It's almost herb harvest time at Glass Jar Natural Tea + Skin! Our friends at Common Ground Farm have already given us a ton of mint and yarrow. We'll have more of our yarrow, mint, bee balm, mullein, and oats to harvest in the next few days! It's always a mad dash during these times, as we like to harvest materials at their peak ripeness and freshness.
You might have noticed during this busy harvest season it will take us a bit longer to complete your orders. We thank you in advance for your patience as we are pretty much a one-woman show around here, lol! Here's our process...
- Herb Harvest
- Water
- White Vinegar
- Clean Kitchen Use Towels
- Trays
- Time + Patience + Music
I use a double sink, one side is a soaking mixture of cool water and a few tablespoons white vinegar. The other side is just plain cool water. Note: only a few herbs can take long periods of soaking, up to 30 minutes is usually enough time to dislodge sediment and insects.
Using your hands, swish the herbs through the water/vinegar mixture repeatedly. Once you think it's ready to rinse, place inside the cool water only. Allow it to soak for a few minutes while you clean out the first sink w/ hot water and soap (there's bound to be some sediment). Line your workspace with clean kitchen towels or paper towels. Place the herbs on the towels and separate each branch and inspect. Look for bugs, blighted leaves or decay. Create a pile of the Grade A herbs and Grade B (check out our previous blog post for uses of Grade B.)
Once the herbs have been inspected, make sure they are free of dripping water. I like to gently place another dry towel on top and lightly press. Now, we are ready to start tying our bundles. Grab a few branches (up to 10 or so) and tie culinary string *very* tightly around the bundle. Repeat the process until complete! You'll have dried herbs ready for teas, etc. within a few days and bundles should be "crunchy" to the touch.
