Blurry view of a field through a rain soaked screen

Harvest ready?

Leo Edmiston-Cyr

Walking around the field there are so many, many plants doing their own thing.  I am filled with a sense of belonging, engagement, and respect for their contribution to my life.  It is so diverse in height, leaves, flowers, stems, and colors.  It is shocking just how many different shades of green you'll see in a 10'x10' patch featuring catnip, st. john's wort, marshmallow, lambs quarter, fleabane, and so much more than I know!

A small section of the field capturing about 10 x 10 feet in focus

The only thing that rivals that variation is all the behind the scenes partnerships, antagonistic predator-prey type relationships, chemical processes, and deep, ancient histories of artificial selection and human intervention that is hidden in a field that appears to be just "wild."  Here is a look at the whole field

A view across the field hinting at the species diversity

In all that, I'm seeing lots of plants that have different parts that are ready to harvest -- some I am too late for and some that I am right on time for.

Here is a short list of harvest opportunities that weren't meant to be this year:

  • Elderberry flowers (ok, that just means more berries :)
  • Stinging nettle (Just planted some this spring so too early to harvest)
  • Many more that I'm not looking for right now

The ones that I have been watching and am able to harvest now are St. John's wort, Raspberry and Blackberry leaf, Red clover, and Yarrow.  Here's a photo album of them in the field as I harvested them, going into the dryer, and in jars.

Harvesting buckets ready to collect (food grade, of course) on the ground in a large barn door with roto tiller to left
Harvesting buckets ready to collect (food grade, of course)
Red clover
Red clover in bucket and background
Yarrow
Yarrow in bucket and background
A patch of St. John's wort with a bucket in front with other species surrounding and mulch around
A St. John's wort patch
St. John's wort flowers with shears
St. John's wort flowers
St. John's wort flowers held up with field in background
St. John's wort flowers
St. John's wort flower from the bottom with sky above
St. John's wort flower from the bottom
The herbs in the dryer spaced in a single layer on three different shelves
The herbs in the dryer
After about 24 hours and according to the temperature and humidity, they should be all dry!
Temperature and humidity displays showing 93 degrees F and 45 % RH
Dried raspberry leaves crumbling between fingers
Dried raspberry leaves crumbling between fingers
The finished product packed into jars and labelled
The finished product
Indy the cat on a large stick with wild lawn in foreground and barn and trees in the background
Indy the cat!

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