Spring — Emergence and First Harvests

Spring is the resurrection of the apothecary. After winter's stillness, plants emerge with vital green energy. Spring harvest captures this energy.

Early spring (late winter/early spring)

**What's emerging:** - Nettles emerging through frost - Chickweed - Dandelion greens - Cleavers - Violets - Early flowering trees (willow buds, alder, hazel)

**Best harvested:**

**Nettle (Urtica dioica).** Young nettle is the most vital. Pre-flowering tender shoots. Harvest with gloves (it stings). Use fresh in food (cooking deactivates stinging), dry for year-round tea/infusion, or tincture fresh.

**Chickweed (Stellaria media).** Cool, moistening, mineral-rich. Excellent fresh. Spring salads. Quick to spoil; use promptly or dry briefly.

**Dandelion leaves.** Young, less bitter than later leaves. Salads, sautés, or dried for bitter tea.

**Cleavers (Galium aparine).** Lymphatic cooling herb. Fresh-juice traditional. Tincture fresh.

**Violets (Viola odorata).** Leaves and flowers. Cooling demulcent. Fresh in salads or dried for tea.

**Bark from prunings or windfalls.** Cherry, willow, birch — spring sap rise. Prunings provide bark without harming trees.

What to make in early spring

**Spring tonic infusions.** Nettle, dandelion, cleavers, chickweed combined as a multi-week spring practice. Either tea or infusion (overnight cold extraction).

**Fresh nettle tincture.** Capture the spring vital essence.

**Dandelion root tincture (early spring).** Roots are at peak before new growth.

**Bark tinctures from prunings.** Wild cherry bark for respiratory; willow for general.

**Violet leaf infused oil.** For topical use.

**Spring greens in cooking.** Sautes, soups, salads.

Late spring

**What's available:** - Comfrey - Calendula seedlings going in - Lemon balm and mints rising - Hawthorn flower buds - Elder leaves and flower buds - Sage flowering

**Best harvested:**

**Comfrey leaves.** Topical preparations. Make salves, infused oils, fresh poultices.

**Lemon balm and mint family.** Young leaves are most vital. Tincture or dry.

**Hawthorn flower-and-leaf** (peak in May for many climates). Cardiotonic. Make fresh tincture or dry for tea.

**Elder flowers** (often peak in May-June). Antiviral, diaphoretic. Make elder flower tincture or dry for tea.

**Cleavers** continues through late spring. Best fresh.

What to make in late spring

**Hawthorn tincture** from fresh flowering tops.

**Elder flower preparations:** Tincture from fresh, dried for tea, elder flower cordial or champagne.

**Lemon balm and mint preparations:** Fresh tincture, fresh-frozen for ice cubes, dried for tea.

**Comfrey infused oil.** For year-round salve making.

**Calendula plantings:** seeds in ground for summer flowers.

The spring transition

Spring is also when: - Stored winter preparations approach their end - The body welcomes lighter, cooler, more eliminatory preparations - Excess accumulated through winter (dampness, sluggish digestion) wants moving

Spring "tonics" historically served this transition function — moving stagnation, supporting elimination, refreshing the system.

A spring protocol

For a typical practitioner's spring:

**Early spring weekly tasks:** - Forage or harvest nettle, chickweed, dandelion, cleavers - Start spring tonic infusion practice (daily for 4-6 weeks) - Begin dandelion root harvest - Start planning summer garden

**Late spring weekly tasks:** - Harvest hawthorn flower-and-leaf at peak - Harvest elder flowers when blooming - Continue lemon balm and mint harvests - Make comfrey-infused oil - Final planting for summer apothecary

**Personal spring practice:** - Daily spring tonic infusion through April-May - Lighter eating, more vegetables - Movement outdoors - Lymphatic support (cleavers tincture, dry brushing)

What to carry forward

For your climate, identify three early-spring plants and three late-spring plants you'll harvest. Plan the timing. Make the harvest happen.

Next lesson, summer.