Chickweed

Chickweed, Stellaria media, her name means little star and a star she is, she is edible, medicinal, fodder for my chickens and so sweet to see in the garden. I planted a few seeds some years back and now she appears all over the place, hiding under the tomatoes, lurking under the wormwood and growing out of cracks in the side of pots, she is not picky. Chickweed as food is high in calcium, iron, and magnesium, as well as Vitamins A & C. It’s packed with nutrition but the flavor can be a bit bland on its own so pop tender young leaves in a salad or add some to your smoothie for a little nutritional boost. It also makes a delightful and easy pesto. Chickweed as medicine can be used both internally and externally. It can be used much in the same way as plantain, chickweed can be used to help soothe sunburns, bug bites, all kinds of skin issues. It can be as simple putting a fresh leaf poultice directly on the wound just like you would with plantain. For eye irritation, redness, dryness, styes, and conjunctivitis it's chickweed to the rescue. Just crush some of the fresh plant matter pop it in a piece of gauze and apply as a poultice to a closed eye for 15 minutes.

Made as a tea and cooled it’s perfect to drink when the body is fighting rashes like poison ivy and other allergic reactions that leave you itchy on the outside and hot on the inside and because chickweed is so very good at relieving itches I infuse it in oil for a soothing salve every year. Chickweed can also help relieve dry coughs, so it can be made as a tea when it’s fresh or as a tincture in the winter months. Chickweed tincture is used for asthma, bronchitis, dry coughs, inflammation, and arthritis in doses of 1-2 droppers full in water or juice 2-3 times a day. A bit about dropper fulls: A “dropper full” is however much the tube fills up with one squeeze - even if the entire tube does not appear full - That is 1 dropper full, and now you know!