Our comfrey plant has been going NUTS over the last few seasons and I’ve been despairing what to do with it. I decided to dry the leaves and use them for cooking and tea-making, but my daughter decided she wanted to give making comfrey oil a go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comfrey is a useful plant used for centuries to heal wounds and broken bones – hence its other name: knitbone.

Leaves or roots applied as a wash, poultice or ointment are used for bruising, sciatica, boils, rheumatism, neuralgia, varicose veins, bed sores, wounds, ulcers, insect bites, tumours, muscular pain, pulled tendons, gangrene, shingles and dermatological conditions.

Internally comfrey leaf tea has been used to help with indigestion, stomach and bowel problems, excessive menstrual flow, hoarseness, periodontal diseases, bleeding gums, thyroid disorders, diarrhea, gastrointestinal ulcers, hernia, glandular fever, coughs, lung conditions, hemorrhaging, cancer, catarrh, anemia, sinusitis, lupus, lowering blood pressure, hiatus hernia, blood purifier, to ease inflammation of the joints and mucus membranes.

Method:

After cutting the flowering stalks of comfrey (use gloves because the plant has fine hairs all over it and can be a bit scratchy), cut them into smaller pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next fill your sterilised jars with (as Susun Weed says) enough comfrey to make a bed for a fairy. So don’t stuff it in but fill the jar to the point where pressing on the plant material is bouncy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally fill your jars with pure olive oil, or extra virgin olive oil. We used both in this to see if there was a noticeable difference between the resulting oils. The oil should completely cover the plant material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Use a chopstick to press on the plant material to get as many of the air bubbles out as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cap tightly and your oil is ready in six weeks.

In a day or two after first bottling, check the level of oil to ensure the plant material is fully covered. Top up if necessary.

In six weeks you strain the plant material out of the oil, label with the date and it can be used as is on bruises, cuts, rubbed into sprains etc. Put the plant material into your compost. Plants just LOVE comfrey mulch!

My daughter wants to take some and make an ointment out of it so I’ll let you know how she goes with phase 2!

 

By the way, here’s how my leaves looked dried and the resultant tea!

     

 

 

 

 

 

© Earth Goddess Wisdom – www.earthgoddesswisdom.com

Resources:

Herbs Are Special – Comfrey

 

 

I was reading a fantastic contributed letter to my local newspaper and I thought some of the things mentioned were just awesome! Unfortunately I’m not allowed to reprint the letter here, but have included the link to it below so you can read it online.

But the writer has some terrific gift suggestions that are not only alternatives to your traditional gifts, but give twice because they help support local small businesses. In part the writer (H. Holt) says:

“Christmas should be about caring for us, encouraging Australian small businesses to keep plugging away to follow their dreams. And, when we care about other Australians, we care about our communities and the benefits come back to us in ways we couldn’t imagine. This is the new Australian Christmas tradition.”

Absolutely! And it can be the new tradition in every country because the suggestions apply just as easily to towns across the globe.

Read the rest of the letter and the wonderful suggestions at the link below.

A new approach to Christmas

 

 

©Earth Goddess Wisdom

 

It always amazed me that more people didn’t use their grey water for their gardens – particularly in Australia where water is at a premium.

In order to use grey water safely though it’s important to use products that are low in sodium (less than 10gm per wash), contain little or no phosphorous (less than 1gm per wash), have a moderate pH (no higher than 8 for liquids and no higher than 10.5 for powders) and are of low salinity.

We only use grey water from the laundry or tank water on our garden – and it’s important you check with local authorities about any restrictions that might apply to the use of grey water in your area.

Instead of trusting the labels on some commercially available laundry products, I decided to go with a company who has a history of leadership in the area of environmental responsibility and innovation.

Tri Nature was the first Australian chemical company to manufacture phosphate- and nitrate-free products, and also shunned zeolites, enzymes and common phosphate replacements in favour of natural, renewable plant- and vegetable-based ingredients.

I’ve been using their Alpha Plus Herbal Laundry Powder and Enhance Pre-Wash Spray now for a number of years and it’s just as effective as the chemical-laden products you purchase from the supermarket.

They have a range of other home and beauty products – I can also vouch for their Carma Car Wash, Chamomile dish washing liquid and Supre Multipurpose Cleaner!

To top it off they are 100% Australian owned and 100% Australian on-site manufactured. Plus they contain no animal by-products and are definitely 100% against animal testing.

If you want to make the switch you can get obligation-free information about usage and the savings you can make by using the products from Elsbeth Collins. You can email her directly for info. The products are only available from independent distributors like Elsbeth who can also provide further information on each product, its use and ingredients.

 

 

©Earth Goddess Wisdom

If your computer is behaving wildly or you find you’re not communicating as well, it could be because Mercury went retrograde on 24 November – and will stay that way till 13 December.

Mercury rules communication – so it is said that during the three or four times a year these planetary movements happen this area of our lives can be affected. In the 21st Century the means of communication tends to be phones and computers. I have heard a number of people complaining in the last week about their computers freezing, running ‘slow’ or emails not working. And even my own attempts at verbal communication are going a bit haywire and missing the mark!

It’s often said that if you can avoid signing contracts or making other commitments at this time then do so as they may need revision when Mercury goes direct again.

It’s said that this is a time of contemplation, reflection and review.

I’m actually not a big ‘astrologer’ but I do find Mercury Retrograde a fascinating time and I use it to just watch and see what eventuates. I don’t usually know when retrogrades occur but whenever I begin to notice a pattern of complaints I check the dates and sure enough, Mercury is up to his tricks!

For a great article and more info see Molly Hall’s About page.

There’s another great article here.

 

©Earth Goddess Wisdom

For readers in the northern hemisphere, the Autumn Goddess Pages is now live online.

It’s a good read for southern hemisphere readers too though!