the family medicine chest will be an ongoing series on the fourth thursday of each month.
taking control of your family’s health is an essential part of homesteading and voluntary simplicity. it makes sense that you’d want to treat your family as naturally as possible given the other lifestyle choices that have been made. but, purchasing herbal formulas can be expensive and part of this lifestyle requires cutting costs wherever possible.
surprisingly to a lot of people, herbal remedies are easy and affordable to make. as a bonus, you can insure the quality of the medicines you make. you can control what is put into them and know where they come from. tinctures are a great way to start a home herbal medicine chest.
an excellent starter book on tincture making is “making plant medicine” by richo cech. this book will give you formulas for making tinctures as well as what the herb is used for and how it’s used. he goes deeper into tincture making and focuses on the chemical constituents of each individual herb to make a stronger formula. however, for today, i am going to walk you through the steps to make a basic but highly effective tincture.
a great herb to start with is echinacea. if you grow it in your yard, it is about the right time of the year to dig it up. (please note that the herb i am using in the photos is not echinacea, it is skullcap). you can go basic and just use the roots of any variety or you can go elaborate and use this formula:
equal parts of:
augustifolia root
purpurea root
purpurea flower
purpurea seed
first, you will need a jar (a quart canning jar works well), vodka or grain alcohol (everclear) and the herb you will be tincturing. you can use fresh or dried (richo’s book goes into more detail about when it’s better to use one over the other). you’ll also need a knife and a cutting board.
once you’ve assembled your supplies, chop the herb up as finely as possible if it is a fresh herb. for dried herbs, blend in a coffee grinder (it’s best to purchase one to use only with herbs).
fill the jar ¼ full with dried herbs, ½ full with fresh herbs and top the jar off with the alcohol. put the lid on and give it a good shake. 
label the jar with the name of the herb, the date started and the alcohol used. place in a cool location away from direct sunlight. shake the jar twice a day for the next month.
congratulations! you’ve just made a year’s supply of medicine for your family.
general dosage for echinacea and most other herbs*(for an acute situation, i would up the dosage of echinacea to hourly for the first day then decrease it to 2-4 hours the next day and the general dose after that for a few days after symptoms are gone):
infants 10 weeks to three years: 2-5 drops in milk, juice or water 4-6 times per day for general immunity boost.
children 4-10: 5 – 15 drops in milk, juice or water 4-6 times per day for general immunity boost.
12 and up: 30 – 60 drops (1-2 standard droppersful) 4-6 times per day for general immunity boost.
*some herbs such as poke are known as ‘low dosage herbs’ and used sparingly. i would not recommend beginners using them until they have a deeper understanding of hose those herbs work.
the usual disclaimer: i am not a licensed physician and cannot give medical advice. if you are sick, please consult your physician. this information is for informational purposes only.
Great post!
HOLY COW! is it really that easy? I have several echinacea plants next to my retaining wall. Does the book tell me what cultivar to use? And does this mean I am going to Barnes and Noble YET AGAIN???!!!
Thanks so much. This totally demystified something that I’ve been afraid to try.
I’ve already made yarrow oil this year. I am ready for my next medicine.
The herb in the photos is skullcap – but what parts of echinacea do you use? You said “dig it up” – does that mean roots? What about the stems, leaves, flowers, and seedheads? I don’t have the book, but I do have a bed full of purple coneflower plants.
Where could we look for recommendations for the use and dosages of the echinacea tincture?
nita – thanks!
meadowlark – yes, that is the general consensus. the book refers to several varieties: augustifolia, purpurea, pallida, paradoxa and tennesseensis. all are good in their own right and each works a little differently. he covers that in his book more thoroughly. go to campusi.com and do a search for the book to get the best price. it is well worth the $15!
matriarchy – the roots are mostly used but the whole plant is very beneficial. i will amend the post soon to include a recipe using all the parts. richo covers specific use and dosage but here’s a general low down:
it is used as an immune booster that increases overall resistance to disease. it is great for treating both bacterial and viral infections during the early phases and can decrease the length of colds, flus (great with rotated hourly with elderberry at the first sign) and upper respiratory infections.
general dosage for echinacea (for an acute situation, i would up the dosage to hourly for the first day then decrease it to 2-4 hours the next day and the general dose after that for a few days after symptoms are gone):
infants 10 weeks to three years: 2-5 drops in milk, juice or water 4-6 times per day for general immunity boost.
children 4-10: 5 – 15 drops in milk, juice or water 4-6 times per day for general immunity boost.
12 and up: 30 – 60 drops (1-2 standard droppersful) 4-6 times per day for general immunity boost.
Cech’s company, STRICTLY MEDICINAL has great seeds too!
Thanks, Tansy! I am going to dig some roots this weekend.
I look forward to reading along with the series, thanks so much for all the great info.
Great post , I knew you could use the root for tinctures , but I didn’t realize you could use the leaves , flower and all.
Do you need to dry the leaves or can you use them green ?
Thanks for posting this wonderful info.
~ Green Blessings ~
JoyceAnn
moh – yes, i order from horizon herbs yearly!
matriarchy – you’re welcome!
kathie – my pleasure. i feel strongly that everyone should have these basic skills and know-how.
joyceann – the leaves can be used fresh, in fact, fresh is usually better.
For anyone new to plants/herbal medicine I would urge you to make absolutely certain you know which plants you are using.
In the post above I don’t think it was clear that “equal parts of:
augustifolia root
purpurea root
purpurea flower
purpurea seed ”
all referred to Echinacea varieties. Please get a good plant id book or consult someone who is certain about plant id before making any medicine.
ej – i agree that it is wise to be absolutely certain of what plant you are using before using it. i neglected to specify that in my post. thanks for the reminder!
as for the formula, in the preceding paragraph introducing the formula, i did refer to the recipe being for echinacea. in the future, i will try to make it more clear.
I got regular run-of-the-mill purple cone flower cut at the base from a friend. I usually buy the herb to make tincture for winter, but want to make tincture from my long stalks, leaves and faded flowers. I was planing to hang the plants upside down in the garage to dry and then crumple the leaves and heads and steep in rum. Should I just buy the herb at a health food store or can I make a tincture from the leaves and spent flower heads as planned? Also, can I use the stalks too?
Thanks.
[...] echinacea augustifolia. started from seed last year and doing well. just now starting to bloom. i’ve written about echinacea a bit here. [...]