How exciting! You’ve finally gotten up the motivation to plant your herbs, to create your own apothecary arsenal, and all of your hard work has paid off! It’s time to harvest! Here are some quick tips to help you on your way!

As a general rule-of-thumb for flowers, leaves, and stems, it is best to harvest in the morning, after any dew has evaporated and the plant is completely dry. Store herbs away from sunlight and heat to preserve their quality and always make sure your harvested herbs are completely dry before storing to avoid mold. 🙂 Happy Harvesting

Flowers

If you are growing herbs in which you intend to use the flower, it is best to harvest before they completely flower.Volatile oils, or essential oils, are the greatest quality right before buds begin to open.

There are two ways to harvest flowers- 1. cutting just below the flower 2. cutting the entire stem above the leaves.

Cutting just below the flower has the benefit that the flowers will grow back quickly. It would be good to have a drying screen if you choose option 1. If you decide instead on option 2, cutting the entire stem, you will have the benefit of being able to hang your herbs to dry and the whole plant will get fuller as new stems will grow in its place. You’ll have a bigger plant with option 2, but you will have a longer wait between harvests.

Leaves

Many herbs that we use the leave and stems for our practice grow flowers if allowed to mature untended. It is important if you intend to use the leaves and stems, to cut any buds as they pop up. If a plant starts to use its energy producing flowers, the taste of the leaves change. Check daily for any new buds as they can pop up quickly.

WHERE you cut is very important when harvesting leaves. If you pull a leaf from the stem, nothing will ever grow in that spot. This is why, particularly early on, it is important to cut plants at the stem and to remove the leaves from the stem itself. There can always be new growth where a stem was removed, but not where a leaf was removed.

Never harvest everything at once. This one is kind of a DUH, but worth mentioning. Harvest around 30%.

Roots

Harvesting roots takes patience. Most roots are ready for harvest in their second year and it is best to do so in the fall. With a slightly dampened ground, you can dig up the plant and take a bit of the root. It is important to leave a significant piece of root behind to have something to harvest the following year. Clean roots with a brush and water and hang to dry.