Aloe Vera

Back again with another recipe from a great plant….in fact I think it's probably one of the best plants in the world. I came across this recipe about 2 years ago and use it regular; I have 2 plants in the house.

***The Plant***

Aloe Vera - barbadensis

A half-hardy perennial, the indoor species can grow about 1ft in height and can eventually produce a flowering stem with bell shaped flowers, I have not seen this on my plant.

The Aloe Vera plant has many properties, when used on a wound it puts a protective film over the area and helps the skin to regenerate. The Aloe plant that is over 2 years of age is meant to have stronger medicinal properties. It is also used to treat sunburn, fungal infection, and under doctor supervision it can be used as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), I also read in a herb book the US government have stock piles of this in case of a nuclear war (believe it or not).

There is thought to be around 300 species of Aloe around in the world, originally native to South Africa, and has been used medicinally since 4 BC.

The grown plant need very little looking after, only thing that damages the plant is over watering

***Cultivation***

A constant temperature of 70oF must be maintained during germination. Sow onto the surface of a pot or tray cover with perlite. Place in a propagator with bottom heat, germination is very hard taking between 4 and 24 months. Personally I would just invest in buying the plant.

***Division***

In summer very gently remove offshoots at the base of a mature plant, and leave for a day to dry out, then pot into a mixture of 2 parts compost to 1 part sharp sand, Water the plant gently and leave somewhere warm to establish.

***Maintenance***

In the spring give the plant a good dust, and spray the leaves with water, and give a good feed with a liquid fertilizer.

In the autumn, bring the pots in from outside and place the plant in a cool room minimum 40oF, and keep the watering down to a minimum

Cut the leaves throughout the growing season to encourage a stronger plant

*****This recipe is for a Aloe Gel*****

The ingredients you need are the following

1 Aloe Vera leaf (try to take from the top of the plant)
1 bottle of lavender essential oil

*****How To Prepare*****

Peel the tough outer skin off the leaf using a sharp paring knife.

When you have peeled the skin of you will be left with a gelatinous gel, place the gel in a blender.

For every 50ml of Gel add 4 drops of lavender essential oil.

Then blitz all the ingredients and make sure you have mixed thoroughly, then scrap out the gel into a glass jar or even a plastic lined tin, seal it, and label.

Store in the fridge, this should last for about 4 weeks

*****How To Use*****

Apply the gel to sunburn, minor burns and insect bites.

***NOTE***

Don't take the fresh Aloe internally without seeking advice. It is a potent laxative and should not be taken by children or pregnant women.

As with all herbal medicine do researches before you use it.

Thanks for reading my reviews, and thankyou for rating them.

Tashi Delek (May everything be well)

the_enlightened_one © 2007

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