Homesteading has been on my mind a lot lately. Its one of those groves I’ll be researching more and more in preparation for acquiring my own lil dock of land to grow edible and medical plants on.  Growing Antibacterial Band-Aids would be a step towards total self sufficiency.  I’ll be posting little gems I discover on here as I find them. This little beauty of a plant is both medicinal and edible. Its botanical name is Stachys byzantina but in real life people refer to it as Wooly Lamb’s ear.

Wooly Lamb’s ear has been used for centuries as a wound dressing on battlefields.  It’s soft, fuzzy leaves absorb blood and help it to clot more quickly. It also contain antibacterial, anti septic and anti-inflammatory properties to help the wound heal and fend off infection. Amazing Antibacterial Band-Aids. Way better than some plastic wanna be band-aid imported from china.

Just press the leaves so the juices are released and wrap over the bruise, cut, or insect sting.  Also great remedy for a stinging nettle encounter.  You can even crush some leaves up, simmer them in boiling water and use the cooled down mixture to use as an eye wash for pinkeye and sties. Young dried leaves in tea can help with fevers, diarrhea, sore throat, internal bleeding and to strengthen the liver and heart.

The juices of the leaves can be used to reduce swelling for bee stings, hemorrhoids and for postpartum recovery.  Lets take this to another level. The soft absorbent leaves can be used as menstrual pads, in place of cotton balls or even as toilet paper.  I still haven’t figured out the proper configuration to make these uses not be super weird but I’ll update this post as soon as I start sewing the stuff together in pads.

Growing Lambs Ear

Starting your own plants from seed really is easy. Here’s how…

1. Fill a well-draining container with Seed Starting Mix.  A yogurt cup with holes poked in the bottom works nicely.

2. Wet the soil thoroughly. If you’re on city water, use filtered water for your plants.The chemicals in treated water can inhibit plant growth.

3. Plant 1-2 seeds per small container (thinning out the weakest seedling), or plant seeds about 6″ apart in a larger pot, burying them 1/4″ deep.

4. Keep the soil moist and the containers out of direct light until the seedlings germinate. As soon as you see the tops of the plants emerging, put them somewhere where they can get at least 6 hours of sunlight daily, or under a grow light. It helps to set the cups/pots in a shallow tray of water to keep the soil from drying out.

5. When the plants have at least three sets of leaves, they’re ready to be transplanted to a semi-shady place in your yard. Space them 12″ apart. They will multiply readily in good soil.