I’ve had lots of folks lately asking for our Achy Joints Ointment, and by this time of the year, we are always sold out. Our infused oils and vinegars are always made with freshly, ethically, and beautifully wildcrafted herbs; and our batches are small and quality crafted by hand. (No wonder it’s so popular!)

Being a not-for-profit, we are more interested in empowering YOU with the knowledge and skills to make your own medicines – than we are in safeguarding our recipes for profit. We believe, as Susan Weed says, “Herbal medicine is the people’s medicine”, and cannot possibly be ‘owned’ by anyone.

That’s why, when we sell out of our most popular products, we give the recipes away for free!

The Homestead’s best-selling herbal ointment for your Achy Joints

Arnica grows in large patches on well-drained high-altitude mountain slopes and open fields

Ingredients: 

Equal parts wildcrafted fresh arnica, nettle, and juniper berries (some branches and leaves are okay)

Lots of organic safflower oil, enough to fill your jar

Gluten free liquid Vitamin E and/or Rosemary essential oil

Equipment: 

Glass jar(s)

Chopsticks

Scissors 

Cheesecloth

Colander/large sieve

Bowl

Tinted glass jars for long term storage

Harvest all your herbs on a cool, but dry and sunny morning. Arnica prefers to grow at higher elevations. Consider yourself extra blessed if you can find ripe juniper berries and tall growing nettles growing wild in one place. You may need to grow nettles in your garden or spend a week or so before-hand tracking down as many ripe juniper berries as possible. If you are not familiar with the principles of ethical wildcrafting, please read this article first. 

Fill your clean, dry jars to the brim with your fresh herbs. Pour oil over and fill to the top with oil. Use a chopstick to poke down through the herbs and release any air bubbles that get trapped in the oil, this will help keep your infused oils from going rancid.

Store jar in a cool, dark, dry place for one full moon cycle, or 4 to 6 weeks. Decant by (to decant means to remove the raw material from the infused medicine) pouring the entire mixture over cheesecloth in a large strainer, into a bowl. Squeeze all the oil out of the plant material (this is my favorite part!) and compost the spent herbs.

Add a fair amount of liquid Vitamin E (1 Tablespoon/gallon) or Rosemary Essential Oil (also a natural preservative, 20-25 drops per gallon of oil). Pour your finished ointment into tinted glass jars for long-term storage.

Did you try it? Let us know how it came out!