I can't really answer your question. If you live in Brisbane, you should have no trouble keeping aloe vera in the garden all year round. I find the gel is best used fresh. Even with refrigeration, leaves will only store for about a week - and they leak! You could try freezing the gel, say in ice-cube trays. I think the gel works best on its own, not mixed into creams and lotions etc. (It's often used for burns, and it's not recommended to use creams, fats etc on burns.) You can crush a vitamin C tablet (not the chewable ones) and add it to creams and lotions as a preservative, or you can use benzoin oil, but even so, storage time is still only about 3 months max. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

I have been hearing grumblings that aloe's good properties might be only good fresh...but that could just be an unpleasant rumor...

If it's hard to keep it living in the garden, you might try getting a small potted variety and keeping that in the warmth of indoors where it should last year round...

Aloe vera is meant to be use straight rather than in diluted form in a cream. If you need to preserve it, freezing works fine. BTW, you can use the stems of comfrey on your skin in the same way with the same effect, and they are best used after freezing because it releases the gooey substance. I found this out by fluke when I had no aloe vera and noticed that the goo of the comfrey stems feels the same way.

I've read that Rosemary is a natural food preservative. I don't know this for fact, but maybe it's worth checking out. Shannon

Aloe is very easy to keep, and attractive as a house plant. You can propagate it from leaf cuttings.

>> You are wise to use Aloe Vera. This plant is mentioned in the Bible five times ...

No, the aloes mentioned in the Bible are not Aloe vera - it is aloes wood, which comes from the heartwood of certain tropical trees. Other names for the resin mentioned in the Bible include Oud, agarwood and eaglewood. This type of aloes is very different from aloe vera - it is similar to sandalwood in many ways, and the Bible mentions it as a perfume ... Aloe vera has little value as a perfume, while agarwood/oud/aloes is a very notable perfume.

Aloe vera is great for skin conditions, no doubt. It doesn't matter if the shepherds that lived in the Middle East thousands of years ago knew about Aloe vera or not - if it helps with a skin condition, then it helps with a skin condition.

Christians rarely use the type of aloe mentioned in the Bible, although it is still used in Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism as a perfume or incense.

Try processing & preserving aloe this way: Put the entire leaf in the food processor & whizz away. Then slip the gooey gunk into a mason jar & put in the refrigerator. After a few days, the components will separate & the juice can be glopped off (really professional terms here, I know). To each cup of this add EITHER of the following: 1/4 c high proof vodka/everclear (keeps almost a year) OR potassium sorbate (you'd have to look up the % ; I don't remember right off)(will keep it 6 mos-1 yr) OR 1-2 tsp. Lavender EO (will only keep it a few months). Rosemary EXTRACT can be used to preserve OILs, but doesn't really do much for the water side of any equation. Hope this helps

When I grew aloes as house plants (had many) I sometimes cut an entire leaf and kept it in the frig for a couple of days. I think for maximum therapeutic value it's best to cut a fresh piece each time tho. There are few really good natural preservatives and growing bacteria and applying it to one's skin is not therapeutic.

I work in a resturant, and obviously with a hot grill and grease, people get burned. I have a large aloe plant at my house and thought it would be nice to have some ready for a burn. I don't know if this will keep or not, but i cut open the aloe leaf and scraped the inside of it with a butter knife into about a 2 oz jar. This is a test I suppose, if anyone knows if this will keep or not, please let me know. thanks.
adam

I love making aloevera juice. The juice was very tasty and fresh.

Any time one of the leaves on my Aloe starts to suffer, I'll clip it and keep it in a baggie in the freezer. Works great.

hello
how to pack and preserve aloe vera comercialy?