Drying St John’s Chamomile in the Greenhouse
We grew St John’s Chamomile last year, and it over-wintered, and now we have a lovely patch. This is not the same as ordinary German Chamomile, nor is it the same plant as St John’s Wort, but a special species all its own.
To learn more about how to grow this plant, visit Garden Beast website.
To find seeds, you can check here at Amazon.com, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, or Strictly Medicinals.
They weren’t that hard to grow!
Golden Marguerite
Also known as Golden Marguerite, St John’s Chamomile looks like a mass of small yellow daisy flowers! They are super cheery, and flower abundantly in the garden.
AdThe flowers can be used for a calming tea, and I have not sampled it yet this way! Soon!
First–to dry the flowers!
I chose to use solar power to do our drying this time. Because…why not? We have a greenhouse, so why not utilize that heat?
This is just a little photo shoot of ours in the drying process.
Obviously, first came the harvesting.
I found that snipping was fine, but plucking the flowers went faster!
To see the Instagram reel I made about this process, please click 🌼here! 🌼
I collected an abundance of the bright blooms,
All we did is was spread the blooms onto a window screen in the shade of the corner of the greenhouse.
Simple!
It took a few days to dry them out. It would have taken maybe one or two tops, but we got some rain in the the middle and the humid air didn’t help the drying process.
Just wait til they’re nice and dry/crispy.
Then gather them and store the flowers in a glass jar or airtight container.
Use the dried herbs for a relaxing tea anytime!
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Very interesting. It looks delicious. For sure, I would love to try that some day.. I really love chamomile tea, so having some available all of the time would be wonderful. Thank you for this step by step guide with pictures!
Thank you!
I read somewhere that making a tea out of St John’s Chamomile is a good way to treat anxiety and nerves. A friend decided to give it a try and see if it would help her relax before a big presentation. She brewed a cup of the tea and took a few sips (it was commercial – she did not grow her own as you did). She said that she could immediately feel her muscles start to relax and her mind started to calm down. The tea was definitely helpful in reducing her anxiety levels before the presentation.
Personally, I am a coffee drinker… and I will have an occasional cup of tea.
Thanks for sharing!
That’s so interesting.
My husband and picked this plant out. He loves to grow herbs. He’s growing several chamomile plants, but this one is the prettiest.
I’m so glad for the calming effect. I’m definitely going to harvest all i can! I could use it!
Thanks for sharing!
Camomile tea is one of my favorites to end a stressful day. Recently, I’ve been chatting with some of my friends about using solar power to do more things. Thanks for sharing one way to use it.
Yes it can be a challenge being off grid, but we are trying to figure it out.