It's everywhere at the moment, and we're thankful for that. A gentle infusion is great for all skin irritations and gentle enough to bathe eyes. Can also improve scars and wrinkles! Add the leaves to salads for a mild-tasting boost of zinc. Make a tea or add to your bath. And of course, feed it to the chooks! So save yourself some weeding and purposely grow this amazing herb instead.

We used this herb recently when our youngest daughter had conjunctivitis (she then kindly shared it with me!) and it was so soothing.

We mainly use it's incredible healing properties externally, but it's helpful for:

• skin inflammations - sores, cuts, rashes, boils, burns.
• acne
• eczema
• psoriasis
• constipation
• irritated eyes
• respiratory disorders
• It is GREAT for itchy skin conditions, i.e. chickenpox, eczema, bites, acne etc. and it's high in antioxidants, B vitamins and Vit C, so was historically used to treat scurvy.
• It can even improve the appearance of scars and wrinkles!
• In some parts of Asia, women include chickweed in their diet to help regulate their menstrual cycle.

We add the leaves to salads for an easy source of zinc (it's very mild-tasting), use a fresh poultice of crushed leaves with aloe vera for skin healing, add it to the bath to soothe itches like chickenpox, or make a topical oil with it, but you can also make a fresh tea or tincture with it.

And chickens LOVE it, hence the name! Most animals like it, plus it's useful for any cuts and eye washes around the farm.