Making Plantain Salve

Every spring you will find me out in the yard and gardens picking the weed broadleaf plantain. This stuff makes the best salve I have ever found for bug bites and skin irritations. Gardening like we do skin irritations are common. This is what we use on all our insect bites and stings. It immediately takes away the pain of a sting or bite and starts to heal. 

Once picked I wash them good and lay them out on a towel to dry really well. Once they are no longer wet to the touch I add them to a mason jar and crush them with a wooden spoon to release their oils. 

 

Once the plantain is crushed I pour a good quality olive oil over the top to completely cover. Then I add a lid and allow it to sit for a month or so and it will turn dark green. Once this is done I will strain the leaves out of the oil and add some good organic coconut oil and melted bees wax to make a salve. Then I pour into tiny mason jars for use throughout the year. If you want you could skip the beeswax and just use it as an oil also. 

And I will also tell you ladies this makes the best heel cream in the world for those cracked and dry heels and elbows. 

Plantain Infused Oil

Gather Plantain.

- Allow to wilt several hours.

-Macerate into jar (or tear, cut in small pieces)

-Fill jar, without packing down too much.

- Add one good squirt Vit E oil per pint, to preserve

-Fill jar with cold-pressed Olive oil (or oil of your choice)

-Remove air bubbles.

- Be sure all herb is covered with oil.

-Put lid on and store in shaded, dark place for 4-8 weeks. Shake or invert a few times, when you think of it.

-In 4-8 weeks, strain oil through cheesecloth. Bottle and store in cool, dark place.

-Use this oil as is or to make salves.

Note- if steeping oil and herb have slight mold on them, herb wasn't properly wilted. It can still be used. Just be sure to dip out all moldy oil and herb carefully before pouring through cheesecloth.

Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter