Welcome to another edition of Herbally Speaking we are going to start off 2019 with a series that will answer most of the questions that we get throughout the year. Questions relating to how to SELECT, PREPARE AND COMBINE HERBS, in this series we are going to be looking at
HOW TO SELECT, PREPARE AND COMBINE HERBS PROPERLY. At the end of the series I will be giving an example of how to do a herbal formulation. Today I will be looking at how to select herbs properly.
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When to harvest herbs is really dependent on the type you are growing and the plant part you intend to use.
Plant Parts include:
Flower
Leaves
Stem
Bark
Root
Making note of this is very important because this will determine dosages and type of herbal preparation. (tincture, infusion, decoction, etc) Typically the strength of the plant starts from the root up.
As a general rule, herbs grown for their leaves should be harvested before they flower. After they flower, most herbs tend to lose their flavor or become bitter. You also want to pick the leaves when they are tender and contain the highest amount of oil, which supplies taste and fragrance. For most herbs, the best time to pick is early in the morning just as the dew evaporates, but before the heat of the day.
Harvest early and frequently to encourage plants to produce new growth. It’s okay to prune a perennial to about half its height. You can cut back an annual even more — to just a few inches. Many culinary herbs, including chives, basil, mint, parsley, and oregano grow back quickly and benefit from the constant pruning.
Damaina, vervain, devils horse whip
Many flowering herbs, like Periwrinkle, borage and chamomile, should be harvested before they are fully open. Harvest herbs grown for their seeds, like dill, fennel, coriander and caraway, as the seed pods begin changing color. Roots crops, like ginseng and goldenseal, should be dug at the end of the summer or early fall.
Duppy gun
Barks are harvested for their inate properties; healing, laxative, astringent etc, and constituents; resins, tannins, mucilage etc.
I don't know what "the consensus" is, but for me, I like to harvest barks in the spring before the flowers open, when the sap is running from the roots upward, or in the fall as the sap flows down.
Harvest the bark so as not to harm the plant (cutting all the way around instead cut strips)
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