It's a busy time on the Oregon's Wild Harvest farm! The plants are budding, flowering, and growing like crazy! The farm has never been more beautiful and alive -- a fact which we credit in large part to adding biodynamic farming practices into our organic methods. It's been said that biodynamic = "uber-organic" -- and now, we can see why! The methods might be labor-intensive, but the results are clearly evidence that the soil and the plants truly thrive because of our efforts.

In mid-June, we had our third and final inspection for our biodynamic certification. The inspection went very well, and we should receive our official certificate from the Demeter organization later this summer.

The certificate might be on its way, but the plants on our farm are already acting quite biodynamic! Some crops, like echinacea, are already 3.5 to 4 feet tall, flowering or budding, and generally flourishing. The astragalus is not far behind-- very tall, healthy, and beginning to bud.

Some harvesting has begun -- including a chamomile crop which is now fresh extract. The remainder of this crop is in the dryer for our bulk herb. We also hand-picked red clover, and it, too, is in the dryer. This primo red clover is expected to be a part of our immune tea.

This week we also harvested more than a thousand pounds of fresh echinacea tops to make into extract. We have a stunning crop of echinacea this year -- again, another testament to the benefits of biodynamic farming.

We are preparing to leave for Northern Washington for our annual St. Johns Wort harvest. We will leave June 24th. We have this harvest excursion down to an art: nine pickers, two pick up trucks, 55 gallons of alcohol to set the St. Johns Wort right there in the field. We have flower boxes and ice packs ready to go as we start the harvest at day break and harvest about a thousand pounds per day. It is a lot of work, but also an amazing experience, camping by the fresh mountain river less than fifty miles form the Canadian border, hiking up to the mountains each day, and harvesting.

When we return to the farm, it will be time to harvest more echinacea, skullcap and calendula. This is a favorite time of year for us at Oregon's Wild Harvest -- when we get to bring the best that nature has to offer to you, our customer. Pure. Safe. Effective.