Calendula for Cold and Flu Season

Prepperid

I like to use it as a tea and also use it to make calendula infused oil that goes into balms, salves and natural beauty treatments.

I also use the dried petals in batches of handcrafted soap.

It's easy to grow and is a cut and come again flower- meaning the more you harvest the more will bloom and grow.

Pick when the flower is fully open and dry heads in open air throughly before storing.

Calendula reseeds readily so if you let a portion of your bed go to seed it should come back the next year.

It's also easy to save seed from. Let flowers go to seed but not so far that they drop to the ground. Then harvest, air dry and store seed for next year. (Tip... the seeds look like little worms. My husband thought I was crazy at first.)

Prepperid

Cyndi193,

 

Yes, the seeds DO look like little worms...they kind of freaked me out the first time I planted them.  I love the soap idea!!  Do you have a recipe you can share?

cyndi193

Are you familiar with the cold process method. Any base recipe  can have petals added in at trace. Also some of the base oils can be replaced with Calendula infused oil.  When combined in a recipe with annatto coloring the herb looks very pretty.

Laura Adkins

I confess, I have not made soap as of yet....I have been so caught up in the medicinal properties of herbs in the last few years that I am just starting to scrape the surface on making household cleaners and cosmetic skincare.

Recently, I have made an all-purpose cleaner and a window/glass cleaner and love them.  I will definitely research the cold process method of soap making.  I will try the calendula as you have suggested; sounds like a fantastic gift idea.

Thanks

cyndi193

You could do a melt and pour bar. Just add the annatto for coloring, the Calendula petals and an essential oil/blend for fragrance. Most craft stores have soap bases but I am not sure how "natural " the bases are.?

ettacass24

Cyndi193 thank you for the tip on infusing calendula in the oil for the soap. I use it in many things but never thought about adding it to my soap.

H_D

i always have a jar of calendula infused olive oil/ or hemp seed oil that i usually use to prepare other infused oils or salves with for my family and clients its a great base.  The olive oil also can mix with infused vinegars for a great salad too.

My pain salve (for sciatica and joint pain) has calendula, cats claw, st johns wort, camphor, frankincense, willow bark and cannabis extract..melts the pain away.

Heather

Laura Adkins

Thanks for sharing the pain salve!  I will also try infusing with olive oil....Love to learn!

AndreaDennin

I have to say I really like calendula. It’s not hard to grow and has multiple uses. Big fan of making it into a balm. I’ve never tried it as a soap bar, though. Great idea!

alindsay22

I love Calendula.  In tea is a staple at our house and I also always have a jar of infused oil (avocado in winter, coconut in summer) to use with my salves.  Isn't it the natural Neosporin?

Heather, when you say you use it with all of the other herbs to make a pain salve, do you make a single infusion of all of those herbs and then make a salve?

Anne