This weekend we opened up the kit and started making stuff out of it. We got the Echinacea Tincture started – that takes 6 weeks. We also made the Healing Herbal Salve.
The kit came on Friday, so that night I put the herb mix into my crock pot to infuse and we went to dinner with friends. I let it cool in the crock pot over night and turned it back on in the morning to heat back up for the next step.
The girls and I made up the salve in the morning. I chose to use different containers than what came with the kit as I want to use the little tins with some other salves I've already got the oils made up for.
We also put a tincture and a glycerite I made earlier this year into a couple of the dropper bottles in the kit.
It's pretty neat to have my 5 year old tell me some of the properties of the plants as we are making the salve.
I've spent a lot of money at LearningHerbs.com over the last couple of years, but it's worth it. Not only for myself, but for my kids.
Some of the Learning Herbs Herbal Remedy Kit. I had already taken out and used half of it by this point that the photo was taken.
I used the crock pot on low to infuse my herbs into my oil. I think it runs just a little bit warmer than I want, but I can address that with either a mechanical timer to just on/off cycle it so it runs cooler or to build an actual heat controller for the crock pot.
I used my french press to separate the oil from the herbs. Works great.
My double boiler bowl is actually a dog bowl. Cheap stainless steel that won’t trigger an argument with my wife over her good kitchen gear.
I made a tin, 2 baby food jars, and the big jar that came in the kit. I chose to use the other tins in the kit for other salves. I can’t EVER follow directions.
More exciting than watching paint dry, watching salve cool.
A work of art!
The kit came with labels. A very nice finishing touch.
