I had recently moved into a new house during the winter months, so I was not sure of what exactly was growing in the garden that the owners before me had planted. When spring and summer time came along however, I was pleasantly surprised to find all sorts of wonderful plants growing.

The most notable of these plants, is the big Ginkgo Biloba tree right in the center of the yard. I have heard of all the wonderful things that Ginkgo can help with, and was overwhelmed with excitement to know that I am privileged to own such a great healing tool. However, I am unsure of how to reap the benefits of this plant.

I have a plan to harvest a decent amount of leaf material once I notice it start to change color towards the fall. Right as they start to change is when the leaves are at their highest potency, at least this is what I have researched. I wont pick all the leaves, leaving a decent amount to fall off naturally. I will also refrain from making any one part of the tree bare.

However, I am not sure where to go from here. Once one has harvested a bunch of the leaf material from the tree, what is needed to be done to consume it? Every time I try to search on google how to make a tea from it, or how to extract the active principals, I am left with nothing but links to sites to buy the extracts and tea bags. I cant seem to find information on the actual extraction procedure or dosages for tea.

I am excited to get to know this tree better, and am excited to see what it has to offer.

That is incredible that you now live right beside gingko!
The fresh young leaves can be simply made into a steeping tea or concentrated to a dose of 1-3 mg. You could also eat them. The benefits this tree gives is vastly complex. I recommend a good read-study into the specific terpenoids.. very interesting and beneficial compounds. Glad to see you are so curious. This tree can aid in your overall health, intelligence and also some protection.

Valuable info in these places:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=gingko+biloba

Let me know if you have any luck. I have a ~50 year old male as well as a female that is a few years younger. They are truly beautiful trees especially during the spring and fall. The one thing I don't like about the female is that every fall it drops a bunch of seeds that look similar berries but as they start to small like literal death if allowed to decompose at all in the yard (and they start to decompose quickly after falling). I've known about the benefits of Gingko since I was a kid but I've never found time to work with this particular plant.

Thanks Cognitive! Those links are helpful, and I have done some research already into the benefits of the Ginkgo tree.

What I am more curious about is the actual dosage of leaves used for a cup of tea, and how an extract may be made. This is the only info I have yet been able to find.

often i eat a few fresh leaves. put it in a salad... make tea... i couldn't recommend a specific dose i just use a few fresh leaves and maybe some more if it wears out

TCMwiki says 3-9 grams dried leaf by decoction (boiled tea)
Jade Remedies - A Chinese Herbal Reference for the West pretty much jives with that in saying 6-12 grams dried leaf by decoction (with a warning to avoid prolonged use at pharmacological doses due to cumulative toxicity).
Another warning should be that you wont like the taste of ginkgo decoction

i heard the leaves are most medicinal in fall when they turn yellow,
but i've just read there is no proof they are medicinal at all, so idk.

My grandmother has one in her yard i use to eat the leaves as a kid,
crunchy, bitter, dry, but it never made me feel very much smartness.

When I was in college I felt that the 50:1 extract of Ginkgo leaf extract I took regularly for short periods going into finals weeks was rather helpful. The female trees definitely have disadvantages, but it's a beautiful tree with age and is very tolerant of heavy air pollution in urban environments for some reason. The large leaves on mature trees can be spectacular as natural art pieces, I've seen them framed as such a time or two.

I've tried ginkgo supplements and thought it helped some, but not much more than placebo. Days I forgot to take it I wouldn't notice a difference until remembering whether I had or not. Months later I read that it's just a rumor whether it's active at all. I think a majority of health supplements depend on placebo to have any effect.