How to make an oregano tincture with fresh herbs

What is a Tincture you ask? Well according to the dictionary Tinctures are concentrated herbal extracts made by soaking the bark, berries, leaves (dried or fresh), or roots from one or more plants in alcohol or vinegar. And that’s exactly what I will be making today using fresh OREGANO from my garden.

Would ya look at this ginormous batch of oregano growing in my garden? It just sprouted up out of nowhere last year so I let it do its thing right where it was at.  (Houdini is pouting in the background because I won’t let her into the garden).

I’ve grown oregano over the years in pots but I’ve never grown it in my vegetable garden so this must have self-seeded at the edge of my garden. I have to say it’s in a perfect spot, so I’m letting it be. 

Last year I harvested a bunch and dehydrated it for cooking. I’ll do that again this year but I’m also adding Oregano Tincture to my medicinal cupboard. Oregano is a powerful natural antibiotic and that’s mainly how we use it here at the cabin but I’ve also read it can be used for poison ivy. 

I’m a poison ivy magnet, if it’s anywhere near I get it and get it several times a season, and quite severe. I refuse to take a steroid for it no matter how bad it is so I’ve tried every remedy under the sun. What works best for me is the deodorant method, but I’m going to give the oregano method a try next time I have poison ivy blisters.

Mind you I’m not looking forward to getting it but if and when I do I hope it’s after my oregano tincture is ready to use (6 weeks or so from when I made it).

For poison ivy method of use is to apply it to the blisters with a cotton ball 3 times a day until they dry up. Here’s the recipe for making the tincture.

• Gather fresh Oregano
• Rinse in cool water and pat dry or let air dry
• Fill a mason jar with Oregano leaves and stems either cut up or whole
• Pack down into the jar
• Top off the jar with Vodka 40%
• Add a plastic lid or if using a metal lid add a layer of freezer paper between the tincture and the lid.
• Place in a cool dark place for 6 weeks or longer, and shake once a day.
• After the 6-week period or anytime after that, strain off the solids and store in a glass amber jar until needed.
• Don’t forget to label the jar.

I’ll be back to report on how it works. Fingers crossed I won’t be needing it at all for poison ivy but I’ll definitely be using it as an antibiotic and natural immune booster. 

I won’t go into how I use it as an antibiotic, there are several sources out there that you can get the information from. But I will share with you some of my favorite books on the topics of use and how to make medicine using herbs. 

1. Wild Remedies: How to Forage Healing Foods and Craft Your Own Herbal Medicine
2. Prescription for Nutritional Healing, Fifth Edition: A Practical A-to-Z Reference to Drug-Free Remedies Using Vitamins, Minerals, Herbs & Food Supplements
3. Midwest Medicinal Plants: Identify, Harvest, and Use 109 Wild Herbs for Health and Wellness (Medicinal Plants Series)