Living on the farm gives a person the chance to revel in the moment and appreciate the gifts that each season brings. This is the season when we harvest the jewelweed plants that grow wild on our little farm. Jewelweed is a cousin to the impatiens plants that provide neon colors to my summer flower boxes. The banks of the creek that borders our property are blanketed by wild jewelweed plants. It brings a beautiful splash of bright orange and yellow when it blooms - kind of like a magic carpet! Speaking of magic, this amazing plant has super magical powers as far as I'm concerned. It lives up to its common name of "Touch-me-Not". When you touch the delicate little orange flowers, the seeds literally shoot out just like magic! We harvest our jewelweed plants during the blooming stage, but of course we leave some to reseed the banks of the creek for future crops. The name "jewelweed" comes from the way the dew sparkles on it's leaves in the morning - it looks like it is encrusted with millions of tiny jewels.
I lived for over 50 years not knowing the secrets that this little plant held. I am very allergic to poison ivy and in my misery have had to go to the hospital for steroid shots to cope with it. I even get poison ivy dermatitis indirectly. I can pick up my goose and get it from touching him (not realizing that he just came through a poison ivy patch). I have even gotten poison ivy off my husband's overalls when sorting clothes for the laundry! I don't have to tell those of you (85% of the population) who join me as "Poison Ivy Sensitive" how miserable it is. The itching, burning, weeping blisters that seem to take forever to heal are pure - well you know.... Calamine lotion never helped much, even though I slathered it all over my body. My husband is one of the lucky 15% of the population that doesn't get poison ivy. He could literally bathe in it and never get even a little itch.
When I found out about Jewelweed and its magical properties I was amazed. It often grows in low-lying areas where poison ivy grows and NEUTRALIZES URISHIOL (poison ivy oil)!!!!! If you get exposed to poison ivy and jewelweed is near, all you have to do is rub the jewelweed on your skin that touched the poison ivy and YOU DON'T GET THE ITCHY BLISTERS! Now if that isn't magic, I don't know what is! Unfortunately the jewelweed plant isn't always available or convenient and for that reason I make a couple of products with it that are always available and convenient and provide the same benefits as the super plant itself.
Scott harvests wild Jewelweed that grows on the farm, cuts it into small pieces and we extract the magic from it by making a tea. This steeps for several days in crockpots set on the "warm" setting. We then strain and filter the tea and freeze it to make jewelweed soap. As many of you can attest, the soap can be used to help prevent getting poison ivy, it can also help with the itching if you have it, and help dry it up quicker. I suggest that you lather up with it and let it dry on your skin when you might come into contact with poison ivy - for instance when weeding the blackberry patch. When you get back inside, wash with the jewelweed soap and tepid (not hot) water. Hot water opens up your skin pores and you don't want to risk any poison ivy oil going deep into your skin! Rinse your skin well after lathering and repeat if you want to be really cautious! If you unknowingly get poison ivy and you feel the itch coming on, take the bar, get it wet and rub it on the affected area. Let it dry on your skin and repeat if necessary. As long as I have been doing this I have never had a full-blown case of poison ivy dermatitis.
We also make an oil emulsion from Jewelweed by steeping it in olive oil. I combine the emulsion with a blend of essential oils and other steeped healing herbs to make "Ditch the Itch" salve. The salve helps stop itching from many sources (bug bites, contact dermatitis, hives, etc.). We sell the salve in small tin containers that you can slip in your purse or keep in your medicine cabinet.
I hope this little blog enlightens you about the magical properties of the jewelweed plant, and I encourage you to learn to identify it in the wild - you never know when that skill might come in handy!
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