Suspended Cold Infusion

(Dried Mallow Root)

This weekend at the herbalism class I am taking on Saltspring Island I learned the importance of suspended cold infusions.

When making a cup of tea by pouring hot water over a dried herb (using a teabag is an example) and letting it steep for 10 minutes I am making a hot infusion. I am infusing a dried herb into hot water. This method works to extract many different medicinal compounds, but does not extract mucilaginous plants very well.

Mallow and Comfrey are both examples of plants that contain mucilage and grow within our bioregion. The mucilage that is released soothes a soar throat and a digestive tract at a time of painful inflammation.

A suspended cold infusion is made by soaking a dried herb in room temperature water overnight, in a small cotton poach. In the morning the mucilage is squeezed out and drunk, as is.
The ratio of herb to water is 1:20, for example 50 grams of coarsly ground herb to 500ml of water. This infusion will last about 1 day in refrigeration.

Owl Time

Here's an image which I created this year which symbolizes the end of a cycle. The winter, moon time. When space is made for introspection, darkness, reflection, quietness and self truth.
(Yes I know, this owl is not a plant, continue reading...)

In the winter there are many food and medicine plants in the wild and gardens. This late fall/early winter i have harvested licorice root, dandelion root and leaves, usnea, oregon grape root, a few cotton wood buds (i have always found more in february), and cattail roots.

From our garden we are still harvesting kale, mustard (in the greenhouse), bit of chard, carrots, beets after the heavy snow.

Fall Dandelion Root Tincture

Before the snow came i went on a dandelion hunt. Fall is the time to harvest roots for medicine, so i decided it was time to make a Taraxacum Offinalis (dandelion) tincture for the year. In this season the energy and sugars of the plant are returned to roots to store until spring. Therefor the roots are potent.

With a bucket and a gardener's fork I walked around the garden in the backyard. First I noticed that many Taraxacums were growing in the pathways of the garden, and knew that the owners of the property would weed them in the spring. Therefor I harvested them. Then I walked around the garden loosing the earth with my fork and collected about 10 percent of the dandelions I could find. Leaving the rest to propagate, fix nutrients into the soil and for animals to eat.

As i harvested the roots I only took what I was prepared to process into a tincture. I sang a gratitude song throughout the harvest. That is my way to show appreciation and give back to the plant spirits. Harvesting to me is a meditation. A time to breath deeply, connect with the season and feel in balanced with my place in the cycle of existence.

Once I had harvested a small bucket of roots I went back into my cozy little trailer and cut them up an finely as i could with an average knife and cutting board. The outside of plant's roots are resistant to breaking down in liquid, unlike the inner parts of the root. Therefor the finer the roots is chopped, the easier the medicine of the dandelion will break down in alcohol.

I used the simplest method of tincture making I know that day. I placed the cut up taraxacum root in a mason jar and covered it with 40 percent vodka. Now it lives on my alter. I shake it and other tinctures whenever they cross my mind. Ideally twice a day.

Soon I will strain the tincture through a strainer or cheesecloth and the tincture will last at least two years without refrigeration. Why did i make a dandelion tincture? First it allowed me to breath the crisp air of fall and give me a sense of wholeness within my connection with the larger world.

Also, i consider dandelion to be a medicinal allie. The roots are bitter and are therefor used to cleanse the blood and liver as well as aid with the secretion of bile for digestion. The roots act as a laxative to help constipation. A small bite of a fresh dandelion root will help someone who is having a serious allergic reaction until medical help/an epipen is available. The fresh spring leaves are used to cleanse the urinary system and fill the body with fresh nutrients.

By making a tincture the medicine is available in a convenient form. Easy to take for a busy person. I'm looking forward to the day when I'll have Taraxacum officinalis in my apothecary, waiting to help myself or a member in my community.