Natural Beekeeping

Top Bar ApiRevolution has begun! Lets make some inexpensive Top Bar Hives and let them be pesticide free on their own natural comb! Che Guebee is a rebel bee fighting for the survival of the Biodiversity we all depend on and which is seriously endangered by deforestation and mono-crop agriculture! What kind of teaching have you got if you exclude nature?

Monday, February 4, 2013

Che Guebee Apiary Comfrey Salve

After cutting lots of fire wood I felt pain in the right elbow. I could hardly lift anything with that arm. Google search named this condition "Tennis elbow".
So I researched a bit more and found that many use Comfrey salve to remedy this. So I ordered Comfrey Roots from Crearome.se, a bottle of organic olive oil and Lavender EO.

I have found a recipe on the net which resonated well with me (there are many recipes out there).
First one is to Infuse the Oil with Comfrey so I added approx 1 cup of Comfrey roots and 2 cups of olive oil into a metal jar I have for this purpose. I placed the jar into the oven and set the temperature to 90'Celsius and let it simmer for 3 hours (making sure to stir it every half an hour).
NOTE!!! I am using oven only because its winter! Otherwise it is much better (and more sustainable) to infuse the oil in the window sill exposed to sun for 2 weeks (turning the jar every day to mix the oil)
Once done seal the whole mixture through a cheescloth (I used an old T-shirt) and add non-treated bees wax to the hot oil and place it back into the oven until the bees wax melts (make sure to put the temperature down to 60'Celsius)- Once the bees wax is melted stir the whole mixture well. Place a termometer into the mixture and wait until the temp goes down to 40-50'Celsius and add 15 drops of Lavender essentiual oil. Stir well and pour into small containers. Place them in the fridge to keep them fresh.
Che Guebee Apiary Comfrey Salve with a touch of Lavender - I will apply it to my sore elbow twice a day until it doesnt hurt anymore. According to the reviews on the net the tennis elbow is healed after only 3 days. Will make sure to update this post.
 Comfrey is one of the most important plants in my opinion. It is great for making liquid fertiliser from its leaves and its flowers offer lots of nectar to bees and is great for healing many skin and bone problems. I already planted 5 Comfrey plants for the next year.

2 comments:

  1. I agree :-)
    Its growing fertility into your garden using comfrey.

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    Replies
    1. I have made a Comfreyroot tincture as well. So i apply tincture first and salve afterwards. By the colour of the tincture I feel its much stronger than the salve but olive oil in the salve transports the comfrey extract faster into the tissue. My elbow already feels better :)

      I will use Comfrey as a fertiliser this year for the first time.

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