Gathering, Storing, and Using Your Herbs

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Misty L. Trepke

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Gathering, Storing, and Using your Herbs

 

When gathering or harvesting your herbs, first be absolutely sure you

know what you are gathering! This is very important when gathering

plants from the wild. Be absolutely certain you know what the plant

is before you attempt to use it. If you are not sure of a particular

plant, or it " looks like " something but could be something else,

leave it alone. You would be better off to purchase the herb through

a store or mail order. The alternative may leave you dead. If you

care about our natural plants, you will prefer to purchase or grow

what you need. Today's herbal needs are creating quite a strain on

the numbers of medicinal plants in the wild.

 

Know what part of the plant you need. Some plants are used in their

entirety, others only specific parts. When you are gathering plants

from the wild, remember not to take all of a particular species you

may find in an area. Leave some to grow and seed and flourish for

the next time you need them. Removing all of a group of plants is

rude. Give thanks to the plants you take for your uses. Sprinkle

around some of their seeds, to help them propagate. Give them an

offering, i.e. some natural fertilizer, a prayer, etc. in return for

your uses. When taking leaves or branches of a plant, leave plenty

for the plant to survive. You should offer the same respect to

those plants you gather from your own gardens.

 

The parts of the plant above ground should be harvested in the

morning, before the heat of the sun has a chance to wilt them. It is

preferable to do so when the dew is still on the plants. Leaves

should be harvested before the buds and blooms appear, and flowers

should be harvested before the fruits and seeds appear. Bark and

roots should be harvested in the early spring, just as the plant is

beginning to show its leaf buds, or in the fall, just as the leaves

are turning. Don't strip bark from around a tree trunk, as this will

kill it. Instead, strip bark from small patches, or particular

limbs, to preserve the mother plant for later use, and to preserve

its life.

 

When using an entire plant, it is customary to hang the plant upside

down in a dry area free from pests to allow the plant to dry. Make

sure your herbs have dried thoroughly before storing them for

further use, or you may discover that you have a moldy mess instead

of a medicinal herb. Roots should be carefully washed, scraped, and

chopped into small pieces to be sure they dry uniformly and

thoroughly. Bulbs are tied together and strung up to dry.

 

The dried portions can then be stored according to your needs. Roots

are usually ground into powder for use, or left in small chunks for

uses in decoctions, tinctures, and syrups. Leaves are stored in

their entirety, or crumbled for use in teas. The same applies for

blossoms. Store your herbs in air-tight containers. The best

containers to use are colored glass. The herb then does not pick up

impurities from plastics, and does not eat through your plastics, as

can happen. Store in a dry, cool area, and keep out of the light.

This is the reason for using colored glass. Light can often break

down the healing properties of your gathered herbs, shortening their

shelf life and rendering them nearly useless after a short period of

time. If stored properly, the shelf life of dried herbs is

approximately one year. Tinctures can be stored for up to two years.

Capsules should be used within one year. Once an herb has been

ground, it shortens the amount of time the herb is effective. So

do pay careful attention to when you have purchased or stored an

herb, for aximum effectiveness.

 

Source: Rev. Dr. Lisa Waltz

 

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Namasté and Ble§§ings, Cindi

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