How to Make Herbal Tincture, From Start to Finish

Wash cut herb and lay on
a towel to dry for a
couple of hours.
(Or pat dry with a towel).

I LOVE TINCTURES!
I love making them. I love looking at them. I love collecting them. I love using them. I love all the money I save on doctors visits when I use my beautiful tinctures. They are very potent medicine, therefore, you only take up to one dropper-full at a time, depending on your tolerance of such strong medicine and the ailment which you use it for.

The more tinctures I have, the happier I am. I have tinctures for all different kinds of ailments, and they're soooo easy to make.

CHOOSE THE HERB YOU WANT TO USE
I was excited today when I looked at how BIG my oregano has grown with all the rain that we've been getting. I could hardly contain my excitement this morning as I went outside with scissors and chopped 2/3 of my oregano off. I mean, seriously, I almost skipped out to my oregano with a big silly grin on my face.

I brought the cut oregano in the house and washed it, then I lay it out on a kitchen towel to dry for a couple of hours. Then I patted it with another towel to finish drying it. 




Place herb on cutting board
and chop into tiny pieces.
 

CHOP CHOP CHOP

Next, I heaped the oregano on a cutting board and chopped it into small pieces with a butcher knife. If you chop up your herb before making your tincture (or, as my grandson and I would say, before tincing it) your tincture will be stronger, as the alcohol will be able to pull more of the medicinal properties out of the herb.

Put chopped herb in a mason
jar. I use quart size jars so
I'll have plenty of room.

FILL YOUR JAR 

Get your mason jar and place the chopped herb in the jar. Make sure your jar is large enough for the amount of herb you are using, PLUS, you'll need room for at least 2-3 inches of liquid over the top of the herb, PLUS, you'll need 1 1/2 to 2 inches above the liquid to allow for shaking. This is the reason I generally use a quart size mason jar.

Add vodka to 1 inch over top
of herb.

ADD YOUR SOLVENT

Now it's time to add the liquid. I like to use 80-100 proof alcohol (vodka, brandy, or gin) to extract the properties from the herb because alcohol is more effective than other methods. If you prefer, you can use Apple Cider Vinegar, or vegetable glycerin (for children). ACV and vegetable glycerin tinctures aren't as strong as tinctures made with alcohol, but they still work quite effectively.

Pour your liquid of choice into the mason jar and fill until the liquid is 2-3 inches over the top of the herb, (make sure there is at least 1 1/2 - 2 inches of room at the top of the liquid for shaking). Place a tight-fitting lid on the jar and shake the crap out of it to really get the liquid and herb mixed.

Place a label on the jar and write the name of the tincture and the date you made it so you'll know how long it's been setting.

 

 



Place in cool dark place for
six weeks.

SHAKE IT UP

Place your beautiful jar of tincture in a cool dark place for six weeks. I put my tinctures in my herbal supply closet because there's a door and it's very dark in there. That's were I keep all of my dried herbs, tinctures, teas, essential oils, herbal medicine, herbal oils, herbal vinegars, supplies to make MORE herbal WHATEVER...... Shake your jar of tincture HARD every day for two weeks, then leave the tincture untouched for four more weeks.

At the end of the six weeks, strain your tincture and squeeze the herb to remove all of the liquid glorious goodness. Rinse the jar and pour the tincture back in the jar, place lid tightly on the jar, and store it in a cool dark place. If stored properly, tincture will last for years. Be sure it has a date on it so you'll always know when you made it.

When making tincture, I always make it extra strong. My grandson and I say, we're going to double tinc it.
 

TO MAKE EXTRA STRONG TINCTURE
After the first two weeks that my tincture sets and I shake it every day, I strain my tincture and squeeze out all of the herb, and then I replace the herb with NEW fresh chopped herb and let it set ANOTHER two weeks and shake the crap out of it every day, then at the end of THAT two weeks, I let it set for four more weeks. This makes your tincture extra strong and it works even better than it would with just using a single batch of herbs.

 

Happy Tincing Everyone!!!

Holy Oregano Tincture Batman!

Oregano (A.K.A. Nature's Antibiotic)

Ahh, the wonders of oregano. I cannot, no way, live without it growing in my garden. I was walking around in my yard this morning and noticed something in one of my pots. I went over to look at it, and there was my amazing oregano. I've prayed for its survival all winter long. I was never so happy to see an herb growing new little leaves, EVER! Oregano is lovingly referred to as "Nature's Antibiotic," so naturally, when I have an infection, I always run for my oregano tincture. I've had amazing success with oregano tincture in the past, but the most successful results had to do with cactus spikes and toes.

Last year I stepped on a Stetsonia cactus spike, (for those of you that haven't ever seen a Stetsonia cactus spike, they are about 4 1/2 inches long and are a tiny bit fatter than a toothpick, and much sharper. When the spikes poke you it feels like a gallon of poison was pumped in the wound) it only went in my toe about 1/8 inch, but the pain and suffering I went through for the next week was excruciating. My whole foot was swollen, my toes were HUGE, the spot where the cactus spike stabbed me was a burning inferno with hellfire shooting out of it, I couldn't walk without the most incredibly horrible pain, when I put my foot on the ground my toes were about 1/4 inch above the ground..... and the list of extreme painfulness goes on.

 

After a whole week of sitting because it hurt too bad to hobble around, a lightbulb went off in my head that said, "OREGANO TINCTURE." I thought, OH YEAH! I hobbled/limped/hopped, while groaning in pain and  to my herbal closet, got out the oregano tincture, and put one teaspoon in a shot glass of water and killed it, then I took another dose of tincture before I went to bed.

 

Imagine my shock the next day when I woke up and my foot felt much better. The swelling was half of what it was the night before, my toes almost touched the ground when I put my foot down, and while walking was still uber painful, it was a little easier to get around the house. After that, I knew I was on the mend. I took oregano tincture three times a day for four days. By the time the fourth day was over, I could walk normal, my foot was it's normal size, the pain was a small fraction of what it was a few days before, and the spot where the cactus stabbed me only hurt a tiny bit. It was an oregano miracle.