By Jamie Smidt
Most of my time is spent, except in winter, tending to, harvesting, canning and eating plants. Not only do I eke out a living caring for plants in yards all over Missoula, Montana, but I also love spending evenings in my garden pulling weeds, watering or just admiring the beauty. I consider this my greatest passion.
This fall I took advantage, while being very mindful, of the plants mother nature grows, all by herself, in the forests surrounding the Missoula valley. I went on the hunt for plants suitable for tincture making. A tincture is made by simply taking plant parts, sometimes roots, sometimes above ground parts, sometimes both and soaking them in alcohol to extract the medicinal properties the plant has to offer.
I chose Oregon grape (Mahonia repens) and red root (Ceanothus velutinus) as my lucky tincturing victims. Oregon grape is a liver cleanser, and red root acts to improve lymphatic drainage, amongst other benefits.
So, I packed my boyfriend and myself a yummy picnic lunch, and we set off on the mission. Both of these plants are pretty common in the part of Montana I live in and throughout most of the Rocky Mountain region. It didn’t take too long to find what I was after.
Here’s what you do then:
1. Choose to harvest plant roots in an area where the chosen plant is abundant. Never harvest a plant that is endangered, or grows only in small pockets.
2. Take a sharp shovel and dig out a chunk of root. This is not always easy! It is possible; persistence pays off. And please, only take what you will use. You should only need a cup, or so, of each root.
3. Get home and clean the roots off thoroughly. Scrub the dirt off with a brush. Now the roots start to look pretty. The Oregon grape root is a beautiful, surprisingly bright, yellow. Red root is, well, very slightly pink.
4. Chop these roots up into little pieces. I used a pair of pruners. I don’t think a knife would work. You want them in little chunks so the alcohol can soak into the root better.
- The medicine looks so pretty, too bad you have to store it in the dark.
5. Put your chopped chunks is some canning jars and cover with a menstruum. I use alcohol. Since you want your menstruum to contain about fifty percent water, if using grain alcohol, use an equal part water. You can use a less potent alcohol, such as vodka, and no water is necessary. Your menstruum should cover the roots; then add a few extra inches of liquid.
Get your supplies ready
6. Label and date each jar, store in a cool, dark location, and shake them daily. I let mine sit for a month or so. The liquid in the jars takes on the root properties.
7. After enough time has passed and the alcohol has taken on the color, beauty and benefits of the roots the time has come to strain the liquid. Line a funnel, or strainer with cheese cloth, and pour into a dark colored jar. Do the best you can to wring out the root chunks in the cheese cloth to get every drop of the herbal medicine you have just created.
Compost the spent roots
The only thing left to do now is to fill the dropper bottle and begin using the lovely, wild-crafted medicine!
That’s it! It’s really simple, inexpensive, beneficial and gives you an excuse to get out and enjoy the wild.
Jamie’s Bio:
Jamie Smidt has lived in Missoula, Montana for nearly a decade. She received a B.A. in Environmental Studies at the University of Montana in 2006, and decided to make Missoula her permanent home.
Growing up in a landscape and nursery family, plants have always been a big part of her life. After working in the Montana nursery industry since 1999, she recently started her own gardening business in the Missoula area.
During the growing season, and when not working in a client’s yard, she can often be found tending to her own vegetable and herb garden. She also enjoys Montana’s various wilderness areas where she practices her native plant identification skills.
Jamie’s other hobbies include cooking and canning her harvest and studying herbal medicine.
Really!
