How to Grow a Plant That Can be Used as an Antibacterial Band-Aid
My Dad grew up on a farm in Northern Wisconsin. He learned a lot about making do with what you had around you in the event of emergencies. Mom grew up in a small suburb south of Chicago. She was interested in herbal medicine and remedies before they became popular. She learned a lot from her Mother who made all sorts of herbal tinctures and remedies from plants she grew in her large garden. After she married, Mom had a small garden in the back of the 2-flat we lived in.
So both Dad and Mom knew about Wooly Lamb's Ear, a plant that can be used as an antibacterial band-aid. It's also edible.
Wooly Lamb's Ears have greenish-gray leaves that are soft and feel furry or wooly. This is because they have a layer of hairs that makes them really soft. The shape of the leaf looks like a lamb's ear too.
Wooly Lamb's Ear was used by the military for centuries to dress the wounds of soldiers on the battlefield. The soft leaves are good at absorbing blood. They are also antibacterial and antiseptic which helps to protect the wound.
Dad said his Mother grew wooly lamb's ears in her garden on the farm and used it mainly as a first aid treatment for cuts and wounds. My Grandmother on Mom's side made a Wooly Lamb's Ear tea to treat any fevers her 5 kids came down with. She would also crush the leaves and put them on any insect sting or bite.
In researching this post, I found that preppers and people living off the grid have also used the soft leaves as toilet paper, cotton balls and during a woman's monthly cycle. It's also a good plant to be able to recognize if you go on extended camping and survival trips.
You can buy Wolly Lamb's Ear seeds from a lot of online herbal stores. Just plant them 1/4" deep in seed starter mix and keep them in a shaded area. It's important to keep the starter mix moist. Once you have seedlings, put them in a spot that gets 6 to 8 hours of sun a day.
This is one of those interesting and offbeat plants that most people haven't heard of.
Photo: Fotolia
Some sources I looked at:
http://theprepperproject.com/grow-antibacterial-bandages/
http://theherbgardener.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-grow-lambs-ears-stachys-byzantina.html
If you follow me @nubchai I'll happily follow you back :)
Thanks for sharing @nubchai! At first glance, I thought your photo was mullein (which is also super healing and soft and wooly)--so happy to see there's something new to learn about lamb's ear instead!
Oh mullein is wonderful too! :)
Nice post. I grew up in central Wisconsin. Always enjoy the plants with a purpose out there, so thanks for giving people a heads up!
Hi Papa-Pepper. Thank you! :)
It looks alot like sage, is it a member of the sage family?
Hi frk. No I don't think they're related. Common sage belongs to: Salvia officinalis. And from Wikipedia: Wooly Lamb's Ear is - Stachys byzantina (syn. S. lanata; lamb's-ear or woolly hedgenettle) It's a species of Stachys, native to Turkey, Armenia, and Iran
It does look similar to Sage so many different types of Sage.
That's really cool, I love natural health cures! UPVOTED!
Please have a look at my latest post. It's a free natural cure that anyone can do.
https://steemit.com/life/@kus-knee/the-old-dog-investigates-is-laughter-really-the-best-medicine
Thank you :)
You know, I think you are on to something here. If you continue too educate yourself in medicinal herbs and make it a steemit tools page I will certainly be a regular visitor. For many years I have been interested in this subject and read extensively on medicinal plants, but due to "information overload" over the years some of what I learned is forgotten, (or the file is corrupt), maybe just halfzimers. Having a quick "go to" page like that would be beneficial to many people I bet.
Thanks Ricov. I'll have to think about that :) It's all about time, unfortunately.
Understandable. Im gonna keep an eye ya tho.
I just wanted to thank everyone who's taken the time to upvote and comment on this post. I feel like my heart is going to explode because I look at it as a vote of confidence. I really really appreciate it.
Interesting read. I lived on a farm after marriage and we grew plants along the way to use as natural healing products. I was not familiar with this plant however. Thank you.
You're welcome!
enjoyed reading this post! thank you
I'm glad - thank you!
Excellent info to know about Lamb's Ear. I love this type of information.