What Happens When Getting Interested In Medicinal Herbs

Piles of Various Herbs & Greens Drying On Dining Room Table

I'm in the process of learning about all of the medicinal benefits of herbs and other greens.

I've bought reference books that outline medicinal benefits by herb; other books start with the "condition" you want to address and then list the plants (including the specific parts of the plant) that will help with the condition. These books involve culinary herbs, weeds, flowers, prairie plants, shrubs, various barks, roots, etc. The best books I've purchased relate to our particular region in the United States and include lots of pictures for purposes of proper identification.

Last evening, while perusing our garden, I noticed how big and bushy our herbs and other greens had become. I also noticed that our wild black cap's were coming into ripened fruit. It was then that I decided that it was time for an initial harvest.

But because I've heard many times that it's best to do your picking in the early morning for top nutritional value, I vowed to go out first thing in the morning to give my plants a haircut (an additional benefit of giving a haircut is that it delays the onset of the plants' setting seeds; it also promotes additional growth).

While out getting my harvest, I decided I may as well get some of the weed's I've read about as well.

There's so much you can do with these things. They can be dried for teas and for seasoning. They can also be used to make medicinal tinctures (you soak the plant(s) of your choice in at least 80 proof vodka in a glass jar and drain after 1-4 months or so), in lotions and creams, and for poultices. You can also freeze some of the herbs that lose their flavor when dried (ex: cilantro / parsley). You can also set some aside for fresh eating (as an addition to salads, soups, stews, etc.).

I'm trying something new this year in terms of drying. Historically, I've used either my outside "solar" hanging tiered "dehydrator" (nothing more than tiered netting with ventilated shelves for drying - I purchased this online when we first arrived at our property). I've also used our Excalibur food dehydrator. This year - I'm trying plain old air drying on the table. I've got 100% cotton cloth "towels" under the herbs and will fluff / turn them several times a day. I had luck with this on a very small scale last year so I thought I'd try to scale up this year).

There is still some harvesting I want to do; however, I've run out of room (for now)...