How best dry blackberry leaves preserving the medicinal value?
Do wild blackberry foliage keep their therapeutic value when dried in a dehydrator, or is it best to dry naturally?
I’m having some severe health problems right now and finding that the wild blackberry leaf tea is effective wonders so have picked a huge batch to dry now.
Also, if you know, I read that the foliage are most heady if picked before or when the plants are blooming. Is there any merit to that?
Thanks very much in advance.
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I’ve done a small research on this and learned a few bits of information that might be useful. One suggestion came from the following site:
http://www.natural-healing-guide.com/Therapeutic-Teas/Blackberry-Leaf-Tea.htm
You might find the paragraph that states the following helpful,
”Fermenting the blackberry foliage enhances their flavor and therapeutic effect. To ferment, crush slightly wilted blackberry foliage with a rolling pin. Wrap the foliage in a damp cloth and hang them in a warm place. After two or three days, the foliage will exude a rose like scent. At this point, remove the foliage from the cloth; let them dry before using”
This website supports what you appear to have by now learned:
http://www.pickyourown.org/DHbasilmint.htm
One sentence in the article states:
“The best time to cut herbs for drying is just before they flower. This is when the foliage have the most oil, which is what gives herbs aroma and flavor.” I recall from my distant past that marijuana growers and users find the flower tops to be the most heady part of this plant so this could very possibly be right of other plants like blueberry.
Hope this helps and that you’re feeling surpass soon.