I had left some plantain and chickweed sitting in separate jars of olive oil in order to complete the first step in creating another type of medicine, salves. They sat for 10 days. After the days were up, it was time to add in the beeswax. I strained the chunks of herbs out of the concoction while 1oz of beeswax heated up in a saucepan (Per each type of salve). After the beeswax began to melt, i stirred in the infused oil and kept stirring until everything was completely mixed and melted together. The last step was to pour the mixture into the final jar. I also separated my tinctures into more user friendly little bottles. As far as my teas go, I have two types of herbs. Catnip and Dandelion. The herbs are dried and ready to be used, and simply need the addition of hot water in order to be ready to consume.
I began the tincturing process after i had shucked the Goldenrod. In a mason jar i measured out the herbs to where they filled the jar halfway up. I then added some 80 proof vodka until the jar was filled to the top measuring line. The concoction was then stirred to insure all elements in the jar were easily distributed. I put the lid back on and tightened it as much as I could to prevent outside air from leaking in and tampering with the tincturing process. I shook it up as much as I could and took it to the coolest corner of my house where I placed it in a box along with the leftover Goldenrod I intend to turn into tea and salve. The herb and liquid should be left to sit for at least 10 days, shaking it up preferably twice a day. I will go out later and buy some fancy tincture bottles for it to go in after it is ready.
I checked up on my drying plants which were progressing very well. Some of the plants that I had hung with flowers on them had dried and the flowers had turned to fluffy seeds which surprised me. I did realize that i was going to need more in order to make the end products I am desiring to. I went out and harvested a handful of Dandelion, Violet, Chickweed and Plantain leaves. I was upset to find that the population of Plantains are diminishing this time of year, so I had to spend extra time searching for those. I also took down a bundle of my dried goldenrod and shucked the flowers and leaves off of the stems and transferred them into a Mason jar for storage.
I went to Warren Wilson early this morning to meet with Landon. We made some tea and he gave me a chapter to read from a book. The subject pertained to the idea that pharmaceutical drugs should only be used in emergencies as a "crisis medicine". After that, we took inventory and counted the amounts of certain sprays and balms and teas they had, and took note of what kind of supplies were needed to be ordered. I also got to meet the cat that hangs around the herb cabin. Her name is Mama!
Today I went out after school and began to gather some herbs around my area of residence. I collected maybe over 20 types of plants, including goldenrod, clover, plantain, violets and some type of mushrooms. I set up a drying area in the loft of my barn at home. I hung string from the support beams and bundled up all the plants and hung them up together in groups. As for the leaves and other things I was unable to hang up, i used a wire care to lay out the leaves on.
Yesterday i ventured out to Warren Wilson to meet with my mentor. We spent most of the day inside the herb cabin. He showed me the final products created from the herbs. Among these include some teas, balms, lipbalms, salves and oils. He showed me where they store the herbs when they are just in the leaf form, and he showed me examples of the herbs in the middle stage, where they are mixed with a liquid and stored so that the next step in the process will be turning them into one of the items mentioned in the final stage. I was taken up to the drying room, and got to see the procedure used for drying out the leaves correctly. I learned how to shuck a plant called Ladies Mantle, the trick being to get the leaves and flowers and try to keep from getting the stems in. You then pour what you have got off the plant into jars and label them for storage. I also learned how to harvest. We went out and collected golden rod, then i learned how to rubber-band them together and add a hook so that they may be hung up to dry.
So far, i have only done a little bit of reading on the topic. I haven't had a chance to actually get my hands dirty and starting working with some plants yet. I talked to my mentor last week, and soon I should be going out to Warren Wilson and working with him on the herb crew there. I bought a book on this topic a little while back and hope to make use of it later on in the project. While surfing the internet, i found some information about some extremely common backyard plants and what they can be used for. There are these large green leaves that grow close to the ground called Plantains. They are an edible plant which is useful for a wide assortment of conditions. Among these are snake bites, cuts, burns and inflammation. I also discovered there are stipulations for certain plants. For example, a weed called Creeping Charley is useful if you have a cold. It is good for headaches, coughing and other coldlike symptoms. You can either make it into a tea, or boil the leaves and inhale the steam. However, if you are pregnant or nursing, you should not use this plants. I also realize how many different ways there are to prepare the plants so they may be used. You can make teas, inhale the steam after the plant is boiled, smoke the leaves, or crush the plant and apply it topically. My next goal is to learn what part of the plant should be used. The root, steam and leaves all posses different abilities.
The Banks family began to settle the Appalachian region of north Carolina since people started immigrating into the mountains, and has lived here ever since. They have been here for so long, they played a large part in founding Buncombe County itself. They grew up living off the land, farming and learning how to use the resources in this area. Taking a particular interest in history and my folksy heritage, I selected this project in hopes of learning how to use the land around me, and create things that can help me thrive just by using the earth like my ancestors before me did generations ago.
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