Medicinal Herbs to Harvest in August. How to Dry and Store Them

The hot summer months are just the right time for most medicinal herbs to be harvested. You can then dry them and store them over winter for making teas and other infusions to treat some health problems naturally. Of course, you will have to look into each plant’s properties and effects before using it, otherwise it can do you more harm than good. If you are certain that a particular plant can improve your condition, you have to observe some rules when harvesting, drying and storing it. Here are the most well known medicinal herbs to harvest in August.

In order to harvest good quality plants, rich in health beneficial oils, the time of the harvest should be considered. Leaves, flowers or the whole aerial part of the plant are generally harvested when it’s sunny and dry, before noon or towards the end of the day. Fruit and seeds are usually harvested when it’s cooler, early in the morning or late in the evening.

Medicinal herbs to harvest in August

There are plenty of medicinal herbs up for harvesting this month. The most well known would be:

• blueberry (leaves and fruit)
• anise (fruit)
• artichoke (leaves)
• basil (the whole aerial part – H)
• hippophae/ sea buckthorn (fruit)
• caraway (fruit)
• chicory (H)
• thyme and wild thyme (H)
• currant (H)
• milfoil (H)
• cilantro (fruit)
• alder buckthorn (bark)
• fennel (fruit)
• marigold (flowers)
• dog rose (fructe)
• peppermint (H)
• blackberry (frunze)
• absinthe (H)
• lemon balm (frunze)
• yellow sweet clover (H)
• Saint John’s wort (H)
• nettle (H)

How to dry and store medicinal herbs

You should proceed to drying your medicinal herbs right after harvesting. Spread them on cloth or paper, not plastic, to avoid mold forming or other contamination. Place them in clean, well ventilated rooms.