Preserving Plantain

Since plantain is going wild here right now, I'm wondering if there's a good way to preserve it. Dehydrating? Blending it into a paste and putting it in canning jars? We would like to store a supply to use for medicinal salve. If anyone has had success with this, please let me know.

Thanks for the help.

-Tom

I never tried it but fermenting like sauerkraut?

Hi Tom,
I did a medicinal salve with it, combined with other herbs and did an oil extraction over several weeks.
It involved taking the whole, dry, fresh plant and submersing it in a good organic oil, I used olive, and keeping it out of direct sunlight for several weeks. If any part of the plant gets above the surface it will mold so be sure to keep it under. After several weeks use cheese cloth to strain the oil off and waalaa you have infused oil to use in salves.
I don't have the link for this process anymore but I'm sure you could find several peoples methods.
Basically the longer the more medicinal.
Some people just boil the oil and plant together but that burns off so many compounds that you would likely want to keep if you were going to go through the trouble of creating your own salves.

Are you talking about plantain, the large banana like fruit, or Plantago major, the leafy weed-like green plant?
John S
PDX OR

You can dehydrate the plant (leaves, seeds, and root) to use as a tea. You can chop up the plant, put in a pot with lard (or coconut oil) and cook on low until the plant is "mushy" then strain it and let it cool. This salve is useful for burns, insect bits, rashes, and sores.

You can also chop up the roots, seeds, and leaves... "wilt" them in a low temp oven or dehydrator to get out some of the water...and then fill a mason jar with the wilted plant and cover with the oil of your choice. Set in a dark location for 2-6 weeks. It's good to turn the jar upside down or stir occasionally -- and make sure the plant pieces remain below the oil. Filter and store the infused oil in a cool dark location. You can used this infused oil as an ingredient in a healing salve.

Tina Paxton wrote:You can dehydrate the plant (leaves, seeds, and root) to use as a tea. You can chop up the plant, put in a pot with lard (or coconut oil) and cook on low until the plant is "mushy" then strain it and let it cool. This salve is useful for burns, insect bits, rashes, and sores.

You can also chop up the roots, seeds, and leaves... "wilt" them in a low temp oven or dehydrator to get out some of the water...and then fill a mason jar with the wilted plant and cover with the oil of your choice. Set in a dark location for 2-6 weeks. It's good to turn the jar upside down or stir occasionally -- and make sure the plant pieces remain below the oil. Filter and store the infused oil in a cool dark location. You can used this infused oil as an ingredient in a healing salve.

Thank you for this information.

Does anyone have experience trying to get plants from the wild to replant?  Is it best to use seeds or transplants?

Tina Paxton wrote:You can dehydrate the plant (leaves, seeds, and root) to use as a tea.

Can I simply air dry the plant in the same way as other tea herbs, or does it have to be oven-dried?

I've done oil infusion and also mix in a little melted beeswax and lavender to make salve and fill small tins, which is more convenient to use and I think lasts longer.   I use a little for every little prick or scratch or bugbite!    You can google "how to make plantain salve" to find recipes