Jewelweed – Fun Fact, It’s Not A Weed

A weed is defined as a wild plant growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants. If jewelweed was growing on our little lot of land, we’d have to pull it, mostly because it spreads. But, since it’s growing along the edge of a friend’s property, I don’t see it as a weed, I see it as a resource.

My husband and our son were scouting out deer sign and places to hunt and got into a patch of Stinging Nettles. When they got home, my husband was scratching at the rash on his hand. I googled a home remedy solution and discovered that jewelweed sap can alleviate the allergic reaction. We didn’t have any jewelweed at the time, so he used toothpaste instead.

A couple of weeks later my friend allowed me to harvest some jewelweed from her property so that I could make some salve. Once it was done, my husband touched some nettles on purpose (yep – he took one for the team) and used the salve on the irritated spot. He said it felt better within a few minutes, and the rash was gone a few hours later.

Jewelweed is also good for poison ivy, poison oak, and bug bites. When I made the batch of salve I had some left over, so I’m selling it on Etsy. If you click the link at the top of the page, you’ll be able to see what’s available for sale.

What are some of your home remedy go-tos?