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| Harvesting calendula from our garden. |
When L was a baby I used Weleda calendula lotion on her all the time to help with nappy rash. It smelled amazing and was so good for her skin, but a bit pricy. Now I'm keen to harness the power of calendula for myself and see what I can make from it in my home kitchen.
Today I followed advise from this Frugally Sustainable post and harvested the heads of all the big flowers.
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| My girls, endlessly fascinated by anything floral. |
Now I'm drying the harvested calendula flower heads on a tea towel in the kitchen.
When they're totally dry I will transfer them to a jar and pour olive oil over them to infuse. According to Frugally Sustainable, I will need to let them infuse in a warm sunny spot for 4-6 weeks, shaking daily.
I also checked out Frugally Sustainable's recipe for calendula lotion, and it looks totally doable but I don't have any witch hazel or know where to get it so, till that's remedied, I'm going to stick with the infused oil method.
Any idea where to get witch hazel in Wellington?
I wonder why the petals have to be dry. I was thinking about making this, but I'm really stingy with the olive oil (we buy it from a local producer for $59 for 5 litres). Does it really work?? I suppose I should just make some and try it myself. Save some petals for your tea :) I sprinkled some on Pete's salad the other day too, and he didn't even notice, I was expecting a "what's this orange stuff?".
ReplyDeleteI buy cheap live oil for remedies and stuff for eating. no way would I use/ waste my good stuff
DeleteMost chemists sell distilled witch hazel Em, I saw it the other day in our local unichem next to the white meths! Aimee
ReplyDeleteWell done!! I make a calendula infusion with coconut oil. You can buy good quality witch hazel from lotus oils or soapcraft both great sites. Good luck M xx
ReplyDeleteI have been making calendula oil like this for years, after the the first 3 weeks I would strain and put fresh flowers in and infuse for another 3 weeks. Store in a dark glass bottle out of sunlight for 2 years. Works really well on the skin for ecxema etc but does have a tendency to stain so be aware of that.
ReplyDeleteDo I need to dry the flowers first or can I put fresh flowers straight in the oil?
DeleteHi Emma, I order my witchhazel from www.lotusoils.co.nz, I use a little of it with some rose water in Anziel's wash water at nappy changes. smells lovely. Heather
ReplyDeleteThe flowers make for such pretty pictures with your girls! Will try to make the oil and lotion one day -- please let us know how yours turn out.
ReplyDelete