Grown organically at KoruKai Herb Farm, New Zealand. Free of pesticides, herbicides and other agrochemicals.
Health Benefits of Skullcap*
Skullcap is an amazing nervine. It has a wonderful way of calming and centering the nervous system. It acts as a mild sedative and helps relieve nervous tension and anxiety. With its antispasmodic effects it is great to use for premenstrual tension and cramping. Skullcap can be used as a tea or tincture and taken over long periods of time to strengthen and reinvigorate the nervous system. It can also be taken in acute situations of extreme stress, such as panic attacks and trauma to bring the nervous system back to a place of homeostasis and calm. It is a versatile herb that is safe to use with children and adults.
Growing Conditions
Skullcap prefers to grow in rich, moist soil in partial shade or full sun with ample amount of compost added before planting. Choose a suitable area and add compost and mulch ideally in autumn before winter planting.
Growing Instructions
You will get 3 dormant root pieces. Best to plant in loose, loamy soil in a sheltered, but sunny position with irrigation over the summer period. Scrape away 3cm of soil and lay the roots in horizontally as in the below picture. Any growing tips should face up. If you are unable to plant them straight away or your soil is frozen solid in winter then put them in a pot with moist, rich potting mix and plant them out in spring. Follow the same instructions as below and do not bury them too deeply.
Depending on the time of the year those tips can simply get buried if they look like the one in the below image. It will push its way through the soil in spring.
Then cover them up with 3 -5 cm of soil and lightly mulch with woodchips, straw or autumn leaves. Mark the spot and either add branches over the area or cover with bird netting to prevent birds from digging around and disturbing the plants. They will emerge between September and November depending on your climate and the warmth of the soil.
This plant will make a carpet of live roots within a couple of years. Highly prolific, easy to grow and abundant.
By October our plants usually look like those seedlings below.
Harvesting
Skullcap is best harvested during the early stages of flowering. We harvest skullcap in the early hours of the day before the mid day heat has set in. This keeps their quality. To harvest cut the plants using a field knife or secateurs leaving about 20 cm for the plants to recover. Cutting too low may trigger the plant into dormancy and suffer from having too much of their mass harvested. They will branch out from the highest leave node and a second cut later in the season is generally possible. Take care when cutting the plants to not damage or upset the root system especially in the first season.
A sharp Niwashi garden shark (see above) is a great too for harvesting large amount of established plants. Secateurs work well too.
Processing and Drying
Lay the stems and leaves out in a single row on a drying tray and dry them at 33-35 degrees C out of direct light with good airflow. We dry it on our lower trays where it is a bit cooler. It dries beautifully with little effort in 1-3 days in good conditions. Once the leaves have lost most of their moisture we increase the temperature to no more than 37 degrees C to get them crunchy dry. To process strip the leaves and flowers off the stems and store in paper bags in a dry place. They should be crunchy and fully dry before storage.
Herbal Preparation*
The leaves and flowers of skullcap can be used in teas and tinctures.
*This information is for educational purposes only. Please do not self-treat disease using herbs alone. Always consult with a qualified and registered herbalist.
