A lovely day for making St. John’s Worth Oil!

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Finally a warm and sunny day here in the South West of France! We have had a very chilly and rainy summer so far but things are looking bright! Finally the St. Johns Wort flowers are blooming everywhere so off I was into the fields this morning to pick some for making St. John’s Wort oil with.

To make St. John’s wort oil, pick the blooming flowers on a warm and dry day, preferably in the morning.

Put the flowers in a clean glass jar and pour a good, preferably organic, sunflower oil or olive oil over them. It is important that the flowers are completely submerged because otherwise they can start to mold.

Now place the jar in a warm, sunny spot on the windowsill. If the weather is sunny you can even put the jar outside for a while, because without sunlight and solar heat the oil does not really turn red!

After a few days it’s possible add some new flowers to get an even more powerful oil. You can repeat this up to 3 times.

Shake the jar gently every day.

You will see that the color of the oil changes from yellow to a deep red in a few weeks. When the oil is a deep red in color, the flowers can be removed by pouring the oil through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a clean glass bottle or jar. Do not squeeze as this may allow moisture to come in. Just let it drain slowly.

The color of the oil after 2 weeks

If stored in a dark glass jar, your St. John’s wort oil will keep for at least a year.

Apply the oil (or make a salve or cream with it) in case of:

  • Muscle pain
  • Relief in rheumatic pain
  • Aftersun care
  • Minor cuts and abrasions
  • Minor burns
  • Massage oil for hands and feet
  • Bruises
  • Sports injuries and strains

Note: St John’s Wort oil makes your skin sensitive to the sun, so do not use it before going out in the sun.

Also, St. John’s wort has strong medicinal properties that can interact with medication. So if you are taking medication, always consult your doctor or pharmacy first to see if it is safe to use St. John’s wort.

A simple first aid salve can be made by slowly melting 5 grams of beeswax, then add 100 ml. St. John’s Wort oil.

Mix together well

Pour into a small jar or tin and let it harden in the refrigerator.

And there you have your first aid salve!

It’s time for something organic!

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It’s been quiet at Sedouprat for a while but as always we haven’t been sitting around doing nothing. We have decided while we are not ready to produce organic wine yet, we want to sell an organic product that we personally love and use! There is on Mallorca, yes that gorgeous Spanish Island not so very far from the Gers, an organic Aloe Vera Farm, simply called; Aloe Vera Farm Mallorca. They are situated in Santa Margalida, where more than 16 years ago, the owner and farmer Werner and his wife Aline bought a house with 40 hectares of land. First they just wanted to use it as a lovely in the middle of nowhere hideaway until they decided to plant Aloe Vera on the land as the climate and soil seemed to be extremely perfect for it. So they did and now they run an amazing fully certified Organic farm where they produce the purest Aloe Vera juice, Aloe Vera gel, and a range of skincare products all made with the best ingredients. The farm is open for visits and it’s possible to test all the creams, gels and of course the pur Aloe Vera juice, just straight or in a delicious freshly squeezed glass of Orange juice, and yes

the Oranges are organic and come straight from the farm as well.

We have created our website; lafeuillevierge.com  where you can take a look at all the goodies that we import to France.

Should you live not too far from us (we are in Eauze, Gers) and if you are interested in any of the products, we are happy to deliver straight to you door to save on postage.

We are leaving you with a litte photo reportage of our visit to the farm on Mallorca in may!