Medicinal herbs have long been recognized not only by people who are far from medicine, but also by the most official medicine. They can be purchased at the pharmacy, and in the public domain. But these herbs, as a rule, contain less useful properties. After all, they are harvested in a huge amount without clear observance of the rules of the workpiece.
Significantly the best result is given by herbs that are either grown independently, or prepared with their own hands. If you want to grow herbs on a personal plot, then it is advisable to know some rules.
We must study and remember the main serious points. To do this, purchase a directory for medicinal plants. It is perfectly illustrated. And you will need to know how to distinguish very similar herbs and flowers.
How to harvest herbs correctly
To collect for further drying the plant is necessary only in environmentally friendly places. Along roads, you cannot collect plants and mushrooms. You can not make herbs blanks in city squares and parks. These herbs will not benefit the body, but the harm.
To preserve the maximum of useful properties, it is necessary to take into account the time of collecting plants and even the phase of their development:
The kidneys are collected after their full swelling. It is during this period, lasting for several days, they contain the maximum amount of resinous substances.
Bark needs to be collected only from young trees and always healthy. Do not take a bark with traces of bugs-bugs, growths, moss and wood mushrooms. The best time for harvesting bark is the moment of sap flow.
It is recommended to collect leaves during stormy flowering.
Flowers are collected at the very beginning of the flowering period. Their seeds should be immature.
Fruits and seeds begin to collect after final maturation. It is such blanks that can be stored for a long time and receive the largest therapeutic effect from them.
Tubers, bulbs and roots are harvested when the ground part is completely dead. Therefore, their workpiece should occur in the fall or early spring.
General rules for harvesting and storing medicinal herbs
Having gathered herbs, sort them out. Remove accidentally hitting unnecessary herbs, lumps of clay and put in a basket without priming the plants. Otherwise self -heating will occur, which is undesirable. For a long time, the grass should not be in the basket either. Lay it faster for drying. Otherwise, she will begin to prete and deteriorate.
It is necessary to cut plants in calm and dry weather, preferably in the morning, but not very early. The dew should evaporate. For work, use either sharp special scissors, or a small sickle for grass. The barrel of the plant cannot be damaged. If you are only interested in leaves or flowers, then you do not need to pull the plant with the root.
How to harvest herbs correctly
It is necessary to dry herbs indoors, not in the sun. But the room should be ventilated, and very good. Herbs can be dried in bundles if they are with long stems. Leaves, herbs, flowers are laid out on wooden pallets. But first you need to lay the sheets of paper on the trays. Beginners to dry plants must be shaken slightly, turn over. Plant tubers and roots are very convenient to dry in ligaments. But to accelerate drying, large roots can be cut and dried on the pallet. If the herbs began to break, then this is a sign that they have already dried up. But they should break with a bang, and not just bend. The fruits can be slightly squeezed in the palms. They should not smear their hands and glue in lumps. Flowers are simply rubbed in their hands. They should break up into pieces and not stick to the fingers.
How to harvest herbs correctly
Store dry plants preferably in a glass glass of dark color. Such dishes usually have dense covers, does not pass moisture and smells. So store plants containing essential oils or volatiles. You can store herbs and in small sizes of linseed fabric bags. In packages made of polyethylene, you can’t keep herbs for a long time. They will quickly lose their healing properties. You can’t keep plants in the refrigerator.