What are you harvesting now?

Once again, a year is racing by and the fifth month already begun. If we turn away and blink, another plant has bloomed and disappeared while others stay with us for a longer duration.

I always think of May as the green month as there are so many different tones of a single colour. Each tree has its own particular shade building up a living palette amongst the landscape. In hedgerows, crabapple has thrown a white garment over her branches and the hawthorn blossom is glistening brightly against the vibrant leaves. We’re still waiting for elder and crampbark flowers but they will soon be here along with the blushing pink of dog rose.

For me, May heralds the urge to harvest. Plantain, cowslip and ground ivy from the fields, hawthorn blossom and leaf from the hedges, daisies from the garden lawn, fresh marjoram, lovage and mint for my cooking and ground ivy to dry for green powder. Errant nettles have been thrown on the compost to add nitrogen to next year’s soil but there may still be time for another harvest from the Sanctuary’s strongest gift.

Before I gather, it is always a good idea to review my larder and decide what I actually need rather than succumbing to the overall urge to forage. I know plantain will be in my future but I’ve also made use of elder leaves from Sanctuary prunings. A tree had grown over the path, making it impossible for my father to pass safely on his mower, so we cut back branches and I have made two batches of infused oils. These could either be used in a general bruise salve but I saw a recipe recently for an insect repellent so there is an opportunity to try making something new.

Broad-leaf thyme has begun to flower and the purple sage is finally looking alive, so I shall be gathering both for a new elixir to replace the amount we’ve used recently whilst suffering from a nasty cold and cough. I am so grateful for my store of elderberry elixir, fire cider vinegar and various cough syrups. When you’re feeling ill, you need the remedy immediately rather than making fresh and having to wait for several weeks.

I am waiting for my St George’s mushroom tincture to finish the six-week alcohol extraction phase. This is the first year I have gathered this variety of mushroom which grows all over my five-acre meadow. One of my apprentices picked the first basket after April’s workshop and I gathered the second for drying just over a week ago. These will be added at the decoction stage so the water and alcohol can be combined for a full-spectrum extraction. St George’s mushrooms can be used against thrush, so I’m looking forward to adding this medicine to my anti-fungal collection.

Another remedy which is about to be made is a chamomile vinegar. This helps to guard against fungal infections in difficult to reach body crevices. The plants emerged as tiny, self-sown seedlings which I transplanted into a single large pot. Now they resemble a green triffid swaying in the breeze already over a foot high. I’m waiting for them to flower in the next week or so before I gather most of the aerial parts to infuse in cider vinegar.

Although most herbalists talk about using chamomile flowers, I have always used the entire aerial parts to good effect. Last year, I experimented in collecting only the flowers and whilst they are lovely in tea, I feel the rest of the plant is just as efficacious and shouldn’t be wasted.

May is also the last month for sowing this year’s herb seeds. A second batch of ashwagandha have been scattered from a single cherry in case the germination of those planted at the beginning of April is not sufficient. It took me a while to find where I’d hidden the holy basil seeds, still on their dry stalks but hopefully they will be showing themselves in a couple of weeks.

With the very cold weather, germination this year has been horrendous. Only two of my motherwort seeds grew and none of the pleurisy root. Someone in Manchester offered to share her woad seeds and those are now good sized seedlings which will be planted out at the Sanctuary in a few days, along with Californian poppy and self-sown chamomile. I have still to decide what to do with milk thistle and the plague of borage seedlings. Both are too large to remain in the vegetable beds for much longer.

As each year progresses, time available to describe what is happening diminishes as necessary practical tasks increase. Even though we may not be able to capture each action in words, memories continue to store treasures against more difficult times.

October: A month in the life of a herbwife

When a whole month rushes by in the flicker of turning leaves, you know you’ve been busy. Usually, it is September which promotes the panic of harvesting and foraging. This year, October’s warmth and beauty kept us outside to gather what we could.

Most months, I offer two workshops. In October, we met for the last time at the Sanctuary and I was intending to hold the other in my garden and kitchen at home. I was also asked to put on a herb walk and workshop for the Kushinga Gardening Group which helps support homeless refugees from all over the world in Birmingham.

I am dreadful with dates. I think I know when something is and tell others, but when I check, I’m often incorrect. I thought I’d advertise my second workshop locally and three women duly booked before I realised the date was wrong, so I ended up delivering two workshops, two days apart. It wouldn’t have been so bad but two of the three cancelled on the morning of the workshop, leaving me with one person to guide and entertain for over four hours.

Each workshop was extremely productive. At the Sanctuary, we gathered haws, New England Aster, calendula flowers and seeds, marshmallow leaves and seeds, elecampane root, blackberries, nettle seed, milk thistle seed and Solomon seal roots. We also processed dried nettle seed, mugwort, goldenrod and hops. Helen, one of my apprentices plied us with a new tea of dandelion, dock roots and nettle leaves which was surprisingly tasty.

There was also time to think about the energetic side of trees growing in the Sanctuary. We found the earth/water vortex at the back of the pond where two self-sown hazel saplings are growing. People gathered twigs and branches of their chosen tree to make various crafted items including two willow dreamcatchers.

Either side of the workshop, I gathered crab apples and rosehips and Chris dug a basketful of horseradish roots. Once home, I made crabapple jelly (the first of two batches) and eight pints of hedgerow cordial. The first four quinces went into two liqueurs, one simple and one spiced and the liqueurs from last year were decanted and put away for Christmas.

Hedgerow cordial

250g elderberries

500g haws

500g rosehips

1 nutmeg grated

1 tsp cinnamon or 1 stick

6-10 cloves

1inch ginger root grated

Place everything in a large saucepan or stockpot. Cover ingredients with water (about 1 or 2 litres). Bring to the boil and simmer for thirty minutes with the lid on. Mash all the contents with a potato masher to release as much as the juice as possible. Strain, retaining the liquid. Wash the pan. Measure the liquid and return to pan adding 1kg of sugar to 1 litre of liquid. Bring to the boil, then pour into sterilised bottles and seal, label and date. Serve in a goblet or mug with boiling water to taste adding lemon or orange juice if the cordial is too sweet.

Crabapple Jelly

2.5Kg crab-apples

1.7l water

Wash crabapple, cut into quarters, without peeling or coring. Put into a pan and add the water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 1.5 hours until the fruit is mashed, adding a little more water if necessary. A few cloves or some ginger root can be added while the apples are cooking to give added flavour. Strain through a jelly cloth and measure remaining liquid before returning it to the cleaned pan. Add 450g sugar for each 500ml liquid. Stir until the sugar has dissolved then boil rapidly for ten minutes. Tip 1tblsp of jelly onto a saucer and check for setting point (when it cools a skin should form when you gently push against the edge of the jelly). Skim any scum from the top of the jelly then pour into small jam jars sterilised in the oven for ten minutes. Sterilise tops by boiling in a saucepan for ten minutes. This jelly can also be made with any cooking apple. Herbal jellies can be made by cooking the apples with a bunch of a herb (mint is a good one to try first), reserving some of the herb to chop finely and add once the setting point has been reached.

Spiced Quince Liqueur

2 large quinces chopped and grated in a food processor

1-2 cups of sugar

Vodka

3 cloves,

1 nutmeg grated

1 cinnamon stick broken into halves

(other spices such as star anise, ginger can be added if wished)

Place the grated quince and spices in a large jam jar. Add the sugar. Cover with vodka, stirring to remove air bubbles then fill to the top of the jar. Leave somewhere dark and warm for 8 weeks then decant. The pulp can be infused again with more vodka and fresh spices if wished.

Some of the haws were put to infuse in vinegar, as was the New England Aster, and the mugwort vinegar which had been prepared the previous month was strained and put away. The flavour of the mugwort was so delightful, I determined to make more!

During the second workshop, we dug more elecampane and processed the Solomon’s seal roots. We also discovered how good the dried New England Aster stalks tasted in tea. Holy basil and chamomile seeds were harvested and the stalks used to make vinegars at a future date. Some stray vervain and agrimony stems were also found and tinctured the following day.

To make the most of the Solomon seal harvest, I always tincture the sliced tuber and make a double infused oil from the peripheral roots. Recent discussion infers that the tincture taken internally in drop doses is the most effective when it comes to restoring ligaments and joints but I’ve found the oil helpful when added to a mixed salve for frozen shoulder and other joint ailments.

The following day I determined to clear most of the herbs which had been drying in paper bags in my hot cupboard over the summer. To make room, I made some calendula oil from last year’s harvest and was pleasantly surprised to see how deep the oil turned during the second infusion. It was satisfying how much chamomile, sage and calendula petals I’d been able to gather by picking just a few flowers whenever I could. There will also be lots of seed for next year’s planting.

During the third workshop, I took my newcomer on a comprehensive tour of my garden, identifying and talking about the herbs still growing. I’d dug up and washed more elecampane root and this was split between an infused honey and sliced for drying. We made a double infused chickweed oil and I turned it into an eczema salve with St Johns wort and calendula oil for the attendee to take home.

Another trip to the farm yielded a harvest of purple New England aster, ashwagandha roots, roses, calendula flowers, purple sage, lemon verbena, milk thistle seeds and a huge harvest of quinces. My father kindly picked a load of crabapples and horsechestnuts so I was able to make a second batch of jelly and the conkers are waiting to be turned into oil if necessary.

The following day, the calendula, sage, lemon verbena and half the New England aster were put to dry. The ashwagandha roots were tinctured and half the quinces were made into jelly. The horseradish root was washed and chopped in the processor, ready for the next day’s workshop but I used the opportunity to put up a large jar of fire cider vinegar, just in case we get a winter of colds and other nasties.

It was good to return to my student haunts in Selly Oak. The Kushinga garden is owned by the Bournville village trust and sits behind Hope House run by Selly Oak Methodist Church. It grows an array of fruit and vegetables including native and exotic herbs. Only four people joined us for the herb walk but others were waiting when we returned to the church hall to make fire cider and rosemary digestive vinegar followed by hedgerow and nettle and rose syrups.

Fire Cider Vinegar

Equal portions of horseradish and ginger root – grate or whizz in a coffee grinder. (It is your choice whether you peel the roots or not.)

1 head of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 good handful of rosehips (fresh or dried)

6 cloves

2 tsps paprika

2 tsps tumeric

2 tsps cayenne pepper

(If you have access to fresh chilli peppers, you can add these as well, leaving the seeds in to give extra “fire”!)

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large glass jar so it is filled about half full, then add cider vinegar stirring well to remove air bubbles until the jar is full. Place cling film over the top of the jar before sealing with screw top lid. Label and date. Place jar in warm, dark place for 3 weeks. Strain and use.

Rosemary digestive vinegar

2” root ginger grated

1 small head of garlic peeled and crushed/chopped

1 large handful of fresh rosemary chopped coarsely

1 large handful fresh or dried rosehips

1 small handful fresh or dried haws

Holy basil stems

Dandelion roots or leaves (optional)

2 tblsps freshly grated orange peel

2 tsps ground coriander

1 whole red chilli

1 tsp powdered turmeric

Cider vinegar

Layer your ingredients in a large glass jar until it is halfway full then cover with cider vinegar, podging with a chopstick to remove air bubbles then refill with more cider vinegar. Put clingfilm over the mouth of the jar before putting on a metal lid. Strained the infused vinegar after a month and re-use the ingredients after blitzing with more cider vinegar to make another infusion.

Nettle and rose syrup

Gather a large amount of fresh nettle tops and wash well. Either place in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for twenty minutes then turn the heat off and leave overnight or place the nettles in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave overnight in a cool place. The next morning, strain the nettles and add the petals of seven red roses to the liquid in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for five minutes. Strain and measure the volume of remaining liquid. For each pint of liquid add 1lb of sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon, bring back to the boil and simmer until the syrup is reduced to the desired consistency. Pour into heated, sterilised bottles. Seal, label and date. Store in a cool place. Keep refrigerated once opened. Use to make a milkshake with cold milk. This can be made with dried nettles and rose petals, but reduce the amounts.

Two of my apprentices, Kathy and Lorraine, travelled over fifty miles from Gloucestershire to help with the workshop. I was so grateful for their help in preparing the herbs and syrups and working with the refugees and other locals who came to make some medicines for winter. 

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and we were treated to a wonderful vegetarian lunch prepared by one of the refugees who used to run her own restaurant back in Malawi.

It has been a busy month with all my herbs. In between, both my sons have moved house and asked for practical support with electrics and loft boarding. A close friend of the family, (my unofficial third son!) was married last Saturday which provided the opportunity to visit Warwick Castle with my grandsons the previous day. We hoped things would calm down a little once the festival was over but it was not to be. Maybe November will bring the quiet time we crave.

Summer abundance

I have never grown as many plants from seed as I have this year. Tomatoes, salad leaves, peas, runner and French beans, basil, two types of spinach, radishes, courgettes, butternut squash, ashwaghanda, holy basil, sweet clover and pokeroot from home produced and bought in seeds.

I’ve also never given away quite so many plants as well – runner beans,
St Johns wort, Michaelmas daisies and other assorted herbs. It was when I was potting up the third batch of St Johns wort plants from the garden and handed over a particularly succulent marshmallow plant that the thought crossed my mind, “If I give away so much, will I have enough for myself?” The compulsion to give was too strong. The plants must go.

There is a Native American tradition which Stephen Buhner describes in his “Secret Life of Plants”. When the tribal medicine man arrives at a home where healing has been requested, tradition demands that the spouse of the person should give away all possessions as gifts to other members of the community. The act is performed before the healing commences in anticipatory gratitude.

Other beliefs teach there is no need to hang on to possessions, because whatever we need will be provided by the universe. I know I don’t have the confidence yet to practice this philosophy, but this year is showing how abundance can be the flipside of gifts freely given.

In response to my plants, I have been given new varieties of tomatoes and lots of chilli plants. The basil seeds which grew so easily and magnificently were a gift during a workshop on seed planting and propagation during a Mercian Herb Group meeting in March. Sharing the runner bean plants has brought me closer to many people I value as friends.

I really should not have worried about having enough St John’s wort. The main bed of plants flowered on June 12th, almost two weeks before their normal day of 21st June. There are already three jars of oil infusing on the sunny windowsill in the kitchen and my first batch of tincture is already a glorious shade of crimson. The recent torrential rain combined with ten days absence in Northumberland and Newcastle has played havoc with my ability to pick the flowers every day, but I know there will be enough for my needs and to give away.

Spending the weekend with my parents enabled me to visit the Sanctuary and see which herbs were ready for harvest there. I missed the last of the apothecary’s rose petals (and Chris wouldn’t let me gather from the three briar rose bushes heavy with blossom at Beamish Museum!), but the William Shakespeare were still blooming even though the petals were heavily waterlogged. I gathered as many as I could and dried them by the kitchen rayburn. They are now infusing in cider vinegar waiting to show their colours at Herbfest on 23rd July.

The walk down to the Sanctuary was also a kaleidoscope of colours provided by ladies bedstraw, red & white clover, knapweed and plantain accompanied by a variety of butterflies, damsel flies and grasshoppers. I watch so many wildlife programmes bemoaning the loss of native habitats. I am so fortunate to have a meadow blooming at my feet!

I’ve already dried two harvests of catmint and ox–eye daises, but more was waiting for me along with a palette of colour provided by weld, wood betony and hyssop. Helped by the three people who attended the Saturday workshop, we picked purple sage, SJW, betony, goats rue, motherwort and enjoyed a wonderful tea of lemon balm and calendula flower.

Janey brought her carding pads and set to work on the wool we boiled for lanolin over Easter. The conclusion was that the wool was really only fit for felting rather than spinning, but it still leaves a wealth of possibilities for future crafts.

I had less than two hours on Sunday to complete my gathering and weeding after preparing Sunday dinner and before we had to pack everything up to come home. I intended to remove the last few docks from the new herb bed, but found myself harvesting and weeding skullcap instead. I also gathered a tiny basket of heartsease which I set to dry for a “hope” tea in the future.

Bees were everywhere – white and yellow/orange-bottomed bumblebees and honey bees. I watched them feeding from red clover and motherwort, climbing around the plant to suck the nectar from each individual floret. Their activity was so different from their sister bees collecting pollen from wide open evening primrose flowers or even St John’s wort flowers, where they appeared to brush their tummy over the pollen or wrap pollen strings around their whole bodies – something I’d not seen before.

The stand of motherwort was so beautiful. I kept looking at it wondering what I could make with it. I’d already gathered enough for vinegar. I have tincture and oil left from last year and it was far too hot and my time severely limited, for me to gather any more. So I left the strawberry and cream pink motherwort and the deep blue of the hyssop to the bees.

It is hard to accept you can’t do everything, especially when colours and scents call seductively to gather and process. There will be further opportunities. The calendula and bergamot are still a long way from flowering, so they and the tansy will greet me when I return in August.