How to make an organic pruning paste and an organic hand cream

If you’re an organic gardener it’s best if you use an organic pruning paste on your fruit trees. See how we use it to cover the cuts we make when planting a new fruit tree. It’s quite hard to find a good organic product, so Rob makes his own. Here’s his recipe…
Put a large pot of water on to boil and on top of that place a bowl that will take the heat (stainless steel is good) and fits neatly.
Into the bowl add 1 litre of raw linseed oil. Heat till just warm enough to melt the beeswax.
Grate a cup of raw beeswax and add it slowly to the oil.
While the beeswax is melting, add a few drops of one or two essential oils. Rob uses tea tree oil, but you can use lavender or rosemary or any oil that has antiseptic properties.
Once the beeswax is melted, put a small amount onto a plate and leave for 2-3 minutes. If it sets, you know you’ve added enough wax. If it’s still runny, then add more wax and sample again. It’s best to add less in the beginning as you can always add more later.
Rob is using plastic containers so he leaves the mixture to cool slightly before pouring into them. Once you’ve filled the containers, leave for at least 2 hours before putting the lids on.
If you end up with too much pruning paste, it’s great to use on outdoor furniture for water-proofing and protection.

Pick heads of calendula flowers and pull the petals off. Steep the petals in about 500 ml almond oil for 2 weeks.
Drain oil off petals using a sieve into a bowl that can stand heat.
If you don’t have calendula, try lavender or rosemary flowers. Alternatively just add the essential oil to almond oil.
Set the bowl on top of a saucepan of simmering hot water.
Grate about half a cup of raw beeswax and add slowly to the oil.
Test on a plate as for pruning paste. You may need to add more beeswax.
If you’re using glass jars you can pour the hot liquid straight into them. If using plastic containers, wait until it cools slightly.
Let the mixture cool for a couple of hours before putting the lids on.

Camera: Jarod Murray
Editor: Thomas Asche
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