Harvesting Chamomile and Crafting Tasty Tea: From Garden to Cup

Do you want to fill your garden with beautiful flowers with medicinal properties? Then chamomile is the one for you! Let’s see how to harvest chamomile plants and make delicious tea from them.

1. What is Chamomile?

Wild Chamomile plants belong to the family Asteraceae, and it is one of the daisy family. Chamomile was originally derived from Latin and Greek in the 13th century. This herb has many medicinal properties and various other uses.

2. Uses of Chamomile

Apart from the beauty and aroma of the chamomile plant, it also has various medicinal properties. It has antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-allergy, and anti-bacterial properties. The different other uses of chamomile are mentioned below.

• The ointment made from leaves of chamomile helps maintain the skin moist, especially the knees and elbows.
• It has various topical uses like lotion, serum, shampoo, etc. Also, it treats various skin conditions.
• Chamomile helps in relieving upset stomach.
• Chamomile consumption soothes the mensural cramps pain.
• As it contains antioxidants, it maintains our heart health.
• It will help you to relax and sleep peacefully.
• I am looking for a companion plant to plant in your garden. Chamomile is a fantastic companion plant for various plants like cauliflower, cabbage, and broccoli. You can plant it between those plants. It keeps down the insects, weeds, and cabbage moths from those plants.
• It is used to make essential oils and it can be used as massage oil, bath oil, or in a lotion. Thus, by chamomile, we can make most essential oils. 
• But if you have hay fever, avoid using chamomile because it may cause allergic reactions.

3. Varieties of Chamomile

The chamomile plant is one of the most aromatic and beautiful plants you would love to grow in your garden. There are two general types of chamomile. They are:

• German Chamomile
• Roman Chamomile

3.1 German Chamomile

German chamomile’s scientific name is Matricaria recutita. German chamomile completes its life cycle in a single growing season and no longer survives after that. You should plant seeds every spring. It grows taller up to 24 inches. German chamomile has stems that are fern-like and branched with small flowers. It blooms in large amounts.

This type of plant scatters its seeds by itself and grows on its own. This chamomile type smells like grass. German chamomile flowers are considered best for tea as it has a herbaceous, sweet taste and little-to-no bitterness. It can tolerate light frosts.

3.2 Roman Chamomile

Roman chamomile’s scientific name is Chamaemelum nobile. It is a low-growing perennial plant that can grow well for several years continuously. As Roman chamomile is short-lived, many gardeners start new plants every two seasons and grow back each year.

Within the partial shade, Roman chamomile grows well and grows up to 12 inches with tiny buds. It has an earthy, sweet, and fruity flavour. It may taste bitter in tea. Roman chamomile grows nicely in the zone 4-11. It grows low and horizontally along the ground.

4. How to Grow Chamomile

Chamomile are drought-resistant and grow well in cooler temperatures. It has beautiful tiny flowers and also has a pleasant aroma that attracts everyone around them. Its scent also repels insects. Thus, this plant will make your garden wonderful and pest-free! Let’s see how to grow chamomile:

4.1 Sowing Seeds

• When to plant chamomile? Calculate your last expected spring frost date and 6 weeks before that start growing chamomile seeds indoors.
• The container you’re going to use should be 12 inches wide and 12 inches deep. It should have a drainage hole for aeration.
• Fill the container with seed starting mixture which is light and sterile.
• Now, press lightly those tiny seeds into the upper surface of the soil and make sure not to bury the seeds into the soil.
• These seeds need light to grow, so place your containers in a place which have light.
• Make sure the temperature of the soil is around 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit, for the seeds to germinate readily.
• During the germination period, it is essential to keep seeds and soil moist. Use a humidity dome to make it moist and warm. If the top of the soil dried out, use a spray bottle to increase humidity around the soil.

4.2 Seedlings

• Gave appropriate fertilizers to the seedling, to grow properly. Chamomile doesn’t need much fertilizer. It just needs a small amount.
• You can buy it from your nearby vendor.
• It should take at least 2 weeks to grow into a seedling. Once it reaches 4 inches, it is ready for transplantation. 
• For healthy growth make sure only one or two plants are grown in a single container. Crowded chamomile seedlings may slow down their development as they can’t get nutrition, aeration, and water equally.
• Select the healthiest and strongest seedling for transplantation.

4.3 Transplanting the Seedlings to the Garden

• Plant the selected seedlings in your garden in the early spring after the frost danger has passed.
• If unexpected frost comes, make sure to cover your seedling to prevent any danger.
• Plant the seedlings 8-10 inches apart from each other and water it often.
• Even though they are drought-tolerant, don’t make it too dry during the hot seasons.
• In southern regions or very hot climates, some afternoon shade will be helpful for their growth.
• After several weeks of transplantation, the plant will be grown tall and flowers will have been formed and bloomed.
• Chamomile can be quite invasive, it can also grow in other garden beds. Make sure to keep it under control or else your herb gardens will be a mess.
• By following these, you can grow chamomile in your garden.

5. How to Harvest Chamomile

So, you did all the necessary things perfectly and found your garden filled with small daisy-like flowers of chamomile. What’s next? Harvesting! The most awaited part. Let’s see how to harvest chamomile:

5.1 When to Harvest Chamomile

After the chamomile flowers start to bloom, the petals begin to become flat, and flower heads start to appear. If you see that in your plants, it’s time to harvest it! Make sure you pick it up before the heat of that day and after the morning dew in the flowers has evaporated. At this time, the essential oil content of the flower is high.

Generally, the harvesting time is around June and September or mid-July. Make sure you harvest chamomile flowers on the midday of a sunny day. The most amazing thing about harvesting chamomile flowers is they keep on growing throughout the summer if you keep on harvesting them.

5.2 What Part to Harvest?

In all the other plants you harvested, you would have taken the whole plant, but to harvest chamomile, you’ll need the flowers to make a delicious tea. Other parts won’t be necessary for that. Although leaves of chamomile might be used for some therapeutic purposes.

5.3 How to Harvest Chamomile? Step-By-Step Process

• After you find out the best time to harvest chamomile and the chamomile flowers are open, start harvesting!
• You can harvest the flowers by hand itself. Pinch the stem of the plant below the flower head of the chamomile (use your forefinger and middle finger for this).
• Pinching the flower heads is an easy method for harvesting.
• To harvest chamomile flowers, make sure you’re handling flower heads gently and don’t wash them because doing these may affect the valuable ingredients of chamomile.
• If you’re growing chamomile flowers in large quantities, you can use a specialized picking rake to pinch the stem of the plant below the flower head and harvest the flowers.
• After harvesting chamomile, make sure, it has no bugs or insects, so that you can proceed to the next level.
• If you see any white petals are damaged, avoid those while harvesting.
• Only pick chamomile flowers that are in full bloom, not the ones that are just blooming.
• Pick all the fully blown flower heads.
• Now we all know, how to harvest chamomile.

6. Drying and Storing Chamomile

You’ve seen how to harvest those white flowers of chamomile, now we have a bunch of your chamomile flowers. So, what to do with it? We need to make tea or any other thing with it. And to make any of that we need dry chamomile flowers. Let’s see how to dry chamomile flowers. 

There are two methods of drying chamomile flowers:

• Air Drying
• Food Dehydrator

6.1 Air Drying

• There are two types of drying chamomile flowers, one of them is air drying. Let’s see how to air-dry chamomile flowers.
• Air drying can be done by placing them on a flat surface / a plate or a paper towel.
• Spread the harvested flowers on any one of the mentioned things in a dry and warm area and air dry chamomile.
• Make sure the flowers are not covered with any dirt.
• If they were not placed in a fully spaced area, they may mould. So, make sure it’s air circulation throughout the drying period.
• To increase air circulation, if needed use a fan.
• Depending on the humidity of your atmosphere, it may take around 1-2 weeks.

6.2 Food Dehydrator

• For long-term storage and for making oils or creams, this is the best method!
• Place the harvested flowers on the drying tray or drying screen of it.
• Put the temperature to 95-110 degrees Fahrenheit or lower or else use the lowest temperature setting available to retain its flavor and medicinal properties.
• Leave it for about 24 hours or longer depending on the humidity of your atmosphere.
• You could test it to know if your chamomile is dried or not by crushing them. If it crumbles, then it means it’s dried and ready for storage.

There is Another method to dry chamomile flowers is simply putting them in a plastic bag and placing them in a dark, warm, and dry place. Use this method if you have only a small amount of chamomile flowers.

To retain the flavour, aroma, and medicinal properties of the dried chamomile flowers for about a year, make sure you store chamomile in a sealed glass jar. The location of this airtight container should be dark, cool, and dry for good results.

You can also preserve chamomile blossoms by freezing them. You can preserve it for about 6 months in this method. However, it is not suitable for making tea like dried chamomile.

7. How to Make Chamomile Tea From Dried Chamomile Flowers

Your hard work has paid off! You now have dried flowers in your storage. You can use it whenever you want. Do you feel like drinking chamomile tea this evening? Don’t worry! Here’s a full chamomile tea recipe:

7.1 Step-By-Step Process of Making Chamomile Tea

• Before knowing about the chamomile tea recipe, the basic things you need to make chamomile are a teapot and a tea infuser.
• Pour some water into the teapot and boil it.
• For one cup of tea, you might need eight ounces of boiling water.
• Use 1 to 2 tablespoons of completely dried chamomile flowers to make a cup of chamomile tea.
• Before using them, crumble the dried flowers to increase the flavour.
• Put those crumbled flowers in a tea infuser and place them in a cup.
• Pour boiling water over it. Don’t use boiling water which is too hot, use it after some time.
• Allow it to steep for about 5-7 minutes.
• Don’t steep the flowers in water which is so hot, because it will make the tea bitter.
• After that remove the flowers. You can use these flowers to make a second cup. If you don’t want it right away, put it in the fridge for 1-2 days.
• If you prefer tea with sweetener, you can use honey or some other sweetener.
• Some even use lavender and echinacea to improve the medicinal benefits and flavour of the tea.
• While some others prefer mint for a cooling flavour, few even add lemon juice for flavour.
• If your climate is hot, you can use ice cubes to make it a flavoured iced tea.
• However, if you want to use fresh blossoms for tea, you need 6-8 teaspoons of it for a single cup of tea. Steep that for 2-5 minutes.
• Drying flowers are most preferred for tea as the drying process increases the flavour. So, mostly fresh chamomile is not used. Hence, avoid using fresh flowers for tea.

By following the above chamomile tea recipe, you can make a light and delicious chamomile tea!

8. Benefits of Chamomile Tea

Drinking chamomile tea from homegrown chamomile has various beneficial properties. Some of them are mentioned below.

• Is it the first time your child has experienced the pain of a tooth coming off their gums? Need a way to reduce their pain? Chamomile tea came to the rescue! Soak any cloth in chamomile tea and give that to your child as a teether. It helps in reducing the pain.
• Many have anxiety and find it hard to control. Drinking chamomile tea will help you reduce your anxiety by keeping your nerves calm.
• If you’re emotionally upset and have a stomach upset because of that, make sure to drink chamomile tea to ease your stomach. 
• In your body if there is any inflammation, externally or internally. Chamomile tea will reduce the irritation.
• You can use chamomile tea for hair rins. Yes, you heard me right! Using chamomile tea will make your hair glow.
• Drinking chamomile tea regularly will lower your blood sugar level.
• Having a cold is very common, especially with this climate change. How to deal with the symptoms of a cold? Inhale the steam of chamomile tea, it will help.
• Many people have osteoporosis, and their bones become weak because of that condition. Drinking chamomile tea will slow the progression of this condition.

The beautiful and bright chamomile flowers have various health benefits. By following the above guidelines, you can plant chamomile in your garden. Growing it is worth the effort and time you put in! 

With all the medicinal properties of chamomile, you’re growing your medicines in your garden. Also, your herb garden will look beautiful with these flowers. Then you’ll have fresh herbs. So, why are you waiting? Start planting yours! 

Last Updated on May 9, 2024 by Immanuella