Chamomile: rules for collecting and drying at home

Rules for collecting chamomile

Chamomile is often confused with the common wildflower, also called common chamomile. Chamomile differs in the structure of its bud. If a flower is cut into halves, it will have a cavity inside. You can also recognize chamomile by its short white petals and convex core. The foliage of the plant is heavily rugged, and the aroma has a pronounced honey hue.

German Mashkov in his video will tell you in detail how to distinguish common chamomile from pharmaceutical chamomile

Basic rules for collecting medicinal raw materials:

• Since this plant is very common, you need to choose environmentally friendly places to collect it. Particular attention should be paid to avoiding waste storage areas, roadsides, railway tracks and other contaminated areas.
• The best time to collect chamomile is from mid-June to August.
• The plant should be collected in the morning immediately after the dew has disappeared.If the dew was too heavy, then it is better to postpone the collection.
• The weather during collection should be dry and sunny.
• Flowers are cut with sharp scissors or a knife.
• Chamomile buds are separated from the stem rather than the entire plant being cut off.
• A stem no more than 3 centimeters long is left from the flower head.
• If it is necessary to prepare green mass, for example, for baths and compresses, then the cut is made at a distance of 30 centimeters from the top. At the same time, you need to cut branches from different bushes to allow the plant to fully recover.

By following all the rules for collecting chamomile, you can count on good quality medicinal raw materials.

How to dry chamomile

Drying a plant like chamomile should attract the maximum amount of your attention. The quality of the medicine obtained from chamomile will depend on how correctly the dehydration process is followed.

After collecting the flowers, you need to start drying them as quickly as possible.

The main and most correct way to preserve pharmaceutical chamomile is natural drying in the fresh air.

The choice of drying location is very important. It should be dark, dry and well ventilated. Under no circumstances should the plant be dried in direct sunlight. Bright light destroys all beneficial substances.

Flowers are laid out on fabric or trellises. The layer of raw material should not be very large. If flowers are laid out in bulk, then the natural heating process inside the “heap” will lead to rotting of the raw materials.

It is important that the buds are arranged quite loosely, this will allow normal air circulation to be maintained.

Medicinal raw materials also need to be protected from insects. To do this, it is covered with gauze to allow it to “breathe.”

The chamomile needs to be stirred and turned over several times a day.

The air temperature during drying should be from 25 to 35 degrees. If weather conditions deteriorate, then the containers with flowers should be moved into the house and dried at room temperature.

To dry chamomile with whole stems, use the tying method. To do this, bundles are formed from raw materials, which are then hung at some distance from each other on a rope, upside down. The best place for drying chamomile bunches is a dark attic room.

Drying naturally takes approximately 10 – 14 days. Well-dried flowers, when rubbed between your fingers, crumble, and the stems become fragile and break.

If there is no time to dry medicinal raw materials, or there is no suitable room for this, then chamomile can be dried using an electric dryer for vegetables and fruits.

The grass or flowers are laid out on the device’s grilles and drying begins at a temperature of 35–40 degrees. If the unit does not have the ability to regulate the temperature, then this drying option will not work.

Watch the video from the channel “Kramarenko Family. Single Mother" – Dried chamomile

How to store dry chamomile

Dried medicinal raw materials should be stored in cardboard boxes or linen bags. If you plan to use glass containers for storage, then you need to remember one thing - the herb must breathe, so instead of a tight lid you should use a sheet of parchment.

The maximum shelf life of chamomile is 1.5 years.