The days are shortening and temperatures are dropping. There are more and more leaves on the ground than left on trees and I love to inhale their spicy, warm scent as I crunch through them on my walks. Fall is a time of ebbing energy, of drawing in and down and returning to the earth. Herbaceous plants are slowly dying back. Frost tender annuals may have already slipped away, leaving only their seeds to carry on with the promise of finding themselves in the just the right conditions to return again in a distant season. Hardy perennials are busy making use of diminishing sunlight to store as much energy in their roots to sustain them through the winter. The toughest, like dandelion, chicory and red clover are still cheerfully flowering, adding a bright brush stroke to the increasing browning of the days.
It’s easy to look at barren garden beds and the skeleton of trees and feel the loss of summer’s absolute verdancy, but in fact the natural world is just alive as ever. And so while I can sense and long for winter’s slow hibernation, there’s still much to be done before this mammal can curl up with her blankets, books, crochet hooks and pots of tea.
It’s easy to look at barren garden beds and the skeleton of trees and feel the loss of summer’s absolute verdancy, but in fact the natural world is just alive as ever. And so while I can sense and long for winter’s slow hibernation, there’s still much to be done before this mammal can curl up with her blankets, books, crochet hooks and pots of tea.
This is root season. Dandelions, burdock, yellow dock, wild carrot, chicory, elecampane, comfrey…. these are all on my autumnal wildcrafting list. It can be cold and wet, but I love digging for roots in the fall. I still vividly recall the one year I dug dandelions roots on a quickly darkening, gloomy day, with sleet coming down and thousands of crows cawing overhead on their way to their communal roost. My fingers were numb and my face was stung by the tiny icy grains falling from the sky, but there was no where else I would have rather been at that moment.
It’s a time for bark too, and this year I’m working with wild cherry and cramp bark especially. The cherry bark will go into a syrup for calming and soothing coughs. Cramp bark is lovely for muscle spasms and cramps. Working with bark is still somewhat new to me. Harvesting must be done with great care so as not to damage the tree, but I’ve been learning from wonderful, experienced herbalists who practice with great care.
I feel confident in being able to proceed in way that not only causes the least damage, but can also be beneficial to the plant too.
Seeds as well are gathered now, some for food and medicine, but also some for planting. Unlike most annual, vegetable crops, many temperate climate, wild edible and medicinal plants do best when the seeds are planted in the fall orwintersown. The seeds require periods of freeze/thaw cycles to break dormancy and germinate. I think I will be planting more seeds this fall and winter than I did in the spring!
So while I’m no longer spending endless hours outside under a summer sun, the plants are still calling me out into the green spaces and there’s still plenty of dirt under these nails. The blankest and books just have to wait a few more weeks yet.
Seeds as well are gathered now, some for food and medicine, but also some for planting. Unlike most annual, vegetable crops, many temperate climate, wild edible and medicinal plants do best when the seeds are planted in the fall orwintersown. The seeds require periods of freeze/thaw cycles to break dormancy and germinate. I think I will be planting more seeds this fall and winter than I did in the spring!
So while I’m no longer spending endless hours outside under a summer sun, the plants are still calling me out into the green spaces and there’s still plenty of dirt under these nails. The blankest and books just have to wait a few more weeks yet.
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