Green Ninja

Make Your Own Herbal Infused Oil from Calendula Flowers

Pictured above are Calendula flowers in my garden.

Calendula flowers are easy to grow and make a pretty edition to your garden. You can even use the petals which are edible to brighten up summer salads. Calendula is a good antiseptic and healing agent. It can be used for minor cuts, scrapes, chapped skin, diaper rash, eczema and windburn.

You can make herbal infused oil with dry or fresh herbs. When using fresh herbs there is an increased chance of mold growth and fermentation due to the high moisture content in the herb. This post contains a recipe for making dry herbal infused oil since this is often a preferred method. Properly made dry infused oil has a shelf life of about two years. You can purchase dried Calendula flowers or dry your own. Be cautious if purchasing because not all commercially sold herbs are of good quality. The flowers should be a vibrant orange or yellow color not pale. An easy way to dry flowers is to place the blossoms face down on a screen. The screen can also be used to crush the dried flowers by rubbing them through the screen.

Recipe for Calendula dry herbal infused oil
What you will need:
100 grams dried Calendula blossoms (crushed or powdered)
500 ml of olive oil or other carrier oil such as almond or apricot
2 jars with lids for macerating the herb and the oil, wide mouth mason jars work well
A tincture press or wine press if you have one but it is not absolutely necessary
Layers of cheese cloth
A jar or bottle with a lid or stopper that you will store the finished oil in, a dark colored or amber glass container is recommended

1. Place the herbs in the jar and pour the carrier oil over the herbs, stir thoroughly
2. Store the jar out of direct sunlight for two weeks, stir the mixture often. Heat helps the process, storing the jar in a warm place will help speed things up.
3. Press the oil that absorbed into the herbs, place in another jar and let it settle overnight, there will still be some sludge that settles to the bottom that you will need to filter out
4. Process the oil again through several layers of cheesecloth and place into your final container, label the container and date it.

A photo album will be coming soon with step by step instructions. Also remember that herbal infused oil is not the same as essential oil and cannot be used interchangeably.

(Source for Calendula properties and dry infused oil instructions – Making Plant Medicine by Richo Cech)

Could garlic help in fighting MRSA?

I have always advocated the medicinal use of garlic. From personal experience I know that garlic can be effective at treating mouth sores or an infected tooth and sinus infections. Garlic is also a natural insecticide. Garlic was commonly used as a poor man's penicillin years ago in places where access to medicines was limited.

Garlic has a compound in it called allicin which is said to be the ingredient which provides the antibacterial and antiviral properties. From what I have read about allicin, it supposedly breaks down once ingested. The garlic home remedies I am aware of call for applying garlic to the affected skin (not open wounds) or inhaling the garlic vapors. Garlic should be raw and fresh before use. The chemical compound allicin is released when the raw garlic is crushed.

The Mirror.co.uk reports that garlic has been shown to help people with MRSA. Pills containing allicin were ingested or a liquid was sprayed. I have my doubts about the capsules but I cannot deny that garlic does have healing properties that should be further researched.

Mayapples – The Witch’s Umbrella

As a child I always looked at these plants and imagined them as tiny umbrellas. I never knew that they could be used as lethal poison! Mayapple is the common name for the plant Podophyllum peltatum (L.). It is commonly found in the eastern US in wooded areas. In spring the plant has a small white flower which will become the Mayapple fruit.

The Mayapple was of significance to American Indians as a food, medicine, insecticide and was even used to commit suicide. The leave and roots are extremely toxic. The small round greenish/yellow fruit is not toxic and edible but it is advised by some to not eat the seeds or skin. Indians boiled the leaves and used the liquid as pesticide for potato crops. The root was dried and powdered for treatment of skin infections or other ailments. The lethal dose of this root is not known but it is not advisable for anyone to take it even in small quantities. In modern times, a compound in the plant has been synthesized and used to treat small cell lung cancer and testicular cancer. If you want more info on this check out this article- The American Mayapple and its Potential for Podophyllotoxin Production.

There are several superstitions about the Mayapple plant. Some people believe the powdered root stashed high up on a shelf in your house will bring good fortune. The Mayapple is also referenced in witchcraft spells. It is also said if a girl pulls out a Mayapple root in the woods she will become pregnant!
Mayapple fruit can be made into a beverage or jelly. I went with my family and friends the other evening and we collected a bunch of Mayapples. I am going to try a jelly recipe I found. I will be sure to let you know how it tastes!

Thanks again Colin, George, Beth, Sean, Ty and Todd for helping collect the Mayapples!