Susun Weeds Wise Woman Forum

Hi there!
This is only my second batch of St. John's Wort oil and it has mysteriously (to me) not turned red.
My method was to harvest the flowering tops, cut them into small bits and chunks into jars, cover in organic olive oil, sit on my window sill for at least 6 weeks (my first batch went for 7 and this has gone for a few days shy of 7 as well).
Neither batch was made absolutely fresh, I had the tops in a paper bag for a while before I made both batches and both times they did get quite a bit dry. Neither time have I really agitated the jars much to mix stuff around. They mostly just sit because I couldn't find in my research if agitation was part of the process, I assumed that agitating would bring up bits to the surface of the oil that would risk mold so I avoided that.
The first batch extracted well, turned a wonderful red, and has been helping myself, my family, and friends but this second batch...is still basically olive oil colored which, I'm assuming, means I missed the mark of extracting its medicinal properties.
Any input is much appreciated. Thank you, Wise Women!! <3

on the left is my first batch with sun through it, the right is the current/failed batch

Hi Rosepower!
I make more SJW oil than anything else, my friends and family use it often, as well. I've experienced these issues a couple of times. Regarding the color---often it is dependent on the type of carrier oil you use. Some of my batches are made with EVOO (say, vs refined OO)---it's much greener so the end color is going to look different. I've made some with clearer oil (almond, even walnut) that turned out much more red. Also, optical illusion can play a part with oil that you haven't decanted yet. Have you strained out the plant material since the picture? Does it look redder than it did?
Also, using stems and leaves isn't going to produce a real read color like using only blooms would. Interesting, though, that you used dried plant material? Were they really dry or just wilted? I do have some dried blooms I've put aside, which I dried because there wasn't enough to make a batch of oil. I've always wondered how dried blooms would work in oil as well as a tincture or vinegar.

Thanks for the response, Jarba Bean!
I used evoo from the same bottle for both batches and by the time my first batch was at the 7 week point I could tell it was reddened before decanting unlike this batch. I used the whole of the tops (including stems and leaves) in both versions and the first one turned red so this batch is just being a thorn in my side I guess! I never aimed to wait til it was dry, I just wasn't able to start the bottling until that point and since I'm new to this I wasn't sure how much, if at all, it would change the finished product (when I squished the flowers they still stained my fingers reddish purpleish so I thought they wouldn't behave too differently than fresh).
I guess that's my big mistake then, the dry material? And you use only blooms? Would you think I didn't succeed in extracting the oils and medicinal properties since I didn't get the color change? Thank you so much for joining this conversation!

I use the upper tops when making oil and tincture...flowers a bit of stem and a few leaves.
Using a jewelers loop aka botany loop one can see little dark spots on the leaves, I assume that is where some of the goody comes from

Have you tried heating the last batch to see if the color changes (double boiler or crock pot on warm or low)?

I figured the tops were good to use because even the stem gets red streaks through it and becomes red as the plant ages.

Crock pot, thanks for reminding me! I've had it in the crock pot on the lowest setting for three hours now, no color change yet but I'll leave it in for a while longer. I really hope I can pull this batch through!! If there's no color change that would mean I didn't really extract the medicine, right?

Well I crock potted it for quite a few hours since I posted last and there was no color change even when I squished it with the mesh part of a french press while it was warm. Hm, a failed batch, I guess. Bummer!