Bug bites from ants, mosquitoes, deer flies and the dreaded Canadian black fly can keep you up at night with the itch. Green Prophet’s herbalist author Miriam Kresh explains in detail how she makes this effective green balm using foraged herbs such as plantain and marigold.
Related: all about the plantain growing in your backyard
She explains how to pull the medicine from the plants and how to combine your oil of choice with beeswax to make this glorious, green anti-inflammatory cream. She can’t promise to keep the bugs away, but it’s a natural way to make the itch less of a nuisance.
Plantain leaves are edible for a short time in spring, while they’re still small and tender. Mature leaves are too tough to enjoy as a vegetable. The great thing about plantain is its multiple uses as medicine, its numerous potential health benefits, and its versatility (it can be naturally processed to extract flavanoids, tannins, and terpenes in bulk.)
A poultice of crushed plantain leaves, or a cotton pad soaked in strong plantain tea and applied to the irritated part brings down insect bites, rashes, acne, hemorrhoids, or swellings around wounds. For example, a gargle of plantain tea will reduce the swelling and pain in the mouth after a tooth is removed.
And get all of herbalist Miriam Kresh’s wonderful recipes and herbal advice here.
