I was musing over the treatment plan for one of my patients. I am due to see them again next week, and I was considering tweaking their prescription, like you do…
One of the herbs I thought to add was Valerian, and I was mulling over the possibility of giving to them dried to make up as a decoction. I went to my dried herb store, and lo! there was no Valerian left. Then I remembered that I had used the last of it to make a batch of tincture, and that was running low also. How had this happened? I can make the excuse that I have been very busy – our herb school is applying for accreditation from two professional bodies at the same time, there are monthly seminars to prepare for as usual, a poorly husband to care for, as well as online consultations to arrange…
But, anyway, yes I should have been more organised…
The knee-jerk reaction was to fire up my laptop and make and order from a herb supplier. Then I thought, hang on, I grow the stuff…
So I popped on my crocks, went into my herb garden and dug up a plant. Valerian roots are a complex mess and always hold a lot of mud and dirt. So I popped the plant into a tub of rain water to loosen the clod of soil so I could scrap it off with a small hand fork.
After several scrapings and soakings I removed as much mud as I could before I brought it inside to the sink, and washed it again. I rinsed and rinsed dirt out, scraped out loads of stones. Then I washed it again.
When I thought the roots were as clean as I could get them, I pulled them out in a sieve and rinsed them one last time…
Most of these roots were laid out in one of my dehydrators, so they can slowly dry and be used for decoctions and storage. The rest of them have been made in a fresh tincture.
I am well aware that December is not the ideal time to harvest Valerian roots, but I have them there in the garden, and it seems folly to buy some in giving me extra expense. I used my plot of valerian plants last year to make the best valerian tincture I have ever tasted. It had a very slight aromatic orangey smell when fresh, and the fruity smell lingered when make into a tincture from the dried roots.
In about a months I shall have to report back on the quality of the tincture and the effectiveness of the tea/decoction that the roots have produced…
