The flowers are falling from the catnip, leaving the seed heads bare. Lower leaves are turning brown and dry. It's time! The catnip harvest has begun. Every day the forecast predicts temps above the mid-80s I get out in the morning and cut stalks of nip, shake out the seed heads, strip the side branchings and lay them out on the work bench near the deck. If it's likely to be windy I cover the lost with a piece of bird netting cut from a roll we picked up to protect the peach crop a couple years ago. By 4pm everything has dried out. I then strip the leaves and flower heads from the stalks. To date I have a half gallon of product. For the record I have two fully stuffed quart bags from the 2008 crop I haven't been able to give away yet. Now's the time to get your requests in. The nip is free to any who ask. It is mostly green leaves and seed heads, and stalkless -- there is very little pokey stuff. It also contains a small amount of seed. If you'd like some, leave a comment or send an e-mail. The 2008 crop will go out first, approximately a pint per request. I'll also include a teaspoon of seed so you can start your own production.Let the feline happiness reign!
'Nip near the front door
'Nip under the drying bench
One day's collection laid out to dry
4 comments:
I'm amazed you don't have neighborhood cats rolling around on the work bench!
I still have bags of the stuff in the freezer from fomer harvests, but I'll try to give that away. Maybe when back at Christmas I'll get some, although I'm not sure TSA will approve of baggied herbs in my luggage. :)
I thought you'd gotten by TSA with nip in the past. If you're worried, we know that it gets through the USPS without apparent scrutiny.
My mom told me this story. When in college at SJSC, she was puzzled by a couple bushes to the side of the stairs leading into the house she lived in. They were flattened when she went to class in the morning and were standing up in the afternoon when she returned. She found the reason one night when she returned late from a date -- all the cats in the neighborhood were rolling around on them. Ah, catnip. Though I have seen cats around the yard, I've never seen any in the nip patches.
I've often said that we haven't had a cat fight in our yard since the nip started growing here. I still hold to that statement.
I remember when you used to grow it in pots hanging from the patio framework - the cats would climb up, then try and reach... down... to... ehn! They never managed to snag it, though.
Back in my Denver days I too had Catnip in my yard. I'd occasionally find the neighborhood cats in my 'nip plant. Now, Flora & I depend on our Dave for the good stuff!
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