We had such a fun unit study of chickweed for school last spring that I had to include our project day where we gathered chickweed, observed, ate and made chickweed salve and tea. Chickweed is best used fresh but it can be dried or frozen for future use.
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We gathered a large amount of chickweed and first rinsed it off and then let it dry a little bit on a dishtowel. The little ones were munching on it the entire time we were working. Little Woman especially enjoyed it and even made a "hat" with it, they all loved the texture and feel of the chickweed.
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To make a salve, pick out and discard any black, yellow, or dead leaves and then chop the chickweed finely. Fill either a quart or pint jar three quarters full of the chopped chickweed and cover with olive oil. Give it a good shake and place into a crock pot lined with a dish cloth. Fill the crock pot with water and choose the warm setting. Let the oil mixture steep for 3 days, keeping the water line at the rim of the crock pot and agitating the jar once in a while.
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After the three days, strain the pulp from the oil, squeezing every last drop out. For each cup of herbal oil, melt one ounce of beeswax in it over very low heat. Remove from heat and add 5 drops per cup of benzoin essential oil or rosemary essential oil as a natural preservative.
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Pour into containers and let the mixture harden before putting on the lid. Each of the kiddos made their own labels and added this salve to their personal first aid kits. I also put one in my kit and one in the bathroom cupboard for everyday use.
Little Woman didn't waste any time putting her chickweed salve to good use on an owie she had just acquired.
Where to get ingredients for this salve
If you can't find any fresh chickweed, you can purchase dried chickweed or chickweed seeds from Mountain Rose Herbs. They also carry benzoin essential oil, beeswax and containers.
