Distilling Chamomile from My Organic Gardens

It was an exciting day to receive the Distiller that we had ordered quite some time ago! I was growing concerned as I watched the heat begin in Arizona, and worried that I would miss the Chamomile harvest. I had already harvested massively for my Herbal Calming and Uplifting formula, and it was nearly ready to be strained. However, I harvested a trial batch of Chamomile for my first distilling experience!

It was amazing to see the amount of Hydrosol that came off the plant in comparison to the few drops of Chamomile! During the distilling process the Blue Azulene forms and the essential oil is very distinctive to see, floating on top of the Hydrosol. I AM EXCITED TO TEACH ABOUT HYDROSOL, AS IT HASN'T BEEN PART OF MY CURRICULUM UP TO THIS POINT! You can surely know why a pure, organic German Chamomile (Magtricaria recutita) is so costly - and you can be assured that if you have a bottle that was less than $60 for 10 ml that you DO NOT HAVE A PURE ESSENTIAL OIL!

HARVESTING MESQUITE BEANS FOR FLOUR AND NUTRITION

Lori Olsen and I enjoyed our morning outing with the Phoenix Permaculture Guild to harvest Mesquite beans. Usually the beans are harvested in early June, but when we got to the location we found that our Spring in the desert was actually about 5 weeks delayed! I had noticed how wonderful this spring has been - with our first 100-110 degrees just hitting last week - but didn't realize how many weeks we had been gifted!

I scheduled a class on the Mesquite Trees (several varieties to understand) and an opportunity to gather the beans to be made into Protein Shakes, Flour and other recipes on July 17,2010 7-9am (Saturday). It will be hot, so bring water, hats and a container to gather the pods in. Lori will help me with the class if her schedule will allow! Happy Summer! Email me at botanicaleducation@gmail.com to let me know if you will be attending. This class counts towards required Experiential Learning for the Herbal modules.