Permaculture, Homesteading, and Community Building // Harvesting Herbs for the Indigenous Wisdom & Permaculture Skills Convergence

Hi friends! I had a beautiful day harvesting herbs for a convergence that I'll soon be attending. From July 26th-July 31st, many of us will be gathering on the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota for the Indigenous Wisdom and Permaculture Skills Convergence (IWPS Convergence). My friends are organizers and teachers of this convergence, and I am so honored to be able to witness and be a part of the creation.

The convergence goals, as stated on their website (https://www.iwpsconvergence.com/about), are:

1. Complete Lakota-initiated projects that increase food security, build sustainable infrastructure, and enhance economic opportunity on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

2. Provide stipends (see: Community Stewards Stipend Program) for Pine Ridge residents to join as paid stewards and learn useful ecological design and construction skills.

3. Attendees learn and practice permaculture design through hands-on workshops, and leave the Convergence with a deeper understanding of natural building, aquaponics, traditional ecological knowledge, and appropriate technologies. ALL projects were selected as beneficial by our Lakota partners.

4. Create community through music, skill shares, and meals that are open to the Pine Ridge community.

5. Build long-term relationships that support the resiliency of indigenous and Earth-centered networks.

Two of my friends are heading the food portion of the convergence, which is a big task. They will be feeding three meals per day to all the participants - wow kitchen angels! One of these beautiful ladies, Megan, just posted a photo of herbs she harvested to cook with for the convergence. I saw her photo and realized that I had a ton of herbs that I could harvest too and bring over for them to cook with.

I spent today harvesting dill, oregano, parsley, thyme, rosemary, moldavian balm, lemon mint, spearmint, tulsi, basil, mayan mint, sage, huacatay, and quillquina.

I've been reading into different ways of drying herbs : I can use a dehydrator, use a microwave, use an oven, ect. However, all of these ways require me to use an unsustainable energy source. Instead, I decided to get an all natural herb dryer. I bought an outdoor herb dryer (you can find it here). I hung it on the north side of my home so that it will be in the shade for most of the day. Herbs prefer to be dried in a warm, dry place out of direct sunlight.

Most herbs thrive when harvested in a sustainable manner. In fact, the more you smart-harvest herbs, the more herbs will grow! What do I mean about smart-harvest? My rule of thumb for most cut and come again herbs is to not harvest more than a third of the plant at a time. I also harvest any parts of the plant that are going to flower in order to extend the life of that plant. For many plants, like basil and tulsi, it is very important to be regularly harvesting the tops of the plant so that they "bush out" and don't go to flower too soon.

After I use my clippers to harvest my herbs, I usually take those herbs and put them in a very large pot or bowl. I then fill the container with cold water and let the herbs sit for at least 15 minutes. I do this so that any soil particles or non-plant particles have a chance to float to the bottom or top of the container (separated from the herbs).

It is best to harvest herbs in the morning when the dew has already evaporated off of the herbs but the majority of the plant's essential oils have not yet burned off. I had already dried the spearmint and lemon mint, and they were ready to be stored today. For storage, I grabbed a couple of mason jars, my funnel, and the herbs. I then used my fingers to break apart the dried leaves from the stem. I labeled the jars (it's easy to get mixed up between different kinds of mints!) and put them in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight.

The photos below are my harvest from today! I can't wait to bring these herbs over to the IWPS Convergence with me!

If you feel called to attend this convergence, there are still tickets left at https://www.iwpsconvergence.com/tickets
If you want to support this incredible gathering but cannot attend, they are still accepting donations here https://www.generosity.com/education-fundraising/pine-ridge-permaculture-iwps-convergence
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a beautiful day :-)