Meeting 13: All Things Knotweed

"Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know."

— Pema Chodron

Our second annual crafting with knotweed workshop with Bryan of Healing Ecosystems took the place of our usual local cloth meeting this May.

We made paper with knotweed pulp that was pre-made and cooked down for 2 hours with a bit of soda ash. To make the pulp I cut the knotweed stems (stripped of leaves) into 2 inch pieces prior to cooking.

We also ate and and made knotweed pickles together in addition to harvesting a bunch of knotweed root, cutting it into small chunks and making knotweed root tinctures.

To further the skincare experiment we also made a glycerite with the leftover knotweed root chunks in a large glass jar. This serum when ready after 6-8 weeks will be useful for internal and external applications. The trick is to shake the jar regularly to promote extraction.

See you in the weeds,

x Nica