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Chickweed is one of those backyard herbal remedy It’s good for salads and doubles as a skin conditioner. You’ll often see its white flowers poking out on the lawn in early spring. Read on to learn how to make chickpea salt (and why you’d want to!).
Benefits of Chickweed
Like many other spring herbs, chickweed is a nutritious and cleansing herb. I like to think that nature knows we can all use spring cleaning after the long winter months! Chickweed has a wide variety of nutrients, including:
- vitamins A, C, E and B complex
- calcium
- Iron
- magnesium
- manga
- phosphorescent
- kali
- silicon
- zinc
- GLA
- Bioflavonoids
One of the best ways to benefit from chickweed is to eat it in bulk like any other spring salad. Internally it is used to help moisten dry tissues and soothe inflammation throughout the body. People with arthritis find it can help lubricate stiff joints from the inside out. It also has a history of helping to move blockages, infections, and cysts in the body.
Benefits of DIY Chickweed Salve
We can harness the benefits of chickweed year-round in salve form. While it doesn’t work quite the same way as chickweed salad, the salve is beneficial in its own right. Chickweed works both internally and externally to soothe irritation and inflammation. A mung bean salt can help:
- Removes skin impurities, such as pimples
- Pull out the debris, like this black drawing
- Reduce joint pain
- Soothes itchy, dry and irritated skin conditions
- Improve damaged skin (cuts, wounds, burns, etc.)
- Soothes hemorrhoids
- Disperse excess fluid and congestion in the body
Feed for Chickweed
Most stores don’t sell chickweed on their shelves, so it’s best to buy it in the wild. This grass likes to grow in patches and is often found in backyards or can be grown as ground cover.
Chickweed It is a low-growing, bushy, green plant. The petals are stellate and have five lobes, each bisecting. There is a small line of hairs running down the stem.
Scarlet Pimpernel looks similar to chickweed, but it is poisonous. The best way to tell the two apart is by looking at the flowers. Chickweed has white flowers, while red pea has orange/red flowers.
Prepare for Chickweed Salve
We can use fresh chickweed seaweed for healing, but I like dry it first. The high humidity in this herb can cause the oil to soak and the brine to spoil faster. An easy way to dry chickweed is to put it in a dehydrator on low heat for a few hours.
No dehydrator? Tie the plants into bundles and hang them upside down in a cool, dry place for a few weeks.
There are several ways to prepare salve, but one of the fastest is the double-boiler stovetop method. This also encourages any water in the plant material to evaporate during the infusion. I use the kitchen method for homemade healing water.
DIY Chickweed Salve Recipe
This soothing salt water features chickweed for joint pain and a host of skin problems. I also add some lavender to soothe and brighten damaged skin.
Productivity: ten ounce
Guide
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In the top of a double boiler or a heat-safe glass bowl, combine the chickpeas and oil.
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Place the bowl on top of a filled pot or double boiler if using. Gently boil the water over low heat for 3 hours, refilling with water if needed.
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Strain the herbs out and pour the filtered oil into a measuring cup. Coat with a little more oil if needed to reach 1 cup.
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Return the beeswax and oil mixture to a clean double boiler or glass bowl. Fill the bottom of the pot with water and stir frequently until the wax is completely dissolved.
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Turn off the heat, add essential oils if using and immediately pour the brine into the container.
This article has been medically reviewed by Madiha Saeed, MD, a board-certified family physician. As always, this is not personal medical advice and we recommend that you speak with your doctor.
Have you used chickweed before? What will you use this chickweed brine for? Drop us a comment and let us know!
Source:
- Codekas, C. (2021, February 11). Chickweed Foraging: Identification, Lookalikes, and Uses. Growth of fermented forage cooking.
- Herbal Academy. (2015, March 15). Chickweed. Botanical garden
- Tilgner, S. (2009). Herbal Medicine From The Earth’s Heart. (Second edition). Wise Acres LLC.
