Harvesting from the School’s Herb Garden…

It has always been the school’s intention to grow as many of our own herbs as possible. We want to teach our students not only how to grow them, but how to harvest, dry, prepare and make medicine from them. This patch of Calendula was just perfect and ready to pick at midday in the heat of a July sun:

When you pick Calendula you get sticky fingers because of all the resin contained in the petals.

These were absolutely perfect flowers, no bugs or insects or disease.

I placed them in a sturdy wicker basket to transfer them back to the pharmacy for drying:

They were laid out in a hanging mesh dryer.

Each flower was positioned carefully to make sure there was plenty of airflow around each bloom. Now we wait. We will dry the whole harvest to use later in tinctures, infused oils and creams. The students are busy revising for the end of year exams, and the tutors are busy finalising the modules for year 2, so no fresh-tincture-making this year.

This is the Calendula bed after harvesting. Although it looks bare there are plenty of buds coming on to give the school another harvest. And maybe another….