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What a pain. I hate moving. By the way, I started making some pennyroyal oil. I'm going to make it into a.... (trying to think of the right word)... ointment I guess maybe would be the word. I want to see if it will repel bugs, especially since it smells so dam good. A good smelling bug repellent would be a nice change.

Cut the root and other parts as fine as possible. For dried plant crush as small as possible. Then put the plant materials loosely in a pint or quart sized jar, whatever fits how much plant material you're using. The recipies vary at how much glycerine/alcohol/vinegar to add. Some say to only fill the jar to the top of the herbs, others say to fill it up to an inch over the herb. After you've filled the jar though, cap it and shake the mixture. Then let it sit for at least two wks in a cool dark place, shaking every day. When you've let it sit for how long you want, strain the tincture through muslin cloth or cheese cloth. For how much of it to take... I would take into consideration the potentcy of the herb and perhaps try to look up how much of that particular herb is safe. I'm not sure about the one you wanted to use. When I made my raspberry leaf tincture I ended up putting the herb in the jar a little too firmly and I added more glycerine the next day because it didn't cover the herbs all the way once they came uncompacted. I have a book that gives recommendations though about how much to take a day of some things. Here it is. For raspberry homemade tinctures it's 1/2 to 1 tspn 3 times a day. So I'll probably start at two 1/2 tspns a day and work up, just to be safe. I don't think the herb you mentioned is in my book... The stronger herbs seem to be 1/4 to 1/2 tspn three times a day though.

To make St. Johns Wort oil:

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups St John's Wort flowers
2 cups oil- olive, almont, or apricot


Coarsely grind up the flowers in blender
Add oil and blend until smooth
pour blend into a quart jar or other container and place in a warm place out of direct sunlight
shake vigorously for 1 minute every day for two to three weeks
Press the oil out through a fine strainer or cloth, and filter through an unbleached coffee filter for totally clear oil.

(I've never heard of using a blender, so I guess you could just put them all in a bottle and let it sit without blending. The book says that blending opens more surface space to the oil, though. )

You can make any herbal oil that way- the oil is a main ingredient in a lot of preparations

That's what I heard. I'll probably need to get another little blender, though... I'm not sure I want to make milkshakes in a blender that I've been making something else in. .... that's going to make three blenders- mine, the ferrets, and the herbs.

There are different type of marigold, and some of them are poisness!!! The african marigold should not be ingested!!