2K "15" plant organic living soil - 1st grow

[BlueJayWay]

sweet, love using coconut oil - need to learn, or I guess actually try, some method of trichome extraction - I've been saving sugar trim etc. for way too long.... care to point the way to a recommended method? I'd love to work with coconut oil

 

[DARC MIND]

i was just pulling de leg MGD,
you all need to school me on how to make better oils and what not..
the salve and wand rock by the way

 

[heady blunts]

i basically just follow badkittysmiles' directions for decarb and canna canna caps and it works great for me.

badkat recommends decarbing before you add the oil, and that has worked very well for me. decarbing after combining hash and fat has been more hit or miss for me, plus energy intensive as it takes many hours.

i use dry sift or water hash, the finer grain the better. i usually have to chop up water hash. i just put it on the butcher block and use a chef's knife

i put that in a corningware oven safe ceramic ramekin in an even layer. 1/8--1/4 inch thick is ideal IME. i then cover it tightly with two layers of foil and put it in a 225*F oven for 20 minutes.

i wait for it to cool before unwrapping, then add my organic coconut oil with a dab of non-gmo soy lecithin. recover, back in the oven for 45 mins.

i did an hour today cause i used more hash than last time. it worked great. i had to dilute it 1 part hash oil to 2 parts more coconut oil.

now i have a cup! 8 oz! i need to buy more gelatin caps! this might last me more than a month!

 

[ClackamasCootz]

I want to know how to extract the compounds in Rosemary leaves - not to smoke of course.

 

[handyandy]

what does the soy do for you? is it totally needed?

 

[heady blunts]

soy lecithin is not necessary afaik.


MGD, what does a medicated topical feel like? I've never used one.

 

[Gascanastan]

I want to know how to extract the compounds in Rosemary leaves - not to smoke of course.

...well...for me.....in the old days petrol chemical solvents were used or steam distillation to get the fatty plant acids.

I've used methanol in the past since it's wood alcohol and evaporates cleanly...no residue left behind. It is more dangerous than other alcohols and a human being would have to be smarter than the methanol to get these high quality extractions of fatty plant acids using an extreme solvent such as methanol.

From there it's just a matter of knowing how to isolate the ones you want and what chemical precursors,etc to use to get those oils and/or what methods/equipment is needed to possibly crystallize the compounds...assuming they can be crystallized or isolated to begin with......right???

 

[ClackamasCootz]

...well...for me.....in the old days petrol chemical solvents were used or steam distillation to get the fatty plant acids.

I've used methanol in the past since it's wood alcohol and evaporates cleanly...no residue left behind. It is more dangerous than other alcohols and a human being would have to be smarter than the methanol to get these high quality extractions of fatty plant acids using an extreme solvent such as methanol.

From there it's just a matter of knowing how to isolate the ones you want and what chemical precursors,etc to use to get those oils and/or what methods/equipment is needed to possibly crystallize the compounds...assuming they can be crystallized or isolated to begin with......right???

Correct and therein lies the confusion when looking at plant extracts that are available commercially.

I have not been able to find an analysis on any of these products other than the extraction method used and there are a variety to choose from.

It obviously isn't an easy deal - synthetic Linalool is easy to pull off and is - see the Orkin Man for details.

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

BJW~ decarbing first sounds like a good idea that might offer more consistency to the batch perhaps. I just add 1/2 lb. of dry material to 1.25 gallons of coconut oil. I use organic,raw, virgin coconut oil. Heady makes pills and the soy is probably useful in that application. Not necessary and one more allergen to add to a product that serves droves of folks with all sorts of dietary specifications, so I leave the soy out of the picture and just do the old fashioned ayurvedic method of stovetop infusion. You want to bring the mixture to at least 175/180 and can go as high as 215/220 degrees for at least two hours time. There is a chart that shows decarboxylation requiring both time and heat in a certain gradual upbringing. You can't just flash heat it at 220 for 20 min for example. Your oil will show signs of decarboxylating when it bubbles and continues to do so. You want it at that stage for as long as you can up to 2-4 hours.

Other oils can be cold-infused for a couple weeks, but olive oil is quite susceptible to "going bad" if not handled and packaged properly, and coconut oil is difficult to infuse in a cold method because of its solid state under like 72 degrees. If you're in a warm place or have a warm couple weeks, its possible. It would then be up to the person using the oil in cooking to finish decarboxylating the medicine while they, for example, bake a batch of something at 325 for 35 minutes. Decarboxylation can be reached faster in the oven drying it separately ahead of time, vs. several hours in the oil. This is just what I am gathering from what I've read and experienced. I'm also new to the process and I'm sure there's more refined tips out there.

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

I want to know how to extract the compounds in Rosemary leaves - not to smoke of course.

there are a few ways you could do it... the only way I would want to is steam distillation like making essential oils. you could look and see what the cost is from prima fleur to just purchase some, or you could look in to how much dry material it would take to make your own. Probably more than you can get your hands on without having to purchase dry rosemary. BUT if you do have pounds of dry rosemary, I can possibly connect with a guy that has a steam distiller and would do a run for us. I do use pure therapeutic grade 100% organic etc etc rosemary in my topical blends and it would be so rad to produce my own rosemary essential oil... I am in the process of finding a new peppermint source, the company in oregon that offered wild crafted peppermint essential oil has more than doubled their prices in the last 6 months... and that kept the cost of my product low because it USED to be so affordable. I need an organic peppermint field and friend with a steam distiller! LOL... but I do know a registered aromatherapist who has a bottle of it (rosemary) right now and I can buy it by the drop for you if you want a little to make a sprayer etc. In fact, I just got a shipment of blended essential oils this week, purchased by the drop. But to get back to how to make your own... steam is the only way to extract imo. but you need the equipment. For gardeners and people like us, getting your own distiller would be worth it (especially if you have the time and space to grow the crops yourself for free) A company in oregon makes copper steam distillers and the cheapest one for a sort of personal, in home use is about 300. The shipping is astronomical, but if you're within the region and can pick it up yourself, you save big bucks.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

What distiller brand would you recommend? Anything under $1,000.00 worth looking at?

 

[BlueJayWay]

^^^^This is very helpful - Muchas Gracias! I have plenty of dried material, now to best source gallons of coconut oil without buying 50 little jars @ Trader Joes

I will research decarboxylating in general to see what I can find - if you don't mind I may send you a PM @ some point ? Thanks!

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

yup coot, and it looks like the company is now in portland if its the same place. http://www.essentialoil.com/collections/distillation-equipment

BUT, i'm not sure what the distiller requirements would be for that particular material. You'd also want to consider other material you'd want to extract and what distiller would serve that purpose. There is a way bigger variety than last time I looked, so I'm not sure what I'm seeing here at first glance. I will double check to see if this is the company my R.A. (registered aromatherapist) friend recommended. The model was only 300 and these seem more expensive.

 

[ClackamasCootz]

My main interest would be in 'more traditional mint plants' - Spearmint, Peppermint, Thyme, et al.

Rosemary would be nice but not critical. The structure of the leaves is the limiting factor that isn't present in 'regular mint' plants.

Something like that......

CC

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

Sure BJW~ ya know, as annoying as it is, your best deal might be that trader joe's coconut oil. they are under 6 bucks each and that's a steal. Buying in bulk is the real way to go, you can get like 5 gallons for under $200 from your local co-op if you have one. What I've been purchasing for production is $80/gallon the way i've been buying it - ridiculous! I'm seeing the light and stepping over to the bulk side finally. Remember, if your'e stuck with the jars, just warm all the jars until the coconut is liquid and pourable. No fun digging out solid coconut oil you can definitely pm me about it anytime.

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

My main interest would be in 'more traditional mint plants' - Spearmint, Peppermint, Thyme, et al.

Rosemary would be nice but not critical. The structure of the leaves is the limiting factor that isn't present in 'regular mint' plants.

Something like that......

CC

I see what you're saying.... the mint seems much more accessible so to speak. I will get an actual professional opinion on that for you Coot. I am supposed to be talking with him today actually, so I'll get back to you on that. I have been trying to manifest a way to make peppermint essential oil as well and am sniffing out the same answers.

 

[heady blunts]

coot- if you make catnip oil, i know some customers that would pay you a bundle...

do you accept severed rodent heads?

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

still waiting on that recommendation coot. There was literally one distiller left with one place I'd have to recommend after a friend bought the second to last one, from Jeanne Rose Aromatherapy. The purchasing has been disabled off her site but she may have one still.... pun intended She's really educationally oriented and a great source of information. http://www.jeannerose.net/ I'm thinking you'd want to look more seriously in to the company in portland though. I'll update you after the weekend.

Happy Blue Moon y'all!
mgd~

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

I've been looking forward to meeting this guy that Gone Rooty eventually introduced me to. I ran in to him at a market in town yesterday, here's a pic of his small still.

He is happy to run material for me. I plan on growing a pretty large plot of peppermint ~ enough to fill a 50 gallon drum to be more precise. This smaller still above might be perfect for your needs coot. You can do more than one type of material in one distillation, so you could do a combination like what you gave us. You'd need a good 3 gallons of material. He acted like rosemary was noooo problem. Not sure if the rosemary can be part of the mint mixture, but I'd venture to say so after talking with him. So... although I'm still waiting on suggestions from the aromatherapist on what new still to purchase, this is a great option in the meantime. If I had an expensive still and had the process down, I would definitely want to offer to process material for people to help cover the costs of having the still.

He seems to be available to process material just about any time and seems pretty open to suggestion about bartering/payment for the services. Someone from Bastyr university in seattle has visited him and his... apothecary(?) and they say his products/oils/hydrosols are some of the best and most high quality out there.

Coot, let me know if you're interested in getting some material ran.

 

[MissGreenDreamz]

These smaller stills might produce exclusively hydrosols~ need to do a little more research but I'm getting down to the bottom of it all

The good thing about the cheaper stills being the ones that tend to product the hydrosols, as a foliar remedy, is that it might be more ideal. The pure essential oils may actually be harder to dial in or apply and are likely to burn the leaves easier than the hydrosols which are a bit more diluted (?). Looking forward to learning more about this ~mgd