There is a widespread and abundant plant in North America that just has a seemingly endless amount of uses. Of all of the uses for this plant which I have talked about and made many videos about, there is one we will be talking about today. Just a few simple steps and ingredients and this plant can be made into some very nice candles that have some surprising medicinal qualities.
MY WATERPROOF EDIBLE PLANTS GUIDE IS NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON! It is the go-to guide for foraging in a hurry.
For some easy fire starters that are just as cheap and easy to make, try my homemade fire starters! Which use all throw away items from your home and make something very useful with them.
Also, while you are out harvesting mullein and happen to run into some mushrooms, check out my post on how to identify chanterelle mushrooms!
If you would like tips on how to identify this plant as well as some other uses for it, check out one of my tiktok videos about this plant right HERE!
This plant is so useful that I am always finding more uses for it. Making candles is easier than you might think and even they have more than one use to them.
I didn’t realize I was going to like this process so much until my wife decided that she wanted to try it together. I already had a bunch of candles so all we needed was to go get some mullein.
Mullein seed heads are best harvested in the fall when they are brown and dry thus, you will remove the seed head by snapping it off of the rest of the plant.
How to identify mullein:
Mullein grows in every state in the United States. It has large leaves that are fuzzy on both sides.
Mullein produces long seed heads that have yellow flowers and eventually turn brown.
The leaves are so fuzzy!
This close up is of the seed head that we are going to be making our torches!
Harvest as many of these seed heads as you need to, to make the amount of candles that you want to make.
Cut them into sections for ease of working with:
By breaking them down into smaller pieces, it makes it easier to dip them and to manage them overall.
Melt wax for dipping mullein seed heads:
You can use left over candles or purchase cheap ones from the dollar store.
Either way works fine but the dollar store candles are whipped and have a lot of air in them! So even though you are buying them for cheap you only end up with half the amount of wax that you thought you had bought.
I like to only use one candle container to dip and when it starts getting low I fill it with the others.
Dip your seed heads in the wax:
You are going to dip them and then let them cool before you dip them again. You will end up dipping them 5 or 6 times to get the right amount of wax on them.
For the cooling process for these rather large items we used a clothes drying rack. I tied the ends with string and used the clothespins to hold them onto the rack.
Place something underneath to catch the dripping wax so you don’t make too big of a mess.
They should be coated thoroughly when done. I personally will make them coated to the point where I could dip them into water and they will not get water logged and will still light.
Light one and try it out:
Snip the tip of off the torch to expose a little bit of the mullein plant. This makes it easier and faster to light because if you don’t there is a lot of wax on the tip.
Wow it works! It works better than I though it would. Just a small chunk of this mullein will burn for a very long time.
The fumes from the burning mullein are medicinal!
Mullein is a plant which has been used as a medicine for lung issues for thousands of years! Not only is this a functional use of the mullein plant as a torch or candle. It is also medicinal and beneficial to burn in your home.
Mullein Candles
There is a widespread and abundant plant in North America that just has a seemingly endless amount of uses. Of all of the uses for this plant which I have talked about and made many videos about, there is one we will be talking about today. Just a few simple steps and ingredients and this plant can be made into some very nice candles that could also properly be called torches!
Materials
- Mullein seed heads
- Wax for melting
- String for hanging
Tools
- Cooking pot with water
- Drying rack of some sort
Instructions
- Harvest mullein seed heads
- Cut them to a manageable size around 6-12 inches
- Melt wax
- Dip the mullein seed heads in wax
- Let them hang to cool in between dips
- Dip them 5 or 6 times for a thick coat of wax
- If you can before you light one, snip the tip off with a pair of scissors
- Light it to check your work!
Notes
Harvest the mullein seed heads when they are brown and bone dry for best results. If you must harvest them when they are damp let them hang out somewhere warm and dry to dry out completely before you dip them in wax.
Get creative with melting wax, dipping, and dripping. Not everyone has the same resources and it does not have to be so specific.
I like to put a spin on popular dishes and creating new dishes, using foraged foods.
i hunt, fish, raise many different kinds of animals, and have a wide variety of ways of getting my own food.
i very much enjoy plant, tree, mushroom identification and there uses for food, beverage and medicine.
follow along! as i create dishes using all of the things that grow outside your door.
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Karma
Sunday 29th of January 2023
Great Idea ! but in what container do you keep them when you burn them inside without dripping wax everywhere?
realgoodbear
Wednesday 28th of September 2022
Thank you for posting these instructions. I'm going to make some mullein candles this autumn.
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