I went out this morning and took some pictures of the work done on the chicken pen/coop. If you will go to my Pictures Page and scroll down you will see that the coop is getting closer and closer to being completed. I also took a pic of our lake and the front of our house. They just looked so calming this morning I couldn't help myself.
Today it's rather brisk outside, but sunny. It's the perfect day for harvesting echinacea. I am more than ready to refill my jars with this precious herb. This is something that I feel is so simple and most people don't even realize how very easy it is to make their own immune enhancing tea and also enjoy the beautiful bloom of the purple coneflower in the summer. I am going to walk you through with pictures of exactly how I harvested mine. As you know I wait until after the first frost to dig. The mindset behind this is that in the Spring the sap travels north in plants or trees to produce leaves, thereby producing blooms, fruit and seed. In the Fall the sap travels south to the roots to store its energy through the Winter strengthening the plant for Spring growth. So to get the strongest root you wait until the sap travels to the roots and you also wait until the plant is at least 2 years old. Just makes sense that you would want to harvest from a plant that is strong in its growth. Also, it is my deepest belief that you should NOT be spraying with any chemicals. What goes in or on the plant, or the soil in which it is planted, goes in you and every other living creature that depends on your plants for food and shelter. I've tried to take pics of exactly what I did today. I'm not too good at this but here we go.