Collect, harvest and dry herbs

Everywhere around us we see green plants, even in large cities. When there is no other choice, you can use dandelions from cities (if they do not grow nearby polluted areas). There are three ways to obtain good and pure herbs: to cultivate them by yourself, to pick herbs in the wild or to buy them at a specialised shop. When you cultivate herbs yourself or pick them from the wild, you can best dry them to conserve them. It is often important on what moment you harvest the herbs. When you pick herbs from the wild a good determination is very important.



Cultivate herbs yourself

On each sunny spot herbs can be cultivated, even on a windowsill. The most important therapeutic and kitchen herbs are easy to cultivate. Some, as peppermint, spread themselves so strongly, that they must be kept under control in a pot.

The prescriptions are simple: the right place and buy good seeds in a good store. Order the seeds on the Latin name, because of many plants, like sage and thyme, also ornamental variants exist, so that confusion is possible.

All variants are more or less suitable, but the best plants for medicinal use should have the name officinale or officinalis.

Seeds for garden use, like fennel or celery, are often sprayed and may never be used medicinally. It is amusing and interesting to see plants growing, to see them changing with the seasons and to see them approaching their flowering time. Healthy self cultivated herbs can be excellent house remedies.

Some plants are poisonous and must remain out of reach for small children. Children do not see the difference between harmful and harmless plants, especially when they once in a while picked blackberries and know how well they are. Avoid plant with poisonous fruits, as golden rain (Laburnum anagyroides), taxus (Taxus baccata ), lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis), common box (Buxus sempervirens) and holly (Ilex aquifolium).


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Harvest and dry herbs


Plants fade quickly and the faster they are processed after picking, the better it is.


Leaves

Pick leaves on a dry day. If you want to pick only young leaves (of for instance stinging nettles) then you pick them best in the spring when the plant is still full of energy or in the late summer when the plant has a second growth. Picking for collecting leaf and stems (motherwort, bur, garden sorrel) before the plant blooms. Leaves of which the aroma is of interest (rosemary, sage, lemon balm) you can best pick them around dab noon, when the plant contains most oil.

Hang them to dry in loose bundles on a warm, dry place. Leaves for compresses, as grease root and plantain, can be picked fresh when they are needed, on every moment and under all weather conditions.


Flowers

Harvest flowers in the morning, when the dew of the flowers is away but the plants are not yet dried out by the sun. Hang them to dry in loose bundles or lay them on a cloth or blank paper. Do not use printed paper; the ink can affect the herb. Flowers are delicate, because of that avoid direct sunlight and too warm places.


Seeds

Harvest seeds in the late afternoon or early evening, when the plant is as dry as possible. Pick the whole stem and bind a paper bag over the seed lobs and hang the plant upside down till it is totally dry. The seeds can easy be shaken loose and be collected at the bottom of the bag.


Roots

With respect to the environment, you pick roots only from your own garden, not from the wild. Roots are most strong in fall. Then they contain the winter supply for the plant. The roots of some remaining plants (as the elecampane) can be harvested when the plant is divided, while others (as the dandelion, which has one long root) must be sown again.

To harvest dig up carefully the whole root and shake off the loose sand. You can wash the root carefully under running water and dry swing them, but this is not always necessary. Dry the root on a well ventilated warm place. Turn the root each day. Remove, if it is totally dry, all remains of sand with a brush. Do not peel the root, because important compounds may go lost. For the same reason cut the root only just before use.


Bark

Bark let itself be peeled reasonably good and must be collected from young branches, especially threes that are already cut down. Threes can die when too much bark is taken off, especially from around the stem.

Perhaps the bark must be washed to remove insects and moss, after that let the bark dry on a dry, warm, airy, dark place.


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Pick herbs in the wild

Previously it was quite normal to pick herbs, but nowadays that is much more difficult. In many areas chemicals are sprayed and often bans savage to pick is the plant. Even in remote regions, the environment stands under pressure, so that the picking is banned.

Expert fears that some plants will extinct because of careless picking. The demands for herbs are large and still increasing. The quantities of wild plants are too small, so that even Saint-John's Wort must be cultivated nowadays. The commercial cultivation stands still in the beginning, but at small plantations already herbs are available.

Different laws are in power in different countries. It is important to know this before you will pick, so that you certainly know that you not doing anything illegal. Take an illustrated flora with you, so that you can determine the plants. Pick with your mind and pick only what you need. Avoid roadsides, dogs and polluted or sprayed places. Try to choose plants that are free of animal excrements, not eaten away by insects and look healthy and fresh. Take a small piece of each plant and let enough for reproduction and recovery.


Good determination

Many plants resemble each other and can only become distinguished on the basis of their flower form or seed. Some plants from the carrot family are poisonous. You can avoid them the best, unless you are absolutely certain of your determination. So possible only pick common plants that you know well. Dandelion, spirea, grease root, bur, linden and garden sorrel are easy to recognize.

Buy a good flora or follow a course. You can make also walks under expert leadership. Also you can visit a herb or botanical garden, here the name is often mentioned on signs by the plant.


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Buy herbs


You can buy dried herbs (leaf and roots) in specialist shops and reform shops. The English names can lead to confusion. Always use the Latin names.

The number of products on herb basis is increased because of the popularity of the natural medicine. Cosmetic become equipped with herb extracts of variable quality, while some manufacturers work hard on safety and standardization. The law offers protection against all too beautiful promises. To avoid the high expenses of registration as a medicine, one sells many herbs not as a medicine. Many products are traditional of composition, but now appear more tablets and capsules on basis of only one herb. Now ginkgo, mother herb and Eastern purple coneflower root are available in separate form.

Convince yourself that the product contains a therapeutic quantity of the herb that you need. A trustworthy firm performs research to the origin and purity of the ingredients, so that you can buy the products with an easy heart. Keep the right quantity and take attention on the guidelines and contra-indications.


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[1]. Shaw, Non; - Herbalism: An Illustrated Guide - First edition; Element Books Ltd. (2000). ISBN 1862042241
[2]. Bremness, Lesley;- The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs - Fifth edition; Studio (1994). ISBN 0140238026
[3]. Britton, Jade & Kircher, Tamara; - Herbal Remedies - First edition; Marshall Editions (1998). ISBN 1840280719
[4]. Dr. C. Norman Shealy; - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Healing Remedies - First edition; Element Books Ltd. (2000). ISBN 186204516X



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