The Practical Herbalist

Getting my shit together

This is my second year of processing motherwort. The first year I:

• used HIDEOUSLY expensive grain alcohol
• harvested the plants late
• didn’t know I was supposed to finely chop them

So it was expensive, didn’t have much potency and I was barely able to choke it down when I did take it because the herb is extremely bitter.

After taking the Beginner Herbalism Apprentice Course at Green Wisdom
School of Natural & Botanical Medicine, I’ve realized that I need a more systematic approach to determine what factors affect potency.

I’m writing everything down on when/how I prepare folk remedies, including how things go as I take them.

Keeping records of folk remedies

The record doesn’t have to be fancy, although mine is because my little sister bought me this gorgeous leather bound notebook. A spiral notebook you find jammed in the back of a drawer would also work just fine.

I recorded how long it steeped for future reference and a note or two about the taste. (Vodka instead of grain alcohol did what I thought it would and it’s much more palatable.)

For the first few times I take it I’ll note dosage, reason I took it, and how effective it was.

Initial motherwort preparation: June 30, 2024

This year, I harvested when the plants were in full flower, which is the optimal time. I thanked them for their help (I have a lot to make up for, ignoring their offer for so many years,), and I this time knew to chop the flowers, leaves, and stems. I also got the cheapest 80-proof vodka I could. It’s alcoholic enough, costs less, and has a slight sweetness to it that I was hoping might combat the bitter herb.

Bottled: November 16, 2024

I hauled up the jars that had been sitting in the basement for far longer than recommended* and strained them into whatever bottles I had. The optimal bottles are brown bottles that help protect from sun damage, but this is what I had:

• An old ale bottle (it WAS brown; yay!)
• A clear stoppered bottle that appeared magically in my basement
• Whiskey and gin bottles (I figured they were MADE to hold alcohol and they are purdy)

No one should prevent themselves from making their own remedies because they don’t have the perfect containers, or even a perfectly disinfected area. Part of the great thing about alcohol-based tinctures is that they are, well, alcohol.

I also scooped up the alcohol-soaked plant matter and squeezed the hell out of it to get every last drop out. This reduces waste but also gets the stuff that seems to be the most potent. Please note the TWO layers of nitrile gloves I used because even after soaking in alcohol for ten weeks, the burrs are still sharp.

Because I am a filthy hippie, I also wanted to put the motherwort into the compost pile, but disinfecting the compost pile will ruin it. So, I kept those layered gloves on and rinsed and scrubbed the leftovers in running water until they didn’t smell alcohol-y afterward and then put them in my compost.

Storage and dispensing motherwort tincture

I labeled all of the bottles with the year (you don’t need fancy bespoke labels; I use painter’s tape and a sharpie) and put all of the bottles but the one brown bottle I have in the basement to keep the tincture dark and cool.

The brown one can handle a little more light, and it will be handy in my kitchen for dispensing. I don’t put a bunch of it into dropper bottles because the alcohol can evaporate through the rubber squeezie part.

I grabbed one empty tincture bottle I had from the nettle and goldenseal I often buy commercially, slapped a “motherwort” label on it, and I’ll refill as needed.

Ta da!!!

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* My herbalism teacher and other sources say to steep the motherwort in alcohol for 6-8 weeks. I steeped it for TWENTY. The only problem with this is the off chance the herbs would get moldy somehow in vokda, and that didn’t happen. I don’t know if this makes the tincture more potent or if it just means it sat there after pulling everything from the plants in 6-8 weeks, so that’s part of why I’m keeping detailed notes.