Once your leaves are in, it’s time to add the oil. Now pop your crushed leaves and stalks into a clean, dry glass jar. By doing this you reduce the surface area of the leaves thereby increasing the potency of your oil. Prepare Your LeavesĬrunch up your dried leaves, cutting up the stalks if necessary. The leaves above have been hanging for several weeks and are now ready for the next stage. You can put your leaves into a dehydrator if you want to speed up the drying process or make your own drying rack, but hanging them also works effectively. We used to have a small electrical dehydrator, a bit like this one, but we never used it for comfrey as they’re so easy to air-dry.

You’ll also get the best results and the most potent leaves if you harvest when the moon is ascending. The best time to pick your leaves is on a flower day, so when the moon is in one of the air signs, like Aquarius, Gemini, or Libra. You can harvest comfrey leaves throughout the summer but not so much in winter when it tends to die off. The high moisture content also has the potential to turn your oil rancid before it’s ready. While you can make comfrey ointment using fresh leaves, because they are about 85% water, they only contain around 0.2% allantoin, making them less effective than dried leaves. You can buy comfrey root, comfrey leaves, comfrey oil, essential oil, and even the beeswax from Starwest Botanicals (with free shipping over $75!) so you can get started making your own comfrey ointment today!Ĭomfrey Oil Organic from: Starwest Botanicals Inc. If you want a pleasant fragrance, you can add a few drops of essential oil, but we like to keep things pure so the balm is more versatile and can be used safely on both animals and children. What Do You Need to Make Comfrey Salve?Ī healing comfrey salve is a simple concoction containing comfrey oil and beeswax. Its name is “derived from the Latin word for ‘grow together’” and, for a long time, it was commonly known as Knitbone. Yes, that’s right – comfrey can actually mend broken bones! T he allantoin content of comfrey, especially in the root, has resulted in its use in folk medicine for healing wounds, sores, burns, swollen tissue, and broken bones. Most people use comfrey leaves to make their ointments or salves but, here at Peas on Earth’s small-holding in South Africa, we decided to boost its strength and efficacy by using the root instead.

11:05 am GMT Are the Leaves or Roots Best for a Comfrey Ointment? Image by Colin Hoseck

Comfrey root bone healing