Homegrown Herbal Tea

[baymule]

Greenhouse oven! Hahaha! @Phaedra that made me laugh! I’m enjoying your teas you make and taking notes. One of these days I’ll have a herb garden and a pretty yard. I really need to stop putting sheep in the yard…… I should, but I’ll be weaning a couple of ram lambs next week, and I’ll move them to the yard. LOL In 2 months I’ll have 5 more to wean….., One of these days I’ll have enough fence up to rotate pastures and be able to give the yard a rest.

 

[Phaedra]

Greenhouse oven! Hahaha! @Phaedra that made me laugh! I’m enjoying your teas you make and taking notes. One of these days I’ll have a herb garden and a pretty yard. I really need to stop putting sheep in the yard…… I should, but I’ll be weaning a couple of ram lambs next week, and I’ll move them to the yard. LOL In 2 months I’ll have 5 more to wean….., One of these days I’ll have enough fence up to rotate pastures and be able to give the yard a rest.

I believe raising sheep brought a different kind of joy. Is it possible (safe from sheep ) to put the potted herbs on the porch?

 

[Phaedra]

A big pot of mixed mints - they are all propagated from cuttings (rooted in water and then transplanted into the soil), and it's time to harvest and encourage more side shoots.

After a nice haircut~

After drying (in a dark place), they will go into a big jar and become the tea ingredient for the cold months. The customers who visit my small shop can also enjoy them.

 

[baymule]

I have to fence the porch off to keep the lambs off. They are stinkers!

 

[Phaedra]

Just about another twenty days, time to harvest mints again! There are five different mints in this big pot, and I love the integrated display of different patterns, shapes, and fragrances.

After harvest, I gave them diluted seaweed water as the feed. See you in another two weeks.

The herbal tea would be one of my products in cold months. In Germany, herbal tea offered in the common bakery or coffee shops charges between 2.5 to 3 Euros, but what you get is a cup of hot water and a tea bag. Yes, it's not exaggerated.

I will offer homegrown herbal tea with a small piece of cake at that price, but well, it's a totally different thing.

 

[digitS']

I will be frequenting the tea and herb shelves in the stores after the growing season ends. Even now, I may be over harvesting my larger lemon verbena plant and the new one is only just beginning to make some growth. So, I make use of the purchased dried lemon verbena, now and then.

I will be happy when I have used that entirely. If there is an herb that better represents the loss of flavor by drying, I don't know what it would be.

Let's say that I want to do more adventuring into the world of herbal teas. I appreciate blends but especially appreciate my having some control over the mix. Also, setting the kettle up is one of the very first of my morning tasks -- before breakfast. I find that a nice, long time steeping is a good thing. A complex blend of 5 or more might not be a good thing. I mean, I have to be able to focus .

It is good to have lots of variety in one's life but what are your favorites of the commonly available herbs either in a mix or individually? I have already said that I'm not much for the mints but I'm not hard & fast about that. Besides, it is a very BROAD family of plants and flavors.

Steve

 

[Alasgun]

@digitS', apart from the mints Rosemary and Self Heal top our list. We’ll dry up to a gallon of each and be tea,d up for the year. No more store bought. Anything we grow as a tea is stand alone, i’m to lazy to fool with “blends”.

 

[digitS']

I like Rosemary and have tried it a couple of times as a drink.

The only experience I have with Self Heal is having seen it. A very small plant and I would only recognize it from the flowers. Do you wild-harvest it, @Alasgun ? Grow a special variety?

Steve

 

[Alasgun]

Steve, i got my seeds from “Strictly Medicinal”. This is a portion of 4 plants, started this spring. As you can see it’s very prolific. Read up on it from a medicinal standpoint to determine whether or not it may be for you.
I only cut the flowers and top 2 leaves, it air dries quickly and stores well. We add a couple drops of Stevia or a dolop of maple syrup.

I have 5 other plants in the woods edge which do well in partial shade; those pictured are in full sun and irrigated. The stuff in the woods is on it’s own; both do remarkably well.

 

[Dahlia]

Steve, i got my seeds from “Strictly Medicinal”. This is a portion of 4 plants, started this spring. As you can see it’s very prolific. Read up on it from a medicinal standpoint to determine whether or not it may be for you.
I only cut the flowers and top 2 leaves, it air dries quickly and stores well. We add a couple drops of Stevia or a dolop of maple syrup.

I have 5 other plants in the woods edge which do well in partial shade; those pictured are in full sun and irrigated. The stuff in the woods is on it’s own; both do remarkably well.

What ailments does that plant heal?