Hi guys!

Im new to this sub and have been learning about herbalism as well as trying my hand at some oils and tinctures. I’ve run into some conflicting information and was wondering if someone could help me.

I made a mullein oil maceration in olive oil that has been sitting for about 7 weeks now, I used fresh flowers for this. The maceration has been in a cold dark place and I have shaken it daily and watched for any signs of rancidity or mold growth which thankfully haven’t appeared. Everything I was reading and learning at the time said you could use fresh flowers or wilt them a bit before soaking but now everything I’m reading says you should dry any flowers or herbs before soaking in oil or it will immediately spoil and mold and is dangerous to use. Is this true? I did the same method with yarrow and now I’m concerned I have to throw it all away. Everything looks and smells fine, if anything it smells a bit like the plant that’s been soaking in the oil but definitely no rancidity. Should I just always dry all herbs (other than st.John’s wart) before soaking in oil? Do I need to throw the oils away even though they look and smell okay?

Something else I read said that you should store the jars of oil without a lid with just a coffee filter rubber banded to the top to let the moisture escape, should I store it like that now or do that when I’m soaking the herbs? Or not at all? How do I get rid of the small yarrow pieces that settled on the bottom of my oil that I couldn’t remove with a strainer?

I’m sorry for all the questions, I’m just starting to get a bit discouraged and confused. There’s so many methods and I’ve spent hours continuously learning and researching all this and I’m just ending up with more questions than answers.