Yes, the herbs bring along dormant bacteria, yeast and protozoans. But i have seen that the brew gets initially pretty “bacterial” in a striking diversity, probably as the sugar in the “knife tip load” of honey or lactose (can not see, if i forgot that ingredient in my post) gets them them going fast.

When i am back at the pc i will try to note some ideas why these herbs are combined. It could be possible to find substitutes, but the mix has some pretty unique properties.

As they are all medicinal herbs, you can go to the chemist shop and buy them. In this case, get Valerian rootstock. It works too and smells even better????.

My mother used to brew her quick return compost with that recipe and i used to make fun of her as the valerian was so stinky. Now it is one of my favorite tools for its simplicity and effectiveness.