Harvesting and Protocols
When you collect plants, do it in a clean place that's far away from car exhaust and that hasn't been treated with harmful chemicals like pesticides.
When we harvested the Wild Mint from the Traditional Garden, we went during the daytime. Maria taught us to do it about 10:30 in the morning. Don't wait until after 4:00 p.m. because that's when the plants are settling to sleep. It would be inconsiderate to disturb our plant while it's going to sleep, especially if we're going to harvest it.
Use a cloth pouch, like a pillowcase, to carry the plants. Paper bags are OK, too. Don't use plastic bags. You wouldn't want to be carried around in a plastic bag, would you? So, we don't do that to our relative.
Traditionally when out on the land, one wouldn't pick the very first plant encountered. One would say a prayer with the first plant, and then keep looking. If the plant was encountered again, then it was known it was fine to collect it (Hughes, p.50).
Look around the spot you're harvesting to find the largest plant. Say a prayer to the spirit of that plant and thank it. Leave an offering, such as a pinch of tobacco. If you don't leave an offering, the medicine won't be effective.
Then, gather the plants in that area, but don't cut down the largest one that you left the offering for. You're leaving the old one to watch over the new plants of next year.
Don't wait too long to lay out your plants to dry, or else they could get moldy.
Drying
To dry Sage, lay it out in a clean place like over a sheet on a bed or desk.
To dry Wild Mint, you can tie it together in bunches with string. Or, you can lay it out on a blanket like the sage. Turn it over every day. It won't take long to dry. If you're in your moon time (menstrual cycle), stay away from the mint for that time, or if you think you might forget, then you can hang the mint to dry up high, so that it's above your head.
When it has dried, lay out a large sheet on the floor. The dried plants go in the middle of the sheet, and your group sits around. You work together, talk, and share stories while you separate seeds, stems, and leaves. Bring some bowls to help you with sorting and cloth or paper bags for storage.
We removed the seeds from Sage because it would otherwise be too strong. Mint goes a lot faster because the leaves aren't as tough and you don't have to separate the seeds.
Drying on Window Screen
This way, the sage is surrounded by air on all sides.
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References
J. Donald Hughes. (1987). American Indian Ecology. Texas, USA: Texas Western Press, The University of Texas at El Paso.