How to Harvest Herbs

Herbs should be gathered at the time they are most potent: flowers at the beginning of flowering, leaves just before the buds open (and during flowering); roots while dormant in either early spring or late fall. Gather early to mid-morning on a sunny day. Even a misty morning works well.

When gathering leaves and blossoms pinch them off between your fingernails. Pinching is preferred to cutting because the pinch acts to close the broken stem and helps seal in the plant's vital juices.

There is something timeless here. Walking out in the early morn with basket on arm to gather plants and herbs is to walk in the steps of the ancients.

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