Herbalist Crystal Stevens joins us to answer your questions and Bevin shares a recipe for a healing salve made from yarrow and comfrey!

We’re so excited to have Crystal Stevens join us for ‘Ask an Herbalist.’
*Learn more about Crystal and her farm* -  https://flourishfarmstead.com

Crystal is an herbalist, author, educator and co-owner of Flourish Farmstead in Godfrey, Illinois. You’ve sent in your herb questions and Crystal is here to answer them! Some of the questions we talk about include:

·        What herbs would you recommend for making a salve or lotion for aging skin?

·       When is the best time to harvest herbs and the best way to dry them for storage?

·       Is there a way to make a tincture without using alcohol? Is it as effective?

·       What are some of the best uses for Elderflower tincture?

Before the interview, Bevin talks about harvesting, drying, and storing herbs. He also shares a recipe for making a topical healing salve from yarrow and comfrey. This is the same healing salve that we offer online!

Simply combine equal parts dried comfrey and yarrow in a quart jar. Fill the jar to the top with high quality sunflower oil, then cover, label, and let steep for four to six weeks. Once the oil is ready strain out the herbs and discard.

To turn your lovely herbal oil into a salve just combine 16 fluid oz of oil (volume) with 1 ¼ ounces of beeswax (weight) in a double boiler. Heat the oil to melt the wax, then pour the mixture into a container to cool... so easy! This salve is perfect for cuts, scratches, bruises and minor abrasions. 

If you’re interested in learning more about working with medicinal herbs, check out Bevin’s book, The Artisan Herbalist, which is available here.

Bevin was recently a guest on the Pantry Chat podcast where he had the opportunity to talk about small-scale seed and nut oil production. It was a great interview! You can find it here.

During the interview, Bevin talks about our Oil Pressing Kit, which comes with everything you need to get started pressing your own oils right at home! You can order the kit here!

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