Collecting Your Herbs

Supplies and Tools Needed for Collecting Herbs:

A basket or bag to carry supplies and herbs.
Sharp scissors or cutters.
A hand trowel. For deep roots you may need a garden shovel or pitch-fork.
Paper bags to put herbs in.
Gardening gloves (optional).

Be alert for the unexpected. This doe, spotted on the edge of a field while collecting St. John's Wort, is a reminder not to disturb creatures in their habitat.

Ethical Concerns about What and Where to Collect Herbs.

What? Ethical concerns?

Certainly! In brief, don't take all of what there is of plant in any given area. Leave some to seed and grow for next year. And be aware, some of the plants you collect may be endangered. Don't gather plants from someone else's land without their permission. While it might seem harmless on one hand, that property is still not yours to trample on.

Methods of Collecting Herbs

Flowers. Most flower heads can simply be plucked from their stems. I like to take the stem as well, though I discard it right away. This doesn't leave the plant feeding a flowerless stem when it could be sending that nourishment to other parts of the plant. Don't take all the flowers on a plant. Leave some to seed for next year. And leave some for the birds and the bees! In general, I suggest picking the blossom as it opens, not after it's in full bloom, for the best flavor and scent.

Toxins in Your Area? Could the herbs you collect be contaminated with toxins?

Know the area you are collecting in. You don't want to collect roadside where engine exhaust is settling on on the plants, nor do you want to collect near garbage sites, or other areas where toxins might have been dumped. As you learn herbs more you will be able to tell things about the ground by what is growing there. For instance, horsetail grows in poor, usually sandy soil. Dandelions grow best in rich dirt their roots can go deep into. A scraggly dandelion plant is a sign the dirt is poor.

Leaves. Leaves can be collected individually, gathered on stems, or as part of the whole plant. I tend to take stems. This makes them easy to hang for drying. The whole plant is easier, but only if you're assured that more plants will grow next year, either from seed or root. After the leaves are dried, simply removed them from their stems. On a flowering plant I suggest collecting the leaves while the flowers are young buds, before the flowers feed on the leaves for their nutrition.

Roots. These can take a little work, especially if you're digging something like burdock that likes to reach deep down into the earth. Get as much of the root as you can, although leaving some pieces of some will insure the plant will come back next year. It is best to collect roots at the end of the growing season when they are rich with nutrients. Wash them after collecting and lay them out with lots of room for the water to dry before processing them for drying.