comfrey root, then added a couple more secret ingredients/things before adding

Optiphen as a preservative and lastly a food grade beeswax that is devine!  Of

course I made a large batch and it took weeks to make.

 

Note:  Old timers tend to leave a herbal infusion for ages to get the most

benefits out of the herb. In other words, they are sometimes too damn busy to

strain, other herbs can only get better and better.  LOL  Newer references tend

to go with 3 weeks of sunlight infusion.  Whatever you do, make sure you use a

scalded vessel just as you would to can fruits and veggies.

 

This is similiar to my Regeneration Oils that I've made for years, just new and

improved. Was laid up a bunch last year and the first of this year with

torcartilagege in my knee for the second time, this time the Mersa sac.  The

Oils just did not get it as a poultice, but helped immensely. Therefore, the

ointment was born and improved.  Tried using the wilted fresh comfrey leaf

wilted and mixed with some oil, but it was an uncomfortable mess!  During this

long period of time I tried absolutely everything!  Each would help a bit, then

I would go to the next. 

 

Note:  If you should ever have torn cartilage or ruptured mersa sac, don't do as

I did.  While in the garden, I pivoted from a standstill about 3 times to the

left and was left debilitated!  Jeez, after all that time healing, in a few

minute period I went back to square one!

 

While I tend to use a fresher leaf of Comfrey slightly wilted, I almost always

use a mostly dried root that is cut and sifted aka c/s.

 

What I've found with Comfrey is:  If you want all of it's benefits such as deep

tissue and bone help, you have to use the root!  Therefore, I tend to use both

upper plant for it's all around work & antisepticic values and the root for

deeper tissue work. 

 

When I first began making ointments, I used a lot of EVOO, but due to olive

oil's short life span, I tend to use it to cook with now instead of making an

ointment.  When 4 litres of evoo went down to 3 litres at a higher cost, it was

a bit much to use when you could not be sure of the shelf life!

 

Nowadays, I buy by the gallon of mostly two oils for many recipes:  Fractionated

Coconut Oil, and Orgaic Sunflower that has a long shelf life, at least this

particular ones does!  It may go into an infusion and also into my vessels to

cook with.  My fav place to buy it is Natural Formulations.com  They are great

and don't charge an arm and a leg for shipping.  They are in Skokie, IL and do

other items for massage therapists, etc., too.  Think they still do a cheap

shipping for your first or second order, but they have always done me right. 

Have done biz with them for several years.

 

It burns my butt for someone to make a decent price on the product and then

fleece me on shipping too!  Unless they have a unique product that I just have

to have, I won't be a customer long.  Heavy items are costly enough, without

excess shipping costs!  We've even been giving refunds this year on postage when

I can keep the weight down and it is in closeby states, etc.  Whatever it takes

in this economy!

 

Speciality oils, I tend to buy from Dawn & Pete at Lights Your Way, they are on

ebay too, and carry a good selection of quality oils  in all sizes, and will

work with me on shipping flat rate, fedex, or ups, according to how much I

buy. When I could not find a good Wheat Germ Oil, by doggies they had it!

 

Bought Foraha from Butch's old company last, (Hi John) and am looking forward to

finding some from Tahiti next.  Just hard to find a good price on it.  Will be

playing with it this Winter.

 

Hope this answers some of the questions lately.  Start with small amounts, test

it, have others test it, and go from there.  Research, research, research and

more RESEARCH!

 

When you've learned all you can about herbs, then the fun comes along:  Tee

hee!  Mixing herbs and oils in your recipes!  And then the Butters, additives,

goodies, etc.

 

Our best to you and yours,

deb

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Sorry for this late reply, I am way behind with the group posts.

 

Just wanted to thank Deb Swanson for her herbal wisdom.

She really made me want to play with infused oils, something I have always left

to others.

I am blessed with virtually unlimited comfrey, plenty of St John's Wort, and a

patch of Arnica that has potential for starters.

 

Deb, I have had neat experiences as well with plants showing up on the land when

needed. My favorite is still Dandelion. We never

saw it here until it showed up the year after I had written a little piece in

the local paper in praise of it.

 

Of course, it could be coincidence.

 

Ien in the Kootenays

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