Recipe for Nettle and Oat Straw Infusion

Nettle and Oat Straw Infusion

Oat straw or dried milky oat seed makes a delicious and nourishing herbal infusion, especially when paired with nettles. To make the infusion, place a handful of nettles and a handful of oat straw or seed in a mason jar. Fill with almost-boiling water to the top. Cover and let steep at least four hours or overnight. Strain and heat, or refrigerate to enjoy a refreshing herbal iced tea. Store the remainder in the refrigerator up to three days. Honey added when the water is hot will increase the storage time by a few days.

Nettle and oat straw infusion is a wonderful tonic all year but especially in the spring and fall for seasonal allergies. I have great success using nettles and oat straw tea for hay fever even though many sources will say only the freeze-dried capsules will work (nonsense!). Enjoy! -Jen

Harvesting Oats at La Placita Gardens

Yarrow Nestled Among the Wild Blanket Flower

We have been lucky to harvest many wild growing herbs (violets, dandelions, plantain, yarrow… ) on our land this spring, but I was especially excited to harvest our first cultivated crop of oats at La Placita Gardens, the new community garden located at the historic Sanchez Farm where we have a plot for Sunstone Herbs. We seeded the oats back in March when the soil still held moisture from the winter snows and rains. They grew wonderfully without irrigation, thanks to a few timely rains and a few accidental flood irrigations from the acequia. We harvested the oats in the milky stage (that is when the oat seed has formed but has not hardened off, and when you press the seed it exudes a milky substance), taking the tops and the “straw.”

The oats were vibrantly green and beautiful with no issues of too much rain interfering with the harvest as often happened in New York where it always seemed to pour the day the oats were ripe for picking.

Oats Harvested from Our Plot at Placita Gardens

We made a pretty green tincture of the milky oats, and dried the remaining oats and oat straw for tea. Unfortunately this year we will not have any of this dried oat straw for sale as we grew a smaller trial plot to understand how the oats would grow here. Well they grow beautifully, so you can be sure that next year we will plant a large area to oats to make this nourishing herb available to you. – Jen

Back from the East Coast…

I’ve haven’t blogged in a while because I spent most of June at my folks place in New Jersey helping them purge their belongings in preparation for a move to a more manageable dwelling. (It’s amazing what you can sell on Ebay!) Jen’s been holding the homestead steady, taking care of the animals, filling orders and sheet mulching new garden beds which will be ready for planting next spring.

I have a huge family on my mother’s side and I saw quite a few of my aunts, uncles and cousins during my visit. My cousin Elizabeth runs the Honey Suckle Cafe, a seasonal breakfast and lunch stand that is located right on the boardwalk on the northern end of Bradley Beach with a beautiful view of the ocean. I had a wonderful breakfast there one morning which made me miss the Italian bakeries of the East Coast. Elizabeth, whose cafe is known for that extra special touch, stops at Del Ponte’s Bakery every morning and picks up freshly baked hard rolls and pastries that are incredibly delicious. In fact, on my way back to my parents’ place, I stopped there myself and loaded up on a bunch including my favorite Sfogliatelle. -Tree

Cousin Elizabeth, owner of Honey Suckle Cafe

Cousin Elizabeth