It's Autumn Harvest Time!

It's Autumn Harvest Time!

Yes, many plants have gone by, but I am still harvesting cleavers, ground ivy, dandelion, and plantain. The comfrey is still thriving although many of the plants acquired some powdery mildew and so are not usable. It's been a very humid summer. 

Last week it was all about harvesting goldenrod and various asters, which thrive here and grow in giant hedges. New England aster is a favorite for its incredible colors and the myriads of pollinators it attracts. I now offer an autumn tea with pollen from goldenrod and asters to help allergies. They both frequently grow in amongst mugwort, which has gone to seed now but still has usable, fragrant leaves that make a relaxing tea.

Next up are the rose hips and hawthorn. Although the roses are growing in shrubby wild places and thick hedgerows I go around and cut them back as well as I can to encourage next year's new growth. It's a bit of a ramble but worth it. In bountiful years I make rose hip jelly, which has a sweet and tangy taste. Rose hips are chock full of vitamin C and antioxidants while hawthorn is beneficial to the cardiac system. 

Hawthorn is abundant here, in New England we called it thorn apple, and all of us free-range kids had encounters with them when we moved too fast through unexplored woods. Lessons learned!

 

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