We usually think of spring and summer as prime herb harvesting times, but autumn can surprise us with a wealth of edible and medicinal plants that are enjoying their second bloom.

Despite always harvesting herbs in the fall, I feel surprised when I see them. Red clover in October? Sage leaves and dandelion blossoms? Yes! They’re all popping up now for their second season, a last hurrah before these perennials bury themselves below ground or these annuals pop off their seeds to fly in the wind.

Though you won’t harvest nearly as much as you can in the spring, fall is a good time to bring in the last of your herbal harvest to use for fall and winter herbal projects and cooking.

Healing Herbs to Harvest in Fall & Winter

Sage is a good example: the leaves dry easily, and they are delicious simmered in butter for making butternut squash ravioli. (Simply chop the sage and add to butter, simmer until the butter is fragrant and brown, and then pour the mixture–butter and sage together–over just-cooked ravioli.)

A few red clover blossoms can be shredded into the last salads of the season. They’re edible and easy for children to harvest and shred, so they can participate in making meals. Same with dandelion blossoms and leaves. Once you help the child identify them (dandelion leaves have no hairs whereas other similar leaves, such as chicory, are hairy), children can snap them off and even taste them straight from the ground. This is an excellent way for children to begin to learn how to identify plants – looking, touching, harvesting, and then tasting. Under your supervision, a child will recognize the dandelion leaf and note its bitter taste, and will be well on his or her way to self-sufficiency.

Many nuts are falling now and you’ll need to get a good tree guide to identify the hazelnuts, hickories, beechnuts, and horse chestnuts you’ll find in the leaf litter. It’s also a decent time to find mushrooms, and with these you’ll need to be absolutely certain you’ve got the right kind. While they can be dangerous, finding a good chicken-of-the-woods can be a treat. If you’ve found one, trim off the dirty parts, slice it as you would a portobello, and sear it in a hot pan with butter and salt. 

Sometimes in the fall we’ll come across the last of a good patch of ghost-pipe, though most of the stands I see now have lost their pink suppleness and have turned brown or black. If you find a healthy stand, you can harvest it and tincture it in grain alcohol, such as vodka. Many people find a tiny dose of ghost-pipe tincture helps alleviate pain (muscle pain or from an injury).

Goldenrod is the harbinger of fall where I live. The white Queen Anne’s lace and blue chicory have given way to the golden blossoms that get blamed for autumn’s allergies. But its pollen is not airborne and it’s not the cause of your sneezing (though ragweed might be). The leaves and flowers from one or two species of goldenrod can brew a good tea (diuretic), and they are also used for dyeing fabric shades of yellow, gold and brown.

If you’re seeing herbs pop up at the end of autumn, take a moment to reconnect with them and rediscover their magic before winter sets in. Harvest their leaves and flowers and consider them for winter cold and flu remedies and cold-weather cooking. See this blog for how to dry them and store them for the winter.