Chamomile is the perfect sleeping aid

Traditionally the chamomile have been used for relaxation, to soothe stomach cramps and ease sleeping. Chamomile tea tastes mild and bit sweet, some people say the scent and taste reminds them of apples. (The name chamomile comes from greek word khamaimelon which means earth-apple) Alongside drinking it,  I have also used refrigerated chamomile tea to soothe a mildly inflamed eye. Home grown chamomile packs a serious punch – we have noticed it being more potent as a sleeping aid than a store bought version. 

How to sow chamomile

Chamomile is easy to start and we usually sow it in the early May.

1. Choose a sunny area that is free from weeds and tilled over. The basic garden soil is enough, but if you want to  give a bit extra kick, add some commercial garden compost into the soil.

2. Before you plant the seeds make sure the area is nice and smooth, rake it once or twice.

3. The chamomile seeds are fine as dust so you need to concentrate when sowing them. Wait for an almost windless day and open the seed packet next to the flower bed you plan to use. Gently start to driple them over the plot and try to shake them evenly everywhere.

If it’s windy, start from the one end that wind blows from so that any seeds wind carries end up on the flower bed instead elsewhere on your yard. I usually mix the seeds with a little bit of sand. It’s easier to see where I’ve already sprinkled the seeds and the sand also makes it easier to watch how much I pour.

4. Once you have sown the seeds take a rake or some other instrument and gently pat the freshly sown earth down. Don’t try to cover the seeds as chamomile needs light to germinate, but just pat the seeds (which you cannot actually see) into the soil. Do this once and water the plot well – it’s best if you can mist it with garden hose as to not to disturb the small seeds, but we have used a basic watering can.

Now it’s time to wait. You should start to see teensy tinsy green tips after few weeks. If it’s super hot or you don’t get rain in several weeks it’s good to water the plot. The first shoots of chamomile look like wisps of dill or grass. Keep the plot free of weeds and in a month and half you will have the first flowers. At our garden this usually happens around summer solstice.

Picking and drying chamomile for tea?

We start to pick the flowers as soon as first of them are fully open.

Pick them first thing in the morning when the flowers are still fresh after a cooler night temperatures. Picking the open flowers encourages the plant to produce more flowers. The first times we only get maybe few tablespoons worth of blooms in a week, but once the chamomile is on the roll we pick the flowers few time a week and harvest something like 5 dl of flowers in one sitting. Two of us get enough flowers to use daily for the winter from about 4 square metres of chamomile.

Lay the picked flowers on top of paper towels and let them dry two or three days inside. They will shrink and once they are fully dry you can move them into an airtight jar to wait for use. The first cups of the year are always so tasty!

How to brew a perfect cup of chamomile tea

For one cup of chamomile tea you need

• one to two teaspoons of dried flowers
• 2 dl cup of hot – almost boiling – water

Let them steep. For more potent tea I have heard you can cover the cup with a small plate so the steam stays in. I don’t know if this really works, but hey, it won’t hurt either!

Chamomile is definitely my garden stable! It has inspired me to expand my tea garden a little by little. There is still a long way to go, tho. Tell me in the comments have you grown your own tea or are you planning to?

Love,

    Valentin

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