+ Tincturing Lobelia -- Re: Tincture Making for November...Questions

Of COURSE, you can make the Nerve Sedative tincture - you don't have to be any kind of an "expert"!  The Nerve Sedative is just a matter of measuring equal parts of the herbs and tincturing it like any other.  All you need to do is make sure you have all eight herbs when you start :)

Here's the formula:

Nerve Sedative (Schulze)

-- (equal parts)

Valerian root

Lobelia herb/pod/seed

Passionflower

Hops flower

Black Cohosh root

Blue Cohosh root

Skullcap

Wild Yam root

Currently, M/R is out of Lobelia - but Pacific Botanicals has it (and it's grown on THEIR farm - and I feel that always means 'fresher & better')

You/others may note that Nerve Sedative tincture has Lobelia, but no Apple Cider Vinegar (and to get the most out of Lobelia, one needs to use both alcohol AND Apple Cider Vinegar).  But Schulze didn't use or suggest ACV in this tincture (so neither do we).  However when we make 'straight Lobelia tincture', we do use equal parts ACV & alcohol, and we use a two-step tincturing process (something I've never known anyone else to do).

Here's how we make the Lobelia tincture:

I did something a bit different from 'typical' with this one (since some consituents of the Lobelia are solvent in vinegar, some in alcohol). Instead of mixing the alcohol & vinegar together and adding the Lobelia to that, I tinctured half of the Lobelia in only vinegar (organic, raw apple cider vinegar, of course:), and half in only 100 proof alcohol. After a few days, I macerate both (keeping them in separate jars).  Then after two weeks (and MUCH shaking of each), I mixed the two together and gave it another two weeks with the alcohol/vinegar mix (minimum, or until the next full moon - preferably).

WHY?  "Hmmm, *xyz* of the Lobelia needs vinegar as a solvent, but adding 50% alcohol to the vinegar right off the bat would mean that *xyz* is never getting FULL strength vinegar (and vice-versa with the *abc* of Lobelia that needs alcohol). So I'll give 'em each 'full strength of what they need', and then mix 'em together to get the remaining goodies out of each part".

The final tincture? WOW!! (and wow! again). Methinks the girl picked a winner! I've taste-tested it against the only Lobelia tincture I have (from Health Freedom Resources, which makes the 'Schulze equivalent' from his instructions/manual), and this seems to be (conservative estimate) possibly 3-5 stronger.

When making the Herbal Calcium tincture and the Lung/Bronchial tincture, we DO tincture every herb separately and mix them in their proper ratios (so the Lobelia in those tinctures is tinctured by the 2-part method). Why these two, and not the others that contain Lobelia?  "Herbal intuition" - no more, no less.

Tincture ON!

Unyquity