Harvesting: herbs seeds

Freshly cut coriander leaves are one of the most widely used culinary herbs, the dried leaves being less popular. Leaves are often cut from plants subsequently harvested for seed and in India it was found that one cutting generally had no effect, but two reduced seed yield. Some cultivars can be cut more often than others and still produce a reasonable seed yield. 

From seed to clone to harvest. Step-by-step instructions for growing your favorite herbs, flowers or medicinal plants. 

In Indiana dill is sown, early in spring, directly in the field with a beet or bean drill, in rows about 22 inches apart. The crop is ready to harvest in 90 to 105 days. It is harvested with a grain binder, usually about the middle of July, when the earliest seed has ripened. The herb is allowed to cure in the field for a day or two and then distilled with the equipment used in distilling mint. It takes from 2-1/2 to 3 hours to exhaust the charge. The yield ranges from 1 5 to 50 pounds an acre. Al times a second crop is obtained the same year, but the yield is small and usually unprofitable. There are several varieties of dill, some of which are not suitable for the purpose because they yield less oil or oil of poor quality. 

The herb used for flavoring consists of tlie leaf, stem, and seed, the seed in various stages of maturity. To he a satisfactory substitute for the herb dill oil must have the same flavor. As the leaf oil and seed oil are quite different, it is t ssential that the oil he distilled from tfic herl harvested at tfie stage at which it is used for pickling. 

Herbs were cultivated from commercial seeds at the University of Illinois (Urbana, IL). Cold direct solvent extraction of the fresh herbs was performed within one hour of harvest using a modification of the procedure previously described 1,2), except that 10 pL of an internal standard solution (containing 10 pg of 6-undecanone in methanol) was added to the sample before extraction. Aroma extracts were subjected to a high-vacuum distillation clean-up step using a modified SAFE head (2,5), dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate (10 g) and concentrated to 10 mL under a gentle stream of nitrogen. 

Plant parts identified as "herb" consist of the leaf and stem of the identified plant, and this term is generally used only for non-woody plants. A plant part identified as "above-ground parts" means all of the plant above the ground, so it generally includes not only leaf and stem, but also flowers, fruits, and seeds, depending on the state of maturity of the plant at the time of harvest. All other plant parts (e.g., bark, leaf, root) are each identified with the generally used botanical term. 

The castor plant is normally cultivated as an annual but it can be grown as a perennial herb to a height of 8 m. The development of shatter-resistant varieties will aid the mechanical harvesting of the seed (8-15 mm long depending on variety). Brazil, India, the USSR and USA are the main producers. 

Herbs, for the most part, have a light and very distinctive aromatic character although they contain relatively low levels of essential oil. For culinary use, the whole herbaceous tops are harvested and may be used fresh or after drying. In the latter case it is usual to remove by mechanical screening the leaves and any floral parts or seeds as may be present from the heavier, harder, and less aromatic stems. 

Some people grow herbs in their garden. The plants do well with little care. When they are grown, the leaves, stems, or seeds are harvested and dried. Then, they are generally pounded to a fine powder, placed in airtight containers, and stored for later use. 

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