• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

TURKEY BASTER

These are useful for decanting fresh-plant oil infusions and will be discussed further in the oil infusion chapter (vegan basting syringes are available at health food stores).

FILTER PAPERS

Purchase the unbleached basket style that are used for making coffee. Place these in a wire mesh strainer to hold them while you pour your extract through to filter out any unwanted particulate. You may want to strengthen these filters by using two at a time. Avoid the “cone style” filter papers, which are glued on the bottom and side. The glue might be soluble in certain solutions.

COTTON MUSLIN CLOTH

Locate a tough, unbleached cotton muslin in a fabric store. Be sure to launder it before using to rid it of the sizing found in most new cloth fabric. Muslin is used for pressing out the marc either by hand or with a mechanical press.

CALCULATOR

This is useful for doing the math when formulating a menstruum for weight/volume extraction. Pencil and paper work quite well for this too.

YOGURT THERMOMETER

This is used to monitor the temperature during the digesting process of extraction. Yogurt thermometers hover comfortably around the 100° F. zone, which is ideal for preparing oil infusions.

LABELING MATERIALS

Use whatever materials you require to create and affix labels that conform to your personal standards of aesthetics and whimsy, and the instruments to write essential information upon these engaging tags. Indelible inks are recommended.

PAPER TOWELS

The immediate availability of paper towels on demand is essential in order to maintain any semblance of sanity while making oil infusions and while pouring salves. In spite of what I said in the Prologue, this is a truth.

SPONGES AND RAGS

Have on hand a large collection of sponges and rags for spill control and general cleanup. A natal moon in the constellation of Virgo dictated this suggestion; and this is merely a suggestion. Impetuous, disorderly, hang-loose, rumpled herbal medicine-making is good too.

And at some point along your acquisition journey, you may want to acquire the following.

DEHYDRATOR

In the long run, this is probably the most important tool a domestic herbalist will obtain, and it is worth the expense to buy one that has a fine-tuned temperature control. I recommend that once you acquire a dehydrator, you give it a prominent place in the active area of your kitchen-lab. Each time you come across a wild plant that is harvestable, you can take it home and place it in the dehydrator, dry it, and in a hassle-free, short time add it to your annual stash of that particular plant-medicine. Dandelion, Chickweed, Plantain, Calendula blossoms, Red Clover blossoms, Cornsilk, and so forth can be accumulated relatively effortlessly this way, and by autumn you will have acquired a substantial, high-quality herbal pharmacy in your home. Inevitably, within a couple of solar cycles, buying herbs from a store will have become merely a vaguely disturbing memory.

BLENDER/JUICER

Get the original Vita-Mix® 3600 Plus stainless steel model which has a 72-ounce stainless steel container (some containers come with a spigot, some don’t; they both work). I have found these in yard sales, used-stuff stores, and flea markets; and some folks have acquired theirs by putting up wanted signs at large health food stores. These machines will probably be showing up more frequently now that the Vita-Mix corporation is marketing its newly designed polycarbonate container. The previous 3600 Plus Vita-Mix model, which is all stainless steel except for the plastic “two-piece Action Dome” that attaches to the top of the container, costs about $300 to $400 when purchased new. I’ve found them used and in excellent shape for $20, $60, and $150 Canadian in British Columbia; however, for the work this tool does, it is worth the $300. This is the best domestic designed machine I’ve found for powdering herbs and for blending fresh-plant extracts. It is a powerful, versatile, and very durable product that is well worth