Working with jewelweed is easy. It can be as simple as grabbing a handful of flowers and stems, chewing them up and slapping it on the problem skin.... yeah, I know. Nobody wants to walk around with mom spit and weeds slapped on their skin and besides jewelweed isn't always around. So here is how we make it a little more civilized and portable.
Jewelweeds benefits are found in a sticky sap in its stems, flowers, and leaves. Drying this herb is not an option because you'll dry the sap. For long-term storage, it is best to extract it into an oil. I use olive oil because that is what I have kicking around in my soap supplies. Use your favorite liquid carrier oil.
Jewelweed it is easiest to find when it is blooming. Check along creeks and roadsides. It likes water. Blooms are either orange or yellow. I think the orange is more potent but I will take whatever I find. Pick a little bit of everything, flowers, stems, and leaves. Jewelweed is an annual so it is important that you do not harvest the entire plant. Leave plenty to bloom and go to seed for next year.
Pick over your harvest looking for bugs and weeds... anything that you don't want in your salve.
Once you are home cram it into a mason jar and cover with your carrier oil. ( I add one or two plantain plants in the mix. It is not necessary but plantain has added benefits for the salve.) Make sure the lid is on tight. Place a small dishtowel in the bottom of your crockpot and add about two inches of water. Lay your bottle on its side and put your lid on. Turn crockpot on warm. Let it go until the next morning or afternoon... sometime the next day. If you don't have a crockpot or want to speed things up you can stand your jar in a pan of water on the stove for four hours. It's just important that you don't let it boil because boiling breaks down the oil and the beneficial sap. I don't have time to babysit it so I use the crockpot.
When your oil is done place a strainer over another bowl and lay cheesecloth in the strainer. Slowly pour out your oil (It will now be a beautiful shade of orangeish green) and the foliage will now looks like the contents of a cow's rumen... if you've never had to dig through the contents of a cow's rumen then you'll just have to raise your hands to heaven and thank Jesus and then you'll have to take my word for it you, lucky dog, you.
Wrap your cheesecloth up tight and squeeze out every last drop of that wonderful extract.
It can be stored in the fridge (make sure you label it so someone doesn't mistake it for elderberry and chug it on down. This will make a sick person cranky.. learn from the experiences of others, my friend.)
Or you can just make it into a salve right away and be prepared for whatever life tosses at you.
The salve requires 1/4 c of beeswax for every cup of oil you use. and essential oils are optional.
Beeswax is never an exact science. We use wax from our girls, if you purchase wax it comes in a multitude of styles from pellets to bricks so when I say 1/4 cup... it's not bible. don't pack it in your measuring cup tight, if you've got a brick of it grate it first. It's always a good idea to try a small batch to see how the salve feels when it is done before using up your entire supply in a bulk batch. If however, it comes out wrong just remelt it and add either more oil or more wax to get the desired consistency
place a pan on your stove and add water, place a heat proof bowl in the water and to that add your wax and oil. Gently melt them together.
Once the wax is melted remove from pan and pour into containers of your choice. I really like these little tins found here but this time my budget sent me to the dollar store and that works too.
Once your salve has started to cool you can add essential oils of your choice. Some of my favorites are lavender, Tea tree, Rosemary or Peppermint for their soothing and healing properties. A few drops per container is fine.
Let your jewelweed salve sit uncovered for 24 hours then put the lids on. I make it all up at once and store in the freezer leaving one jar out in the fridge. I'll warn you even with essential oils it doesn't smell the best but it isn't a spa lotion it is medicine. Medicine that works. Simply apply it to irritated areas when needed.
Jewelweed salve is an item that our farm sells in limited amounts. It is $6 for a 2 oz tub... highway robbery I know, but I'd rather be slathering it on my kids than selling it. And honestly, you don't need me to make it for you.
Or I found it on Amazon here and at the time of posting they are offering a $2 off coupon. Just check and see if they have preservatives in it first.. our skin is the largest organ in our bodies and we should really be careful what we put on it.
That's it, Ladies, we've turned weeds into treasures without even breaking a sweat. Now, let's go cut some firewood. Critters step aside.
