How to harvest and store your plants like a pro

Flowers, leaves, seeds, bark and roots of medicinal and aromatic plants can be harvested from your garden or in nature. Here are some tips on making the most of your harvest.

Autumn and winter are the most conducive times to harvest roots and rhizomes because this is when their flavours are the most pronounced and when they contain the most beneficial ingredients.

However, do not wait until the aerial parts of the plant have disappeared, because the presence of foliage facilitates locating and identifying the roots and rhizomes.

• Using a garden fork/fork spade, dig up the entire plant and its root system. Carefully separate the part you wish to use and put the plant back in the ground, without delay.
• Gently rub the root to remove the soil. To clean the roots and rhizomes that are large in diameter, such as ginger or horseradish, use a vegetable brush.
• Rinse the finest and most delicate roots, such as valerian, under a stream of water. Do not soak them. By absorbing water, they lose their flavour and would take longer to dry.
• Once the roots are clean, chop and dry them in the oven at a very low temperature (50 to 60 °C or 122 to 140 °F).
• If necessary, open the oven door slightly to prevent the temperature from rising too high.
• Regularly turn over the root pieces to promote even drying. When they become brittle, they are ready.
• Let them cool, and then store them in a tinted glass jar.

• The injuries caused to a tree when harvesting its bark can be fatal to the tree. Therefore, it is preferable to buy the bark commercially.
• If, however, you decide to harvest the bark yourself, do it in wet weather.
• Using a clean, sharp tool, collect the bark in vertical stripes, at at least one metre (three feet) from the ground.
• Never take horizontal stripes, and do not harvest bark on young trees: they might not recover from it.
• Clean the pieces of bark and flatten them as much as possible, then let them dry a few weeks in a warm, well-ventilated place.

The pleasure of having a garden is mainly to enjoy the harvest. Be careful and be sure you take the correct precautions when taking on this delicate task.