Nix the Itch of Summer

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This is Tina’s recipe for applying to leather work boots, which conditions the boots and helps repel insects.

• 1/2 teaspoon each orange, eucalyptus and citronella essential oils
• 7.5-ounce bottle neat’s-foot oil (available in sporting goods stores)

Add the essential oils to the neat’s-foot oil bottle and shake well. Apply to boots as directed on bottle.

Gardener's Foot Powder

Keep your feet sweet while you work.

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/4 cup baking soda
• 10 drops each lavender and tea tree oils

Put cornstarch and baking soda in a jar; add essential oils and stir.

Herbal Insect Repellent Vinegar

We pour our vinegars into spray bottles for easy application.

• 2 cups fresh insect-repellent herbs (click here for Insect-Repellent Herbs)
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar

Crush herbs with a mortar and pestle. Place herbs in a glass quart jar and cover with vinegar. Use a plastic lid to seal the jar (vinegar corrodes metal). Shake every day for 3 to 7 days. Filter vinegar within a week and use within the year.

Jewelweed Vinegar

Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) grows in the wild, wet places in the eastern United States. The juice of the plant is a traditional remedy for all sorts of skin ailments. To use it, we simply crush the leaves and stems and rub the juice on itchy spots. To preserve and keep it handy, we make this vinegar.

• 1 cup fresh crushed jewelweed
• 2 cups apple cider vinegar

Place jewelweed in glass quart jar. Cover with vinegar and seal with a plastic lid. You can leave the herb in for up to four weeks. Pour vinegar through a cheesecloth-lined strainer. We add insect-repellent and antiseptic essential oils to the vinegar, 10 drops to a one-pint sprayer. You can mix with “Herbal Insect Repellent Vinegar.” Vinegars are good for about a year.

Antiseptic Essential Oils and Herbs

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