Hello

[Guest guest]

I'm new to the list, so maybe I should give a little background. I

teach adult ed. I'm a mother of 2 teenage boys, both in college. I'm

just starting to learn about all things herbal and oils. I got into

this from a back door. I do a little writing and a recent fictional

piece strayed into this area via a couple of the characters. The

more I research it, the more intrigued I become in the topic for its

own sake. Because I don't know much, I'll probably just read the

messages to begin with to get a feel for the topic. I hope it's okay

that I'm not knowledgeable.

Thank you Chris, for the info on monarda. It was helpful, albeit

technical.

Right now, I'm specifically researching bee balm and horsemint

(monardas). According to a book I have by Matthew Alfs, Edible &

Medicinal Wild Plants of Minnesota & Wisconsin, these plants can be

found where I live and are a good source for thymol and carvacrol. I

haven't found much information regarding how much of this plant

material is required to produce 1 lb of oil. I think the answer is,

a lot. The article Chris steered me to said .65-1.2 g = 100 g fresh

plants. So, in other words, about a 1 to 100 ratio. How do small

producers of essential oils make a living at that rate? Maybe there

are no small producers of essential oils. If anyone has any personal

experience with these plants, I'd be interested in hearing about

it. Likewise, I'd be interested to hear about distilling

experiences with any plants.

Finally, I live in Minnesota, so if anyone knows of any Minnesota

distillers, professional or garden variety, I'd be thrilled.

Catherine