✦ When & How to Harvest Herbs ✦
Notes on shoots, roots, leaves, flowers & berry harvests...
Harvesting your Herbs--Drying techniques & when is it ready?
Well, the first question is: what part of the Plant are you going to be using?
Root, shoot, leaf or flower?
These parts of the Plant are best harvested at certain times, with drying techniques depending.
Heat, low humidity, and air movement are all important considerations when drying herbs.
ROOTS:
Are best harvested in the early Spring, before too much greenery has grown and before flowering, or later in Autumn, after the flush of flowers and growth. This is the time when the energy of the Plant is focused in the Root area, thus making stronger medicine. Now, Plants will have varying degrees of medicinal constituents in their roots in Spring/Autumn, for example, Dandelion contains more inulin in the Fall and if you make a tincture with both Spring and Fall roots, you’ll see the Fall preparation contains more ‘white’ sediment (which is the inulin, a prebiotic fiber) than a Spring preparation. “In spring, [Dandelions] are more bitter and have optimal medicine as a digestive stimulant. In the fall, they are sweeter and higher in a carbohydrate called inulin, which is excellent for diabetics.”[1] Both contain good medicine, and for the beginner, it’s not something to be super concerned with, simply aware of.
Now that’s not to say never use a Root harvested in the Summer! I’ve weeded out countless Dandelion, Mallow, and Dock roots and have utilized them regardless of the time of year—because they were young and seeded ‘out of season’…just note, it’s best done BEFORE flowering, or after the seeds have dispersed. If you take a Dandelion (ubiquitous example here!) out in the Spring, the root is plumper, firm and not woody. Take that same Dandelion out when she’s got all her fluffy seed pods on, and the root is woody, somewhat shriveled and not ideal to use medicinally.
Most of the medicinal Roots we harvest are Perennials, which means, they re-grow season after season for multiple years, and then we have the garden crop root harvests: Valerian, Burdock (a biennial), Carrots, Parsnips, and Potatoes are all harvested for their roots. Now note that Carrots and Potatoes can also be ready more towards the end of Summer, Carrots must be harvested before flowering (otherwise you’ll take out a rather inedible, gnarled and woody Carrot), while Potatoes are harvested after they flower. (Nuances always!)
Perennials like Dandelion and Mallow can grow quite quickly in one season, giving us ample chances to harvest as they pop up in our garden. Valerian on the other hand, is a slower growing Plant, and one that would yield a good root harvest every 3-4 years. Of note, Valerian’s medicine is close to the surface, use care when rinsing off the roots!
Elecampane roots are best harvested in the Autumn of their second year. Use a shovel, digging fork, or trowel to dig around the root (it helps to know how it grows, spreading like Horseradish or a deep-down tap-root like Burdock & Mallow) to carefully loosen the soil and pull up the entire root system; unless, like in the case of Horseradish or Devil’s Club, you should leave the crown (base of Plant) and some or most of the roots to regenerate. You can replant the base of Elecampane!
Now I know I’m not the only one who’s done this: you’re out in the garden weeding away and you have all these glorious Dandelions you’re digging, and you place them all in a pile to save for later and by the time you’re finished you’ve got a shriveled, dirty pile of sad looking leaves and roots…so here’s a good tip: bring a small bucket or tub filled up with water out with you, and simply place those nutritious roots into the water until you’re finished. Then rinse off thoroughly getting the remaining dirt off. A good sprayer on the hose works. If needed, give a bit of a scrub with the vegetable brush when back in the kitchen.
It’s much easier to cut up Roots when they are fresh. Most Roots, as they dry, become incredibly hard and nearly impossible to cut with a knife. So, take care of them fresh, dry a bit with a towel, and chop up (using a knife, scissors or clippers if need be). My recommendation is to use a dehydrator or oven on low temp (below 105F) at least until surface moisture is removed. Now most ovens don’t go below 170F or so, so set the oven to preheat at the lowest temp, crack the door and put in your roots, a baking sheet works great here. Turn off the heat and then do it all over again until the roots begin to dry. You could continue air-drying on baskets after that, or keep on with additional heat.
(I like to leave a note on the oven door if I’m doing this ~ it’s easy to inadvertently shut the oven and invariably, another family member starts preheating it without checking inside first!)
Since we’ve introduced water into the equation by rinsing off the roots, we need to make sure they initially dry quickly so they don’t mold. At least a few hours of additional heat will help dry your Root medicine sufficiently until you can further air dry them. Alternatively, dry outdoors with good ventilation and maybe a spot of sunshine to start.
How to tell when your Root medicines are ready? They will be ‘snap dry’ that is, when you break them, they snap. Cut a chunk in half and see what the inside feels like. And use your sensitive fingertips! Are some pieces still ‘cool’ to the touch? Do you feel dampness? Your bigger chunks will take longer, so it’s good to try and get in similar sized pieces, but this isn’t always easy with taproots and the tapered roots from, for example, Elecampane. Also, when using additional heat sources such as a dehydrator, I always make sure my harvests come back to room temp. Placing heated roots into a jar and lidding right away can create condensation and introduce moisture back into the contents.
SHOOTS:
Shoots are the initial, oftentimes unfurled, and fleeting Spring growth of an herbaceous Plant or a Tree. Examples include Fireweed, Spruce tips, Devil’s Club, edible Peas, Fiddleheads, early Dandelion leaves, Twisted Stalk and Asparagus.
And okay, I gotta share this, as I was writing this section, I was looking online for some more ‘Shoot’ examples and I saw that Hosta shoots were edible!! For real!? This is just one of the reasons I love Plants, there’s always more to encounter! I just love this so much, and since Hostas grow really well in the shade, this is a great Plant to invest in (or get chunks of from a friend, they transplant readily, like Rhubarb) if you have a shady garden space that needs filling.
Leafy shoots are generally eaten right away, not necessarily dried. There’s so much vitality and goodness in these early edibles, that drying just doesn’t do them justice in my opinion. A notable exception are Spruce tips. Those are really nice to dry for later use in tea or infused oil. They easily dry in a single layer, on open baskets or cardboard, or in a dehydrator set at 105F or lower. You’ll see me mention drying at 105 degrees Fahrenheit (105F) or lower because you keep the herb/food “living” at that temperature—at least, that’s what I remember learning ages ago, although I don’t recall the source.
Now what happens if you go higher? Sometimes, you’ll ‘cook’ the herbs or maybe the oil gets too hot and your herbs become fried. It’ll depend on how long that higher temperature was going for, if you’ve blackened them, it’s far too long. Toss and start over.
LEAF:
Examples include, Lemon Balm, Oregano, Marjoram, Thyme, Basil, Sage, Plantain, Mint, Raspberry leaf, Artemisia sp., Skullcap, Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, Nettles…really, this list could go on for a very long time! Most leaves are going to be harvested BEFORE flowering. Comfrey is a bit of an exception here; I don’t notice as much difference between the flowering leaves and before. Note, if your Comfrey plant is all bloomed out and it’s mid-summer, give it a good haircut, to the ground—the regrowth is quick and you can usually get another harvest out of the leaves that grow in late Summer to late Autumn frosts. And honestly, this isn’t a super hard and fast rule, but I find Oregano is much nicer before it flowers, although you can harvest the leaves while it’s in bloom too. Generally, the leaves will be larger and more flavorful before flowering.
Harvest on a dry day, before the heat of the day marches in, or in the evening, after it cools down. High heat (80s+) during the Summer can zap a plant’s vitality just like it does ours. If you’re super uncomfortable in the heat, it means the plant probably is too, unless it’s a cactus or one that naturally likes high temps. Wait for another time if possible. But, if it’s your only day off, and the only dry day in the forecast, sometimes, you’ve got to harvest when you have the time to do so.
Depending on the plant, for instance for Mint or Yarrow, you’ll harvest stems + leaves or if harvesting Raspberry, you’re going after only the leaves (don’t want to take the stem or you won’t have berries!). If you’re making up an herb rope, be sure to remove the leaves off the bottom portion where the string will be holding the bunch together. You can string bunches individually, or make 3-5 bunches hanging down, or strung across the ceiling. I once had a couple of brackets with a wooden rod between them in my bedroom that I utilized for hanging herbs. Bind herbs with string, or a rubber band. My stems are anywhere from a nickel in diameter to a quarter sized, max. Smaller bundles tend to slip loose, larger bundles don’t dry as well.
Leaves are ready for jarring up when they crinkle and when you can no longer feel dampness or coolness when breaking them apart. Now, you wouldn’t want to leave your Thyme stems on a basket for months on end…your herbs will get dusty just like your bookshelves. So be timely in your harvesting as well as your processing.
FLOWER:
Same deal-e-o…harvest on a dry day, before it gets too hot. Plants like Yarrow, you can utilize the flower and the leaves at the same time. Herbs ropes work best for them I’ve found. Rose petals (remember to leave 1 or 2 for the bees to find and pollinate for Rose hips!) are best taken individually and dried on baskets. They are quite emollient so if you go to the ‘snap’ stage, that’s actually too long.
This is when your fingertips are your best judge of dryness. Tear a petal in half, does it feel cool, slightly damp at all? If so, let it go longer. In a cooler, more moist region petals can take up to a month to dry. In warmer, more arid places, more like two weeks. Calendula blooms take longer to dry in moist air, a bit of time in the dehydrator may be warranted. Remember that you want to use the entire Calendula bloom, not just the petals, for the strongest medicinal actions.
Most flowers do best on flat baskets to dry.
BERRY:
It depends on what you plant to do with your berries…if you’re freezing them, then if they’re wet it’s not as important. Although if it’s Raspberries, they’ll tend to mash if too moist.
Blueberries and Huckleberries hold their shape in the damp, as do Strawberries. If dehydrating any fruit, I’d harvest during a dry day if at all possible. It’s usually nicer that way, but that’s not always possible.
It’s best to harvest a berry when it’s fully ripe as that’s when it tastes the best and it’s nutrients are most readily available.
[1] https://wildfoodsandmedicines.com/dandelion/
