Herbal couple of herbal questions if anyone is not busy

[Marie]

Ive read alot on herbs and Grandma used to use alot on me . I just don't remember alot.
can anyone tell me how to tell when the elderberries are ripe . can they become over ripe? Also what is the best herb for an antiobiotic ? I thought elderberry was what grammy used. I can't use echinea as I am allergic to it

 

[summerthyme]

Black elderberries are ripe when they're VERY dark purple to black. OR, 1 day after the birds clean off the bushes! If they were to get overripe (not possible around here with the birds- this year, I watched half a dozen Brown Thrashers and at least a dozen English Sparrows strip every remaining berry from my bushes one day after I'd harvested them. Beat you, you little B!@($*@! LOL!) they'd start to shrivel up a little. Wouldn't hurt you if it did happen.

Garlic is probably the strongest "antibiotic" herb. Colloidal silver beats garlic by miles. Elderberry isn't useful against bacteria, only some viruses. Echinacea is basically an immune boosting herb, not a specific antibiotic. Other antibiotic herbs are thyme and oregano... the essential oils of each have potent antibiotic properties. Also Goldenseal (or barberry- it's the Berberine in both of them that's effective)

Summerthyme

 

[Suzieq]

I don't know about the elderberry fruit when it is ripe. I do know oil of oregano is an antiobiotic. You have to dilute it with olive oil before using. I mix one part oil of oregano to two parts olive oil. Mix well and place into a brown glass bottle that has a dropper for the cap. Remember a little bit goes a long way. I place some drops under my tongue for a few minutes and then spit it out. Then I rinse my mouth out with water.

 

[Martinhouse]

If you use oregano oil, it doesn't hurt to have extra droppers for those little bottles. I've had the bulbs of the droppers turn to mush, the oregano oil just dissolved them. Don't know if they were plastic or real rubber.

Also, when I use to put the oregano oil into capsules, I could only make a few capsules at a time. After a few days, the oregano oil had softened the gelatin capsules into mush, too.

Carol

 

[Marie]

Thanks everyone