Post by estatigua (Tiggy) on Jan 6, 2007 15:56:39 GMT -5
If you know your herbs well enough to collect them, or if you grow them yourself, there are some things to keep in mind when harvesting.
First, early in the day is the best time for most herbs. After the dew is gone, but before the sun is too high. Second, some herbs need to be harvested before they flower and go to seed, some the flowers are what you use and others you harvest the seeds or after they have cast their seeds. Still others, you need to use the root, and there are quite a few where you use the whole plant. This information is found in various sources and not something that is addressed here as there is too much information to put down here.
If you are harvesting from the wild remember to never take more and 1/4 to 1/3 of the plants in any given area if you take the whole plant -- stripping an area of a plant is not good for the ecology and will also leave you high and dry should you ever want to harvest it again. The last thing you want is to contribute to the extinction of a plant.
Back to task here . . . If you are harvesting more than one type of plant, whether wild or cultivated, take along several brown paper bags and a marker. You will want to mark the outside of the bag with the name of the contents. Also, some brightly painted wooden sticks to mark the area where you've harvested so you don't come back in two weeks and re-harvest the same area. Determine before you start whether you will be using the fresh plants or if you will be drying them. If you plan on using the fresh plant, do not take any more than you plan on using in two days. Fresh herbs for cooking or teas or medicines are best used very quickly.
Once you have your harvest done and are home the first thing you do is wash the plant material you have acquired. Gently, now, many are very fragile. Wash them under running water just to get the dirt off. If you suspect that there has been pesticide use nearby, there is a commercial product available (whose name escapes me) that can be used to clean them in a dish of cold water. Once you are done washing and picking off bugs, wilted leaves, etc., pat them dry and hang them in a cool, dry place to dry. Its a good idea to suspend them inside plain brown paper bags (put some holes in the bags for circulation) as then when leaves fall as they dry, and some will, they will be contained.
Once the plants are dried, which can take a while depending on the weather and conditions, they are ready for storage. Dried herbs can be stored indefinitely as long as they are kept in airtight containers in a darkened room. The benefits of dried herbs are ease of use, use when the fresh plant is unavailable and generally the properties they were harvested for for medicinal purposes will be more concentrated. Once dried, they can be used to make teas, tinctures, salves, possets, compresses, just about anything.
First, early in the day is the best time for most herbs. After the dew is gone, but before the sun is too high. Second, some herbs need to be harvested before they flower and go to seed, some the flowers are what you use and others you harvest the seeds or after they have cast their seeds. Still others, you need to use the root, and there are quite a few where you use the whole plant. This information is found in various sources and not something that is addressed here as there is too much information to put down here.
If you are harvesting from the wild remember to never take more and 1/4 to 1/3 of the plants in any given area if you take the whole plant -- stripping an area of a plant is not good for the ecology and will also leave you high and dry should you ever want to harvest it again. The last thing you want is to contribute to the extinction of a plant.
Back to task here . . . If you are harvesting more than one type of plant, whether wild or cultivated, take along several brown paper bags and a marker. You will want to mark the outside of the bag with the name of the contents. Also, some brightly painted wooden sticks to mark the area where you've harvested so you don't come back in two weeks and re-harvest the same area. Determine before you start whether you will be using the fresh plants or if you will be drying them. If you plan on using the fresh plant, do not take any more than you plan on using in two days. Fresh herbs for cooking or teas or medicines are best used very quickly.
Once you have your harvest done and are home the first thing you do is wash the plant material you have acquired. Gently, now, many are very fragile. Wash them under running water just to get the dirt off. If you suspect that there has been pesticide use nearby, there is a commercial product available (whose name escapes me) that can be used to clean them in a dish of cold water. Once you are done washing and picking off bugs, wilted leaves, etc., pat them dry and hang them in a cool, dry place to dry. Its a good idea to suspend them inside plain brown paper bags (put some holes in the bags for circulation) as then when leaves fall as they dry, and some will, they will be contained.
Once the plants are dried, which can take a while depending on the weather and conditions, they are ready for storage. Dried herbs can be stored indefinitely as long as they are kept in airtight containers in a darkened room. The benefits of dried herbs are ease of use, use when the fresh plant is unavailable and generally the properties they were harvested for for medicinal purposes will be more concentrated. Once dried, they can be used to make teas, tinctures, salves, possets, compresses, just about anything.