Nothing says coziness and comfort quite like a cup of chamomile tea. Chamomile tea is a natural sleep aid, a great pollinator plant, and a delight for the eye. The cheery, daisy-like flowers of chamomile add as much in beauty as in function to the garden. Gardeners tending this low-growing plant need only learn how to harvest chamomile in order to enjoy a steaming cup of homegrown nutrient-packed tea.
Chamomile has a strong pleasing scent that can attract anyone to this tiny and powerful plant. Its warm and almost fruity scent is a delight to humans, but the bain of garden pests. Growing chamomile near crops that are prone to get chomped on like members of the brassica family is a huge boon. Their scent repels insects while delighting the gardener. Planting chamomile near enough to these plants so that their stems can rub up against them and release fragrant essential oils is sometimes called companion planting. Nightshades like potatoes or peppers really enjoy being close to your chamomile plants!
Chamomile has long been used in the home medicine cabinet and as a food. Herb practitioners use it to treat inflammation, insomnia, rheumatic pain, insomnia, and an upset stomach. The essential oils in this herb may also boost immunity. Its widespread use is due in part to the ease with which you can grow and harvest the flowers and make chamomile tea. Some people even put the flowers into salves for small wounds or bug bites.
All About Chamomile
A drought-resistant member of the daisy family, this is a hearty plant to have in the home garden. Chamomile flowers do best in cooler temperatures, so plan accordingly for how hot your region becomes in the summer. Chamomile is one of the few herbs that can actually suffer from too much water, so err on the side of too little water if possible, or place with other low water plants in the garden.
There are two common types of chamomile that you’re most likely to come across. The most common is Chamaemelum nobile, sometimes called Roman chamomile or true chamomile, and a low-growing perennial groundcover. Roman chamomile is known for its sweetness relative to other types. While this type is most common in the home garden, Roman chamomile is not what is most commonly used as dry chamomile flowers in commercial teas.
The type of flowers used to make tea is most often Matricaria chamomilla, an annual that is slightly taller and is widely used in commercial tea production. This is sometimes called German chamomile. Matricaria recutita is a synonymous botanical name for this species.
When deciding which type of flowers are best for you, first determine what growing zone your garden is in. A long winter isn’t the best for the perennial. Conversely, too much rain may make it difficult to grow chamomile outdoors in tropical regions.In rain-heavy environments, growing in a raised bed may help as you can easily optimize your growing space for excellent drainage.
Chamomile can have a negative interaction with some medications, so be mindful of what you drink if you are taking medication.
When Should I Harvest Chamomile?
There comes a day of bittersweet happiness, and that is when it’s time to harvest chamomile flowers. The cheerful chamomile flowers leave their beautiful home in the garden and begin their journey towards becoming a cup of tea.Thankfully, the bittersweet feeling doesn’t linger as new flowers will open up quickly!
Chamomile, like most other herbs, is best harvested in the morning before the day’s heat sets in. Excess moisture can damage your harvest, so be sure to harvest in a dry environment after the morning dew has dried and when there isn’t any rain on the horizon.
You’ll know that it is time to harvest your chamomile flowers when the petals on your blossom have finished opening and lay flat or slightly tilted against the center of the flowers. The nutrient and essential oil content of your flowers are at their peak right as the petals begin to push downwards from the center of the flower.
Daily or weekly harvests (depending on the size of your plants) are possible, especially with the German chamomile Matricaria chamomilla. It’s possible to also pick your flowers on a daily basis if you’re interested in having a cup of chamomile tea picked fresh from the garden… just be sure to double the number of buds you use, as fresh chamomile is not as potent as dry chamomile flowers. When you grow chamomile, you’ll find that this herb continuously produces flowers to enjoy throughout the summer.
Pick all the chamomile flowers that are ready as this plant quickly dries and begins self-seeding and will spread around the entire garden. The tiny seeds of the chamomile plant can easily be picked up by the wind and transported to small nooks and crannies all over. While some may find this an added bonus, it can become invasive in the wrong natural environment. Keep an eye out for the chamomile flowers before they begin to dry out.
Try planting chamomile in your garden as soon as the last chance of frost is gone. Depending on your growing zone, you’ll be able to get multiple harvests from the same plant or the same patch of chamomile flowers. You can look forward to multiple harvests from the same plant from late summer through early fall.
How To Harvest Chamomile
Harvesting chamomile is pretty easy and is a great activity to do with small children. They love popping the small flower heads off the chamomile stems and dropping them into a harvest basket!
Harvesting chamomile is easy. Simply snip off the top of the bloom, or gently place your fingers underneath the bloom and pull upwards, snapping off the flower head while holding onto the stem of the plant. You want to make sure you don’t lift the whole chamomile plant out by its roots!
After picking off the daisy-like flower head, it can also be a good idea to cut back some of the bloom-free stems to help encourage further growth. Don’t forget, you can get multiple harvests of chamomile throughout the entire summer.
Growing chamomile for tea blends is super easy. With each round of harvesting, you can try a different one! Summer is a great time to harvest chamomile flowers, not just because dried chamomile flowers make great tea, but all the other tea herbs to dry them with for tea recipes are also in bloom (think rose petals, lavender, mint, and echinacea).
While it may not be necessary for everyone, try washing your chamomile before you start the drying process. This may depend on several factors. Have you applied anything to the flower that you would not want to eat? Do you see any insects or bug damage on your harvest? Be sure your harvest is clean before you start to dry chamomile flowers, as there’s no going back once the process is started.
How To Dry Chamomile
After harvesting, there are several ways you can lay out your harvest to dry. Most people choose to air dry their blossoms for 2 weeks. If air-drying on a flat surface, lay your fresh blossoms out flat after snipping them off their stems with clean scissors. The tips of the petals will begin to curl first with the center of the bloom taking much longer to dry. Try to keep the blossoms from lying on top of one another, you want to give them room to breathe.
Alternatively, you can tie them in bundles without snipping them one by one. However, if drying in bundles and hanging from the ceiling or storeroom, do be mindful of seeds, leaves, and petals falling from your plants. As the chamomile plants dry, they don’t necessarily stick together. They’ve evolved to scatter their seed in the wind and will take every opportunity to drop seeds in your kitchen or pantry.
For home gardeners without the space or inclination to air dry chamomile flowers, you can also dry your chamomile flower harvest in a dehydrator. Simply lay out flowers with no bloom touching any other, and set at the lowest setting for between 1-4 hours. Check your chamomile every thirty minutes to see if they’re done. The conditions the plants are in when picked will impact their time in the dehydrator. Just remember when using a dehydrator that the lowest heat setting will provide the best flavor later. Too much heat can cause the essential oil in your herbs to lose its potency.
Drying chamomile involves a week’s worth of sunshine and some open flat space up off the ground. There are many different methods used in drying chamomile, but they all involve the same two principles – heat and airflow.
After you remove your Roman or German chamomile flowers from your plants, gently place them in a single layer on a baking sheet or mesh screen in a cool dry place and allow them to sit outside (or inside in warmth) for a week to two weeks. While some people may use a dehydrator and program it to run for a few hours, the most commonly used method is good old sunshine.
In order for the flower heads to dry, they need to have adequate time to dry. While the flower petals themselves will dry relatively quickly, the flower heads contain a good deal of water and need to thoroughly dry before storage to avoid molding your hard work!
Once the flower heads have fully dried, store them in a sealed glass jar or metal container and keep them in a cool dark place. Clay crocks or colorful glass jars are also great places to store your chamomile tea as they protect against sunlight, but you want something that has an airtight seal to prevent moisture from entering. Alternatively, add a moisture packet to help absorb any extra moisture that might be lingering to ensure the harvest is preserved.
Once your flowers have been dried and stored, try using them up within six months for the best flavor and nutrient potency. After the first six months, flavor and nutrients sharply plummet.
How to Make Chamomile Tea
To make one serving of chamomile tea, you’ll need eight ounces of boiling water and 1-2 tbsp of dried chamomile flowers. Let the mixture steep for 5 minutes before straining and adding honey or other sweeteners.
You’ll find after a quick search that each home gardener has their own special recipe when it comes to chamomile tea. Some will add dried echinacea and lavender to their recipe for added flavor and medicinal benefits. Others prefer a cooling recipe such as mint and chamomile. The sky is the limit to the variations you can do!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do you harvest chamomile without killing the plant?
A: Simply snip off the heads of the flowers or smaller branches near the top half of the plant. Leave behind enough stems and leaves for the plant to be able to regenerate itself.
Q: What part of chamomile do you harvest?
A: The flower head and petals are harvested and dried to make teas and salves.
What Part of Chamomile to Harvest. Unlike many other herbs, when harvesting chamomile, it is the blossoms you want to collect, not the stems, leaves or roots. Those gorgeous white daisy like flowers are all you want to harvest for chamomile tea.
Simply harvest the flowers by cutting them off at the stem just below the flowerhead. Take care to hold the chamomile flowers as gently as possible – handle them as little as possible during harvesting and never wash them afterwards.
Place the chamomile blossoms in a tea infuser, pour boiling water over the chamomile flowers, and then steep for 5 minutes. When it is hot outside, I add ice cubes after steeping for a fresh flavored iced tea. Freshly harvested chamomile can be used for tea as well, but you will need twice as much.
To harvest chamomile flowers for tea, gather them when they are fully open. Pull off the flowers with one hand while holding the stem just underneath the flower with the other. Leave the stems on the plant to encourage new buds to form.
The white petals should be fully extended…if they are past this point, and the petals have begun to point downward, you can still harvest the flowers. By harvesting chamomile flowers at their peak point they will have the most essential oils in the flower head.
The rationale behind this is that it will spur the plant into growing new flower heads, but this practice isn't absolutely necessary. At the end of the season, cut the stems as short as you can and it will burst back in the following spring.
When to harvest chamomile: You'll know chamomile is ready to harvest once its flower petals begin to droop backwards. This typically occurs in late summer or early autumn, about three to four months after planting.
You do not have to dry chamomile to make tea. Chamomile tea can also be made using fresh flowers harvested from the plant. For a cup of tea using fresh chamomile flowers, place one teaspoon of freshly picked flowers into a tea infuser. What is this?
Not all flowers are easy to grow from seed, but chamomile is one exception. It also reseeds itself very readily, so will often come back year after year on its own. The tiny seeds need sunlight to germinate, so spread them on the surface of the soil and gently tamp them down.
If you are using fresh flowers, double that measurement and use four tablespoons of fresh flowers per eight-ounce cup. Simply add the flowers into the water and allow it to steep for about 5 minutes, then pour the tea over a sieve to separate the flowers from the liquid.
Be sure to lay them out in a single layer so they dry quickly. Leave them outside on a hot, low-humidity day or inside in a warm, dry, well-ventilated area. Although chamomile can be dried in the sun, this method is often discouraged since the sun causes the herbs to lose color and flavor.
Is Chamomile Edible? Yes, chamomile leaves and flowers are both perfectly safe to eat, with a couple of caveats. Be sure the herb hasn't been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. Use chamomile with care if you're allergic to ragweed, as chamomile may trigger allergic reactions in some individuals.
Place 3-4 Tbsp (4 for a stronger tea) of chamomile and your mint sprig into your teapot or makeshift teabag of choice. Pour 8 oz of boiling water over the chamomile flowers and mint and then steep for 5 minutes. To serve, pour into a teacup, using a fine mesh strainer as needed.
Place 3-4 Tbsp (4 Tbsp for a stronger tea) of chamomile and your mint sprig into your teapot or makeshift teabag of choice. Pour 8 oz of boiling water over the chamomile flowers and mint and then steep for 5 minutes. To serve, pour into a teacup, using a fine mesh strainer as needed.
Wash the chamomile blossoms and dry well. Then spread out the blossoms, making sure each one has its own space to dry. You dry chamomile pretty much the same way you'd dry mint.
1) Add fresh flower heads to salads. 2) Make your own herbal tea to enjoy with breakfast. 3) At the end of the day, use your chamomile tea in a hot toddy. 4) Food52er aargersi suggests using chamomile tea to make rice, a tea and honey panna cotta, or tea-poached pears.
Pour a mug of boiling water. Stir in a tablespoon of torn leaves and stems. Cover the mug with a cloth or a saucer (to keep the heat in) and let the tea steep for ten minutes. Strain it into a fresh mug, or chill, and serve over ice, with a dash of apple juice to sweeten.
Deadhead faded flowers regularly – or harvest flowers before they fade – to encourage more blooms to be produced. In autumn, tidy up perennial plants and cut down stems to ground level after they have died back. Chamomile is generally pest free.
It is said that companion planting Chamomile helps to repel mosquitos while attracting other beneficial insects such as lady bugs, hoverflies (which eat aphids), wasps and honey bees.
The leaves and flowers are both edible but they differ in taste (the flowers have a slight apple taste). Both can be tossed into a salad or a mug to make a fresh herbal tea.
The texture of chamomile tea is rather silky, clean, and pretty soothing. However, this soothing and mildly sweet tea can taste bitter if you add too many dried chamomile flowers or tea bags to the water and brew them for too long.
Chamomile flowers should be picked at the beginning of flowering, when the flower heads are not yet too open and not too white. If you want to distill it to make essential oils, harvest the whole plant (leaves, stem and flowers) and use it fresh (or just barely withered).
Egyptian chamomile: Native to the lush valley along the Nile River in Egypt, this variety of chamomile produced is considered to be the highest-grade, best chamomile in the world! The tea made from Egyptian chamomile herb has a warm, earthy flavor with a pleasant fruity aroma.
How long to steep chamomile tea? We recommend steeping chamomile tea for five or more minutes. Chamomile won't become bitter even when infused for more than five minutes. Our Egyptian Chamomile herbal tea is a fresh, flavorful herbal tea with a honey-like natural sweetness.
If tea isn't steeped long enough, it may taste weak and lack flavor. If over-steeped, a tea may taste bitter. This bitterness is often linked to chemical compounds within the tea called tannins.
Drinking a lot of highly concentrated chamomile tea may cause vomiting. Chamomile may cause drowsiness, so DO NOT take it and drive. Stop taking chamomile at least 2 weeks before surgery or dental work, because of the risk of bleeding.
German Chamomile commonly reseeds itself, so saving seed is often not necessary for continued harvests year after year. Just leave a few flowers in the garden to set seed and they will sow themselves next season. Chamomile prefers full sun, but will tolerate some shade. Dry at room temperature in a single layer.
After two months or so you should have your first flowers start to bloom. A tip from my own experience: If you're looking to get a bountiful harvest of chamomile blossoms to use for tea, try to maximize the space you use to sow seeds.
There isn't such a thing as too much chamomile. It is for the most part, a very safe tea to drink! Typical consumption of chamomile tea is from one to four cups a day!
Spread your chamomile flowers evenly, in a single layer, on clean paper or screen mesh. Leave the blossoms to dry in a cool, non-humid, well-ventilated location, away from direct sunlight.
Precautions about its use are advised for pregnant people, breastfeeding people, children under 12 years old, and people with liver or kidney disease. Those who have allergies to plants in the Asteraceae family should not use Roman chamomile.
A study published in 2012 found that a daily chamomile supplement relieved symptoms of depression. Chamomile can also help treat digestive issues, such as irritable bowel syndrome, diarrhea, and colic. Chamomile also has anticancer properties.
Chamomile is widely regarded as a mild tranquillizer and sleep-inducer. Sedative effects may be due to the flavonoid, apigenin that binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain (68). Studies in preclinical models have shown anticonvulsant and CNS depressant effects respectively.
Egyptian chamomile: Native to the lush valley along the Nile River in Egypt, this variety of chamomile produced is considered to be the highest-grade, best chamomile in the world! The tea made from Egyptian chamomile herb has a warm, earthy flavor with a pleasant fruity aroma.
Place 3-4 Tbsp (4 for a stronger tea) of chamomile and your mint sprig into your teapot or makeshift teabag of choice. Pour 8 oz of boiling water over the chamomile flowers and mint and then steep for 5 minutes. To serve, pour into a teacup, using a fine mesh strainer as needed.
Fill up your tea kettle with 8 oz of water and begin heating. Place 3-4 Tbsp (4 Tbsp for a stronger tea) of chamomile and your mint sprig into your teapot or makeshift teabag of choice. Pour 8 oz of boiling water over the chamomile flowers and mint and then steep for 5 minutes.
You do not have to dry chamomile to make tea. Chamomile tea can also be made using fresh flowers harvested from the plant. For a cup of tea using fresh chamomile flowers, place one teaspoon of freshly picked flowers into a tea infuser.
For home gardeners without the space or inclination to air dry chamomile flowers, you can also dry your chamomile flower harvest in a dehydrator. Simply lay out flowers with no bloom touching any other, and set at the lowest setting for between 1-4 hours.
When to harvest chamomile: You'll know chamomile is ready to harvest once its flower petals begin to droop backwards. This typically occurs in late summer or early autumn, about three to four months after planting.
Chamomile is likely safe when used in amounts commonly found in teas. It might be safe when used orally for medicinal purposes over the short term. The long-term safety of using chamomile on the skin for medicinal purposes is unknown. Side effects are uncommon and may include nausea, dizziness, and allergic reactions.
Chamomile is generally not harmful in small doses, but can cause severe effects to felines if large amounts are ingested or if the plant is consumed over a long period of time. Chamomile contains a variety of potentially harmful substances, including tannic acid, anthemic acid, chamazulene, bisabolol, and volatile oil.
Wash the chamomile blossoms and dry well. Then spread out the blossoms, making sure each one has its own space to dry. You dry chamomile pretty much the same way you'd dry mint.
Yes, chamomile leaves and flowers are both perfectly safe to eat, with a couple of caveats. Be sure the herb hasn't been sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. Use chamomile with care if you're allergic to ragweed, as chamomile may trigger allergic reactions in some individuals.
Usually when you think chamomile, you think pretty white-and-yellow flowers. But the leaves can also be brewed as tea, and eaten as is, imparting a delicate flavor to dishes.
Introduction: My name is Duane Harber, I am a modern, clever, handsome, fair, agreeable, inexpensive, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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