Herb of the week: yarrow (Achillea Millefolium)

My favorite month is May, when the fields are already in full bloom: chamomile (Matricharia chamomilla), poppies (Papaver rhoeas), Viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare), and my favorite is yarrow (Alchillea millefolium) in large groups. This is the first year I've collected this herb, so I have fresh experiences, such as:

- it's worth bringing scissors, because without them the stem won't break. It'll just be torn up by the roots, which we don't want, because we want to collect yarrow next year too

- not surprisingly, there are a lot of tiny beetles living in the small flowers, so be sure to shake them out gently when picking, otherwise the plants you bring home will increase the beetle population in the apartment you live in. Then the cat will eagerly chase them for weeks, even in the middle of the night (it happened to a friend of mine - of course :).

There are a few rules that you should definitely follow when collecting herbs, especially if you are going to use them internally:

- never collect them near highways or fields that are likely to be sprayed (we avoid monoculture fields).

- it is best to collect yarrow in a field, away from everything

- you can collect them shortly below the inflorescence, with a small stem, this will help with drying (not everyone has a professional dryer or space for one. I hung them on a tubular lamp to dry, 5-6 of them connected together)

- always bring a textile bag or, even better, a wicker basket for collecting, so that our plant does not get wilted on the way home, and the flower-dwelling beetles can also leave of their own accord and not end up in the cat's belly at home

- be absolutely sure of what we are collecting, the Plantnet application and numerous plant identifier books can help us with this, but in European climates - as far as I know - there is no exact counterpart with which we could confuse it.

- take into account that the collected plants are a gift from nature, but by doing so we reduce the food supply of vital pollinators, so collect as much as we can hang up to dry that very day

- only pick plants that are not lice-ridden or dry, after the morning dew has dried, in sunny weather, and definitely not after rain

Once we have these, we can proudly walk home with our bag of yarrow. Then, while listening to a pleasant audiobook, we can tie them with a string or spread them out on a large sheet and place them in a ventilated place to dry for at least 2 weeks. Then we can put them in a paper bag or a textile bag. If they are already brittle, their stems break easily. And by then we have also kicked the last surviving bug out of the apartment, which somehow evaded the cat's vigilance.

And what do we use them for? The cystitis symptoms that started in our house are eliminated within a few days by bathing in yarrow decoction. I will report back with the recipe later!