April 2020

It’s been a while since I did my Plantain Salve and how to make it post.
Since we’re all in Isolation right now, I figured I’ll do a step by step, in two parts.
If you have a garden or, even better, a field, then this part you can do right now, this afternoon, with things you have at home.
First, you need Plantain. Obviously.
Plantain, or Plantago Lanceolate (Narrowleaf) / Plantago Major (Broadleaf), grows pretty much everywhere.
Most people go after it with weed killer, not knowing what it is and does.
It’s not a weed. It’s actually a very useful plant to have around.
It looks like this:

This is Plantago Lanceolate, or Narrowleaf Plantain.
I don’t have any broadleaf growing here right now, so no pictures except the ones I took in Germany.

That’s the Broadleaf Plantain. Similar structure, just a different leaf shape.

I’ve collected a bunch this morning.

I’m picky, I try to only select undamaged leaves, but some invariably sneak in.
Well, first thing you need to do after picking it… is wash it.
Now, there is zero pollution where I am, but dust / insects / foot traffic will leave their mark.
So…

Wash it in clean cold water.

Throw it in a colander to drip the excess water off.

As I said, I am picky. When I take the plantain out of the colander, I shake off any excess water, and separate the good leaves from the not so good leaves.
Does it matter?
Well… I just don’t want anything sticking to damaged areas that then gets into the oil, but it is probably negligible.
Still, I take any damaged leaves out and put them aside. They won’t go to waste. Bear with me.

Put the leaves on a paper towel and pat them as dry as possible. 
I tend to hang the paper towels up and let them dry after, to wipe down / up any surfaces. 
Up to you.

Chop them up into smaller chunks. I tend to do about 1cm or so.

I throw the chopped plantain into a bowl and let it dry a little longer, but it doesn’t really matter. There shouldn’t be much water left, anyway.
Next… get a glass container with a lid. I reuse old jam jars and such. This one had apricots in it and is rather large.
I boil all these after washing them up, to sterilise it. If yours was washed in a dishwasher, that should be fine.
 
Fill to the edge with the chopped plantain.

Then fill to the top with oil. I use regular sunflower oil. You can use any vegetable oil you like, but honestly… the sunflower oil does the trick. Just don’t use frying oil. 
Let it stand, bumping every now and then, to get the air bubbles out.
Screw the lid on, put the jar in a cool place out of sunlight (Not in the fridge!!) and leave it to sit for 3 weeks.

Here is the one I just made, vs the one I did 3 weeks ago on the right.

I’ll do the next step in a little while, but this is how you make the oil.
You don’t need to make the salve, it’ll be fine to put on as oil… but I add essential oils for insect repellent etc.
For that step, you’ll need vaseline, beeswax, lavender oil (as a preservative) and possibly citronella, lemon eucalyptus oil, cedar oil. (If you want an insect repellent. I often make it just with the lavendar.)

Remember I put the damaged leaves aside?
They get chopped up just like the rest — but I put them on a pizza tray to dry out of the sun.

This makes a lovely tea which is good for coughs and bronchitis.
Tastes a bit like peppermint tea.
Easy peasy. Just dry it, then store it in a dry place.

So… get cracking!