Mid-summer is the perfect time to check in on your tea and medicinal garden. Plants like motherwort, anise hyssop, mad‑dog skullcap, yarrow, Greek mullein, calendula, scarlet bee balm, lemon bee balm, and echinacea are blooming or just past their first flush. Now’s your window to harvest, prune, and encourage another round of growth before fall.
How to Harvest in Mid-Summer
- Leafy herbs like anise hyssop, motherwort, skullcap, and bee balms respond well to light pruning. Trim back no more than a third of the plant to encourage new growth and another bloom.
- Flowering herbs like echinacea, calendula, and yarrow can be harvested by cutting the flower heads as soon as they open. Always remember to leave a few blossoms behind for pollinators.
- Mullein is best harvested more mindfully. Harvest only a few of the largest basal leaves in the first year, and in its second year collect flowering spikes just as they open, using clean scissors.
To Preserve Your Herbs:
- Hang them in small bunches in a dry, shaded, well-ventilated place.
- Or use a dehydrator on the lowest setting.
- Some herbs like motherwort, anise hyssop, and skullcap are best used fresh in infusions, teas, or tinctures.
How to Use Your Harvest
- Calendula and scarlet bee balm make soothing topical preparations. Infuse in an oil of your choice, such as olive oil, for 6-8weeks. Strain and use, or mix with melted bees wax for a balm or salve.
- Motherwort and skullcap made soothing and supportive fresh herbal teas, and tinctures. To tincture, just pack your chopped herbs in a clean jar, cover with alcohol, and let sit for 6-8 weeks. Strain and enjoy.
- Mullein and echinacea are ideal for dried teas, and herbal tinctures supporting wellness and respiratory health.
- Lemon bee balm and anise hyssop are delicious fresh or dried in teas.
- Yarrow can be used fresh in poultices, wilted in tinctures, or dried for oil infusion or tincturing. This medicinal powerhouse offers both internal and external benefits, so we grow a lot of it.
Mid-Summer Maintenance
- Refresh mulch to keep roots cool and conserve moisture.
- Feed lightly to support energy during the hottest stretch of the season.
Want to try your hand at your own herbal tea or medicinal garden? Shop online or in-store for organically grown medicinal and native medicinal plants. Whether you’re just getting started or adding to your apothecary, we’re honored to be part of your herbal journey.