Herbal Antibiotics by Stephen Harrod Buhner

Author:Stephen Harrod Buhner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Storey Publishing, LLC
Published: 2012-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Cultivation and Collection

The plant is generally cultivated from seeds, but it will, so they say, apparently sprout easily from stem and root cuttings as well—strip or prune off the lower leaves from the stems, stick into moist potting soil or well-drained garden soil—in autumn. Keep moist until well rooted. Eleuthero, according to gardeners whom I trust, likes rich soil, lots of water, and deep woods. However, some other sources indicate the plant is hardy to zone 3 and can grow in sandy, loamy, or clay soils, even if they are nutritionally poor, even in full or partial sun. I don’t know, I haven’t seen an aralia or ginseng grow in those kind of soils or conditions. Nice, though, if true.

Horizon Herbs (see Resources) sells stratified seeds in hydrated coir, pretty much guaranteed to germinate. Once established, the plant never goes away. It takes about 4 years before the plant is mature enough to produce flowers and seeds. The eleutheroside content is much higher by the fourth year. Don’t harvest before then.

The roots and stem bark are harvested in the fall. Cut the larger roots into smaller pieces, peel the stem bark off in strips. Leave in a drying tray until antihydration is completed. Store as usual—plastic bags, in plastic bins, out of the light in a cool location. I would strongly suggest harvesting the fruit and drying it for later use in syrups.

Commercially purchased root in bulk will already be cut and sifted or powdered to industry standards.

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