today I'd like to show you how to make comfrey infusions oil infusions I'm a backyard gardener I grow perennials in herbs and vegetables a few years back I decided that I wanted to get into using herbs medicinally I had a bad back and I wanted to see what I could use that wasn't a prescription drug to bring down the inflammation in the lower back and I came across comfrey I had a friend who was growing it that had raised pigs and she was feeding the pigs and goats the comfrey so she said I could come over and pick some so I did and I brought it home and I put it in my blender and I made a poultice applied it to my back and within hours the inflammation came down and I felt better so I started doing some research and I found comfrey oil was beneficial to the skin in healing and in bringing inflammation down so I decided to make my own infusion I will show you how I do it there are several ways that people do it with dried herbs and fresh herbs I prefer fresh I think there's more beneficial essential oils in the fresh than in the dried but if you don't have fresh they say dried is just as good I think if I did dried I would do a double infusion do it once and I let my infusion sit for about ten weeks and then do it again but today we're going to use fresh and I'm going to show you first of all I pick it the night before and let it get some of the moisture leaves notice that the flowers are just about opening that's when you pick it just about when the flowers are opening that's the most beneficial now in a pinch if the flowers are not opening I still use it especially if I need a poultice but it's most beneficial if you wait till it's just about the flower then you chop it down to the ground within inches of the ground you'll see new rosettes of leaves coming up leave those pizzette will be your second crop so I let it dry about 6 to 8 hours and then I chop and I keep chopping so you'll need a sharp knife now I am NOT a professional video person no electronics in fact I'm not good at I'm going to show you the best I can and I don't have a pause so I'm going to chop chop I already filled some jars so I think carry on Humphrey has Valentine in it and it's new selection this means that there is a lot of beneficial liquid in here it's kind of slimy feeling kind of like plantain when you pick it that that's a Musil itch - but chop chop put it in a jar fill the jar flowers stems and don't pack it too too hard leave some resistance to it and I said the flowers to everything it's put in the jar and go with them oh I'd say about an inch of the top can you see how I I left some room in there and in this one now I'm going to fill it with olive oil I use organic extra virgin olive oil that's it so you chopped Oh another thing is I do not wash my herbs before I use them I make sure they're quite clean on the plant maybe it's rained the night two days before but I do not wash them you'll see some bubbling going on that means it's going down to the bottom and keep filling just build now I also use a chopstick because it has a little bit of a blunt end but whatever like the end of a wooden spoon like if I poke down with this here the end of a wooden spoon either way push it down what you want is the olive oil to cover completely your herb and I make sure it's covering completely by about oh it looks about an inch when you don't cover it completely and the herb pops up that's when you can get mold so if it's completely submerged and it should be then can you see the olive oil there there there's nothing popping up after you push it down and keep keep it submerged then I cap it off label it this is what I did on the 20th label it and put it in your cupboard somewhere close where you can check it daily for a while and make sure that the comfrey is not coming up through the olive oil that there is an inch of olive oil over it now if if it does come to the surface and it might daily for a few days then just poke it down again poke it down make sure the olive oil is covering in the infusion and cap it back up so two important things make sure the olive oil is covering the chopped comfrey keep it in a dark cabinet and cool not ninety degrees so if your basements cooler than your home because you don't have air conditioning put it down in the basement in the dark area check it for a check for about a week once it stays the oil stays over the comfrey then I put it downstairs for ten weeks now you can check it at six weeks if you want to use it at six that's good but I believe longer is better some of the things I use comfrey floor besides pulled muscles is my arthritic knees ankles a sore that has already scabbed over not an open sore they say not to use it on an open sore you can google it and see why not I forget but it helps the scab heal and without scarring I use it on rashes I use it in my body butters so this is one of my favorites comfrey I also make an infusion with plantain and calendula st. John's wort and it's the same process let it sit overnight 6 to 8 hours get some of the moisture out of the leaves and stems and flowers then pack the jar not too tightly I mean I'm not going to shove it down real hard but there's some resistance here fill it with olive oil extra virgin would be the best pack it down with a stick can you hear bubbly you wanted to get down in between all the cracks so keep pushing you think I added a lot at that time well it's not full so keep adding and poke it down some more actually I like the end of the wooden spoon better than the chopstick but whatever you use I would not use aluminum I prefer wood a little more poke it down make sure everything's under the oil and cap it off don't forget to label it label what you're doing and the date and what herb you're using so that's it my friends my gardening friends I hope because a lot of you from my gardening videos wanted me to do this process I use for comfrey infusions or any infusion so take care yes use olive oil it has the longest shelf life compared to a jojoba oil or sweet almond oil come extra virgin olive oil organic is the best I think to use so take care and I hope this goes easily for you it isn't tired at all just remember to pick it and let it sit for six to eight hours you shouldn't have any trouble with mold growing and then after it sits for ten weeks then I strain it and maybe I'll show you how I do that it's not hard I use a gold filter coffee strainer from one of the old coffee pots like this here and I run it through that but you can run it through cheesecloth tool but this here I like because it's easier to clean than cheesecloth and I'm not about to throw away cheesecloth after oil runs through it so you would filter it after the ten weeks either with cheesecloth or a filter and then bottle it up and keep it in a dark cool spot like down in my basement ok thank you for visiting my channel bye bye