I have been experimenting. Many years ago I read that soapwort was sometimes used as a gentle soap on delicate aged fabrics that needed careful cleaning. I found some soapwort in a friend's garden. (She thought it was a type of phlox) Anyway I rubbed some sap from the plant on my hands and washed them in water. Very slight lather and clean hands = result! So I grew some of his beautiful plant. I love everything about it especially the slightly musky scent (which I have seen reported as "unpleasant".) Life and work got in the way but I continued to grow a crop However it is only this year I have had time to make soap (much as you did but in the kitchen in a large saucepan with boiling water. ) I have been using it as a soap for my skin, a shampoo and soap for cleaning bathrooms - although that requires rather a lot of elbow grease too. I knew it was mildly poisonous but rinsed my skin and hair well. (I have not used it to bath my dogs) Recently I have read that it is seriously poisonous and should be kept away from water courses and amphibians etc. - I had been using the residue and waste water on the garden (it doesn't seem to have had any significant effect on the slug/snail population - but it might just have killed off the toads and frogs I suppose) I noticed that you mentioned composting - I put solid residue on my compost heap and vegetable plot. You do not mention that it is poisonous. My question is how poisonous is it? (I find it a lovely shampoo) Last autumn I was making cleanser (soap) from conkers. As children we were told not to eat them - only sweet chestnuts as they were mildly poisonous. (Not very - we made holes in them with skewers and put them on strings for the conker-playing season. I do not remember anyone being poisoned by conkers. Anyway I am now wondering (A) How we managed to survive and (B) should I stop my experiments. Surely this is something that would make a good subject for study. I expect it has been done - possibly many times- - and my playing around with plants I find here and there and bits of knowledge from grandparents etc whilst I enjoy it is not being done scientifically and could be downright dangerous. Where do I get tried and tested information from? PS. My grandparents and parents are all dead now. I am possibly next in line for falling off the perch - and I still have such a lot to learn!!
Thanks for explaining it so details :)
I have been experimenting. Many years ago I read that soapwort was sometimes used as a gentle soap on delicate aged fabrics that needed careful cleaning. I found some soapwort in a friend's garden. (She thought it was a type of phlox) Anyway I rubbed some sap from the plant on my hands and washed them in water. Very slight lather and clean hands = result! So I grew some of his beautiful plant. I love everything about it especially the slightly musky scent (which I have seen reported as "unpleasant".) Life and work got in the way but I continued to grow a crop However it is only this year I have had time to make soap (much as you did but in the kitchen in a large saucepan with boiling water. ) I have been using it as a soap for my skin, a shampoo and soap for cleaning bathrooms - although that requires rather a lot of elbow grease too. I knew it was mildly poisonous but rinsed my skin and hair well. (I have not used it to bath my dogs) Recently I have read that it is seriously poisonous and should be kept away from water courses and amphibians etc. - I had been using the residue and waste water on the garden (it doesn't seem to have had any significant effect on the slug/snail population - but it might just have killed off the toads and frogs I suppose) I noticed that you mentioned composting - I put solid residue on my compost heap and vegetable plot. You do not mention that it is poisonous. My question is how poisonous is it? (I find it a lovely shampoo) Last autumn I was making cleanser (soap) from conkers. As children we were told not to eat them - only sweet chestnuts as they were mildly poisonous. (Not very - we made holes in them with skewers and put them on strings for the conker-playing season. I do not remember anyone being poisoned by conkers. Anyway I am now wondering (A) How we managed to survive and (B) should I stop my experiments. Surely this is something that would make a good subject for study. I expect it has been done - possibly many times- - and my playing around with plants I find here and there and bits of knowledge from grandparents etc whilst I enjoy it is not being done scientifically and could be downright dangerous. Where do I get tried and tested information from? PS. My grandparents and parents are all dead now. I am possibly next in line for falling off the perch - and I still have such a lot to learn!!
Freaking amazing! I wonder if it can grow here in the high deserts of Southern California.
You'll have to give it a go and see! Let us know if you do! :)
Can you give us the latin name?
Saponaria officinalis