Looking for a way to save a tiny bit of spring? Try making a Cottonwood Bud Balm! This balm is lovely to have on hand when your hands are dry and chapped from hard work, gardening, cleaning up, stacking wood, and so much more. Also called the Balm of Gilead, this cottonwood salve is so satisfying to make.

Make This Salve in the Spring

Make this in the spring, your spring. Whatever time of the year it is for you. Our time in Alaska, is typically April to early May.

If you live anywhere else gather buds before they leaf out. Pick them while they are fragrant and smell deliciously of spring. Be aware that the buds are sticky and oozing sap. Your hands will be sticky when picking them.

How to Use Cottonwood Balm Bud

Cottonwood Bud Balm can be used to treat minor muscle aches, perfect for those tired, sore muscles. Sore muscles are such a common spring problem, especially if you’ve been sedentary all winter. For extra sore muscles try our sore muscle rub.

It can also be used as a really good deep moisturizer. I use it as a moisturizing healing balm for my poor, chapped springtime hands. It’s also perfect for chapped cheeks too.

How Long Will This Salve Last?

This salve won’t last too long even if kept in the fridge, so it truly is a spring thing. This doesn’t have any preservatives in it so it’s one to make and use asap.

I Found The Recipe In This Book

My favorite foraging book is Discovering Wild Plants I HIGHLY recommend this book for anyone looking to forage in the Pacific Northwest. It’s packed full of amazing recipes, foraging tips, and hand-drawn plant parts that really show the difference in plants. It also have photos in the book too.

The smell of this balm is heavenly. It smells of fresh air, spring and earth energy. It feels alive, and we love it.

I’m glad to have a use for those silly sticky little buds that annoy so many folks. It really helps bring the outdoors in and even extend that spring feeling right into summer.

How to Forage Cottonwood Buds

Foraging is easy. Find the plants you want to pick on your property or anywhere that you’re allowed to pick plants. Be sure the area is clean, without trash, human waste or animal waste.

Thank the tree/s you’re going to harvest from. They’re giving you health and wellness. The least you can do is be thankful.

Don’t pick every bud from a branch this will hurt the tree. Harvest from a variety of branches and spread out your harvest. Use this strategy and you’ll never kill something by over-picking it.

What you need for Cottonwood Bud Balm

fresh cottonwood buds
lard, or coconut oil and olive oil
olive oil
beeswax
fabric to strain through
jars or tins to hold your balm

Cottonwood Bud Balm

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Prep Time: 3

Servings: tins

Make this salve in the spring for chapped hands and sore muscles. It smells like spring!

Print Recipe

Equipment

double boiler
fabric to strain through, such as cottonwood or muslin
2 jars or tins to hold your balm

Ingredients

1 cup cottonwood buds
1 cup lard don't have lard? Check the notes section for suggestions to replace it!
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup beeswax

Instructions

pick the cottonwood buds
put them in the top of the double boiler, I used a pyrex bowl over a pan of boiling water, along with the lard, the oil and the beeswax
melt everything together, reduce heat, cover and let infuse for at least 2 hours, be sure not to boil the balm while infusing, you can turn off the heat and just let it rest off the heat
strain through a piece of muslin or a couple layers of cheese cloth
then pour into tins or jars

Notes

If you don’t want to use lard, or don’t have any lard to use, you can swap it out with 1/2 cup coconut oil and 1/2 cup of olive oil