Happy Harvest!

Joyous Mabon! 

Today is the Autumnal Equinox, which means it is now officially Autumn. Part of being a Earth Witch is celebrating the changing of the season - even if those celebrations don't quite mean the same thing here in the desert. 

My French Lavender (Lavendula dentata) absolutely loves the heat.

In Britain and other parts of Europe, which is from where I pull many of my traditions, Mabon marks the harvest. Last night we had the Full Harvest Moon. Traditionally the field workers would use the light of the Harvest Moon to work through the night to get the harvest in before the frost. Cellars and barns would be brimming with potatoes, wheat, squash, turnips, and other crops. 

My glorious Thai Basil (Ocimum basilicum). It has a sharper taste than Genovese Basil
and has a hint of licorice,

Well, here in the desert the frost is not coming anytime soon. It is still in the high 80s and low 90s during the day and most of the local crops are in a second growing season - they plant once in late winter to harvest in the late spring and plant again in late summer to harvest in late Autumn. It does make it hard to get in the final harvest vibe, but I do have some plants that are ready to harvest or be cut back for propagation.

My Garden Sage (Salvia officinalus) is looking a little rough,
but I will still get a decent harvest.

I have some herbs that have done beautifully this summer. One is my French Lavender (Lavendula dentata). It has choked out the English Lavender and is threatening to take over the Garden Sage (Salvia officinalus). In the next couple of days I will cut back the lavender and then make the house smell heavenly as I run it through my dehydrator. 

I will also cut back the sage a bit. Some cabbage loopers got a hold of it and I need to remove the affected leaves before the little buggers get too strong a hold. 

Another herb that will be harvested this week is my Thai Basil (Ocimum basilicum). Oh, I love this stuff. It loves the heat and it has a wonderful sharp taste that is good in just about anything. 

I will also take the chance to harvest some of my Creeping Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis "Prostratus"). Rosemary is one of those Mediterranean plants that will grow like a weed in the desert provided it gets enough water.

Here in the desert, Mabon means a wonderful, fragrant harvest. Some of it will be used fresh within the next couple weeks. Some will be frozen and some will be dried. I invested in a dehydrator earlier in the year and I am glad I did. The traditional way of drying herbs - hanging them in bunches - doesn't work here because of all the dust. No one wants dusty Basil! And some of the herbs will be tied into smudging bundles. Mmmmmm ... my favorite is Rosemary/Sage. 

Welcome Autumn.