Daniel Gélin

...that anyone can grow easily in his backyard.
Any insights?

- Knock, knock!
-Who is it?
-I am you...
-And what do you want?
- An answer perhaps?

Silence isn't empty. It's full of answers...

Looking at the veins of the leaf (which is in total 5) it must be plantain spp. lanceolata. A real medicine chest for skin problems like burns e.tc

Thank you Shawn!
Please, download the latest version from here https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x7o6zjjpr3a15f5/AABcunz-PSc0AE_TShUBGCBra?dl=1
A bug fixed in the "custom alcohol" tab. Also, "parts used" section was increased.
To make things simple just remember that in the sections with two stars (** ) you just add the values you want. In the section with three stars (*** ) you can find out how much water - alcohol to use.

Hello everyone.
I really could you some help.
In the area where I live (somewhere in Greece) we have plenty of Arctium (Burdock) growing wild everywhere.
I recognized a lot of these wonderful plants a couple of months ago, and due to the fact that I wanted to use them medicinally, I tried to identify them.
Then I met the Arctium spp. Minus where it is almost the same with it's "big cousin", arctium lappa.
They both have heart-shaped leaves, they are white underneath, where the only difference is a few, tooth like leaves, in the basal rosette of the plant.
Unfortunately, I watched several tutorials on youtube; I double checked my guides. These two plants are really hard to distinguish which one is which. The only difference occurs only in the second year of the plant, where arctium lappa surpasses in size the "minus" one.
Unfortunately the part used (roots) must be collected on the first year of plants growth
Does anyone have any experience on this? How can I tell the difference between those two species? Are these two plants interchangeable medicinally?
Thank you for your time,
Daniel

https://youtu.be/UTyxqFJ7Glo
Hello my herbal friends!
I thought it would be nice if I shared to the rest of the community a small tool that I created. It is based on the book of Dr. Sharol Tilgner “Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Heart”. Basically, it is a spreadsheet that helps you calculate with precision the exact amount of alcohol & water to use in any tincture, for fresh and dry herbs . Like you, even  though I love to make calculations by the traditional way -by using pen, paper and...my brain-  the use of technology (sometimes) is inevitable.
So here is the thing: the spreadsheet is divided in three columns. The first one is labelled “Herb Info”. There you can put the common and latin name of the herb, harvesting period and parts used. That’s basically made for your archive purposes. By adding this info, you can store the data on your hard drive or even print it in paper, for when you prepare the same tincture. The real “goldmine” is the following: watch the three columns labelled “Preparation Data”. There you must add the following info: herb weight (in grams), solvent strength, fresh herb weight, dry herb weight e.tc. Watch for the values that are accompanied with two stars (** ). These are values that are required for the formula (calculative this time ) to work.
The alcohol and water label followed by three stars (*** ) is our final solvent with the exact percentages that we must use. The spreadsheet refers to both situations, of when using a 190 – proof alcohol or any other alcohol with random strength.
There’s a warning at the end of the calc sheet. If by any chance the final water of our solvent TURNS to a (-) negative number, then we must decrease the strength of our product.
Next to those columns is something that was made as an experiment. Having the multiple maceration method in mind, there’s is a mathematic division of our marc (the herb), in upward doses that promotes the proper maceration of our product. It hasn't been tested though yet. Mind that, for the different parts of a herb there’s a different calculation. Feel free to experiment though!
This spreadsheet was based on the book “Herbal Medicine from the Heart of the Earth”. The author, if she wishes to,  may freely add, remove, edit any part of the spreadsheet and may even distribute it via her website or as a download link from her (eagerly waiting!) e-books.
Post your comments if things don’t work as expected. Have fun!
[UPDATE] I can not upload the file here because it is an .xlsx format (excel). You can download it from Dropbox here  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/x7o6zjjpr3a15f5/AABcunz-PSc0AE_TShUBGCBra?dl=1

Hey,
What can someone do, so he may have one of these goodies?
And another thing: what's the matter with all these apples I see everywhere?
Thank you!

Some wonderful ideas for herbal vinegars are included on the following video. I haven't tried them though :-)

The elderberry syrup is quite a lovely recipe! My family used it for decades as a remedy from our forefathers that lasts 'till this day!
You must carefully choose your berries though, as they are mild toxic if they are un-ripen. There are many recipes online where you can combine them with a lot other antiviral herbs like garlic, ginger e.tc. Just use your imagination.