Harvesting wild chocolate lily.

These are seven tips for when collecting wild herbs or plants.

1. Make sure you’re collecting them in the right time of year/season. For instance, with horsetail, you have to collect them when the stem leaves are pointing up. Once they start to point down, the medicinal properties aren’t as strong. Also, different parts are harvested at different times. For instance, leaves are usually harvested before flowering while roots are usually harvested after flowering or in the fall.
2. No more than one out of three to make sure propagation continues. This is pretty simple. If you only find one of an herb you want, you will have to simply find where there are more. Leaving two behind ensures that more will continue to grow. You don’t want to over-harvest anything.
3. Make sure the plant is the one you want. I know this seems pretty obvious, but there are some herbs that are harmless or useful that look very similar to very deadly plants.
4. Ensure that you are harvesting from a healthy crop. If an insect has been gnawing on it, pass it by. When I am harvesting yarrow, I tend to leave the ones that have bees on them alone. It’s the bee’s turn to use that flower. Also, try to pick the more centralized specimens and let the ones on the outskirts continue to spread. See number 2.
5. Avoiding poison. This means knowing whether or not the area has been sprayed with pesticide or herbicide. It’s pretty simple. If you’re like me and want to let your yard go wild, wait 3 years before harvesting things from it. I say three years because the USDA requirement for farmers to become organic is to not use conventional pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers for three years.
6. If a plant or herb is on private property, ask permission. It is simple courtesy and manners.
7. When wild harvesting, be aware of your presence on the surrounding areas. Try to leave as little impact as possible so that the ecosystem can continue with as little disruption as possible.

Thanks for reading. Come back next week to see when to harvest!