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.
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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 thought it would. Just a small chunk of this mullein will burn for a very long time.
Are the fumes from the burning mullein are medicinal?
- Mullein has been used for thousands of years as a remedy for lung issues, with people inhaling its smoke for its medicinal benefits.
- On the other hand, burning candles made from paraffin can release harmful fumes that may negatively impact your lungs.
- Beeswax candles are generally safer and can even help purify the air, though inhaling their smoke in excess can still be irritating.
- Soy wax candles are also a better choice than paraffin, though they might release some volatile organic compounds.
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.
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I started cooking at a very young age. In middle school, my friends and their parents would ask me to cook food for them because I could make something out of nothing. I love to cook up new concoctions and see what everyone likes. When I became of working age, I started as a buss boy at a barbecue restaurant, and then moved on to work all positions of the restaurant industry. From head chef of a Jamaican restaurant in Tulsa, OK, to sous chef at a highly accredited bistro on the Oregon coast, all before I turned 21.
I Inherited land in southeast Oklahoma and now spend my days working a Fedex delivery route and working with my wife and 3 young boys on our rural homestead. We raise many different kinds of animals and some vegetable gardens. I hunt all manor of large and small game, and butcher all of my own meat. We harvest wild edibles of all kinds and enjoy to cook with them and eat them.
I am grateful that you stopped by to see how we are doing and hope to see you again very soon. We would love to be friends and hope you enjoy all of the recipes and information that I can manage to put out.
Thank you, and much love!
-Eligh
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