Costa Family Farm

Plantain Salve

Posted by Allison (Mommie)

Hi! Here's the recipe for Plantain Salve:

1. Harvest the plantain leaves(longleaf or broadleaf, either is fine) from your lawn. Don't wash it! You don't want water in the salve: it will spoil it. Just shake off the leaves. They are probably clean 'enough'.

2. Chop up the plantain and bruise the leaves. Put it in a pot with some olive oil. For every ounce of olive oil you use, you will need an ounce (or a Tbs.) of beeswax, so measure your oil use accordingly.

3. Heat the oil slowly, let it stay low enough to avoid burning, but warm enough to draw out the plantain's herbal properties. Let it stay warming until you think the palntain has been absorbed into the oil as much as pocssible. It does not take a really long time. Watch it carefully!

4. Drain the contents of the pot through a metal strainer, into another pot. Let it sit draining for a while. You can even push some through near the end. Now you have plantain oil, just so you know: you can make any herbal oil this way.

5. Add an ounce or 1 Tbs. of beeswax per ounce or Tbs. of oil in the pot. You can start with less if you are not sure, and add as you go. Warm up the wax in the pot and stir. You can't tell how the consistency is going to be until it is cooled, so don't worry too much about it now. I usually put it in the refrigerator to speed up the cooling and check it later.

6. (Later) Check the consistency. Too runny? More wax will fix that. Too hard? Leave it out to reach room tepmerature first. Is it still too hard? Then you can add more olive oil, or even better- more plantain oil if you have some left. This final step requires playing with it or just settling wiht less than perfect consistency. I would rather have my savves a little too runny than too hard. Remember you just want to be able to use it.

If you know planatin, you know the many uses this salve can have. This recipe can work with any herb! You can make yourself a comfrey, calendula, plantain, yarrow salve.. you can chop and mix the herbs together and make anything you need. I have used the above mix for everything from diaper area to cuts. I like having plantain salve isolated in a salve for special bug bite problems or sny skin rash which needs to be calmed down. The analgesic properties of plantain are way, way high.

Remember, the very best thing for an insect sting is to grab the plantain leaf from the lawn and just chew on the leaves, quick! Put the green saliva on the sting. Your little one will stop crying, there will be no swelling, etc.

I love how God puts the plantain into the lawn just as the bees arrive. If you don't already know how, identify this very important plant!

Happy spring, it is finally here.

Salve

09:49 PM, Sunday, May 7, 2006 .. Posted by borderling

Thank you so much for the recipe. I'm always looking for new "natural" recipes. My ds likes to eat plaintain leaves and dandelion leaves.
Rhonda

I need to look up this good for you weed......

12:57 AM, Monday, May 8, 2006 .. Posted by GrandmaRosie

Dandelions I know. But this one I am not familiar with. I copied down your recipe for future reference. Thanks!

Plantain

12:26 AM, Thursday, May 11, 2006 .. Posted by homeschoolingnewB

Allison-
I followed this link from homeschoolblogger and read this post. My son suffers terribly from mosquito bites and I'm always looking for a good remedy. However, I'm a city girl and our yard is far from a lush garden! though, i love your lifestyle and dream of that one day! So, my question is How do i grow (or find) plantain???
Thanks,
Alicia

Thank You!

04:46 PM, Monday, May 15, 2006 .. Posted by VTLinda

I've copied down the recipe for future reference. I'll post soon about something I found that dried up the poison oak in about 5 days (!!!) .. Not natural, but sure helped the itching...
Thanks again. ~Linda in Virginia

Identifying Plantain

12:41 AM, Wednesday, May 17, 2006 .. Posted by Providence

We will try to get pictures of the Plantain up, &/or find links to post with photos.
Allison & Co.