Comfrey

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We love the comfrey plant. Not only does it grow long deep green leaves and bloom beautiful purple flowers that the bees love, but it puts more into the soil than it takes out. You can’t go wrong growing this plant in your garden.

Comfrey roots and leaves contain cell regrowth properties and allantoin, which is also found in aloe vera. So you can use it in the same way you would use aloe vera gel, but in my opinion, comfrey is better. It’s also known as ‘knitbone’ or ‘boneset’ and can be used to help heal bones.

Benefits

When added to your compost pile, or just sitting there growing in your garden, it adds nitrogen into the pile or soil. We have it growing in various places in our garden and it multiplies every year. During the winter months it goes dormant as it is a perennial, but not to worry, it comes back every spring and brings new little shoots with it! We like to place the new plants into pots and share them with others. It is propagated through the roots so you can cut up a root and just plant it if you want.

You can treat things using the leaf by scrunching it up or chewing it to release the oil, then placing it on your wound or sore spot. It can be held in place with a piece of first aid tape. If you have a sore tooth or a sore in your mouth, chew up some comfrey leaf and pack it onto the sore spot. Leave it on for about 20 min. or so and use as often as needed.

A salve can also be made, which I like because it’s so convenient and I always have it on hand. This is great because it can be used anywhere on your skin, as well as inside your mouth. We have not found any epidermal issues that this hasn’t helped with. Practically every person we give a sample to eventually comes back to us and tells us how it benefited their pain. Whether it be a cut, bite, sting, rash, sore muscle, sun burn, bruise, or even poison oak… comfrey salve works beautifully. Anytime I wonder if comfrey salve will work on this or that, I give it a shot because it can’t hurt any. I make my salve with coconut oil which also has healing properties, so I think that is a further benefit.

Try out this comfrey salve recipe using the oil of your choice. I’ve even made it with olive oil which I use for oil pulling. Before making it you will need to dry some leaves. It’s hard to say how many since the size varies. I cut what will fit in my dehydrator and use whatever is leftover in the next batch. The root can also be added, but I typically only use leaves because it doesn’t require me to dig. I have nothing against getting dirty, but I like to keep things simple and get them done as quick as possible. So I cut the leaves, then dry in my dehydrator. It doesn’t take long and you can leave the stem on or not. If you don’t have a dehydrator, the leaves can be hung to dry the old fashioned (and free) way.

Now that you have dried comfrey leaves, here we go…

Ingredients/Supplies

• 2 cups comfrey leaves, dried and shredded
• 2 cups oil
• 3 ounces beeswax (optional if using coconut oil)
• 1 quart jar and lid
• Slow Cooker
• Strainer
• Small jars for storing salve

This can be made in any quantity you’d like. As you can see, it’s a 1:1 ratio. The beeswax is not needed with the coconut oil since it will harden on its own. However, regardless of the type of oil that’s used, the amount of beeswax can be changed depending on how firm you’d like the salve.

Fill the quart jar with somewhat shredded leaves. Without pressing down, it’s going to be approximately 2 cups worth.

Then add your oil. Sometimes I add more oil and leaves if there’s room in the jar and I want more salve.  Place lids and rings on jar.

Place a cloth at the bottom of the slow cooker – this is just for cushioning. Then pour water about two thirds up the jar.

Cover and set to low for 24 hours.

Once finished, it’s time to strain. The oil will be a very dark green.

Here is where we add the beeswax. Grate the wax and place in a saucepan along with the comfrey oil. Heat on low and stir until the wax is melted. Pour into jars or containers and store in a cool place. After using it, tell everyone how amazing it is!

I hope you enjoy the comfrey plant as much as we do! I would love to hear about the uses you find for it!