The best part about growing, harvesting, and preparing herbal remedies is being confident all the ingredients are organic and fresh. NO additives, NO fillers! NO chemical preservatives or dyes! Just wholesome, safe, and effective plant life.
Yet most do not know herbs, like rosemary and sage, have healing properties beyond its use as a poultry seasoning. Nor do they know that tree bark, flowers, stems, leaves, roots, even mushrooms could be lining the shelves of their medicine cabinet as well as in the spice rack.
Unfortunately, our modern culture has led us into a dependence on a ‘commerical producers’ system that now-a-days takes advantage of our trust and lack of knowledge for the sake of convenience. Sure, growing your own herbs is great but knowing how to harvest them from the wild maybe a critical stop gap in times of a vital need.
But before we delve into identifying herbs and plants for medicinal purposes, we need to learn the skills in how to locate and harvest them. In Part 2 of this series, we discuss and provide further resources to do just that.
To that end, here are some quick guiding principles:
Learn what the plant looks like in all stages of growth, not just its flower. It can make a big difference in potency to toxicity.
Be conservative when harvesting, take only what you need. Some plant leaves can be cut for a given need and will grow back. Talk about having a low maintenance and continuously fresh supply!
Preserve the plants integrity for future use by knowing what part of the plant will be used and how to store it. The whole of the plant does not have the same chemical properties, so understand the proper cutting, uprooting, and handling. And always take precautions.
Get familiar with the Farmer’s Almanac if only to understand a species’ seasonal growth and harvest times. Not all herbs and plants are harvested or planted in the Spring.
Most herbs are best harvested in the early morning, after the dew burns off and before the heat of the day.
For a deeper dive into harvesting, follow along the links below from a few of the top-rated websites with instructions on how to find any edible and medicinal WILD THING! It will make your heart sing! I think you’ll love ‘em.
“And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” (Genesis 1:29)
From Wild Plant Guides the whole website offers a comprehensive collection of valuable info from plant identification and foraging to an urban dweller guide to plant chemistry with a glossary page. BUT DON’T LET the word “Britain or UK” in the title discourage you from learning knowledge that is universal no matter where you are in the world.
https://wildplantguides.com/harvesting-medicinal-and-edible-wild-plants/
From Preppers Will website this article provides an easy-to-read field guide with pictures of a few ‘from the wild’ medicinal plants and herbs as well as proper harvesting.
https://prepperswill.com/harvesting-wild-medicinal-plants-for-profit/
Another comprehensive collection of articles is found on the Mother Earth News website. Also known as ‘wildcrafting’ herbs, this piece contains harvesting guidelines for specific plants and roots with pictures.