The woodruff has been used as a medicinal and aromatic herb for centuries. You can either collect it directly in the forest or plant and harvest the plant directly in the garden.

Requirements for the growth of woodruff

In nature, woodruff grows in locations with moderate to low incidence of light. If you want to grow the aromatic plant yourself for use in the kitchen, you should choose a shady place under trees and bushes in the garden. The soil should be loose and permeable for the fine roots of the woodruff, and the woodruff also needs a certain amount of soil moisture for propagation at the site.

Be careful when dosing woodruff

Even if the woodruff is represented as a flavor in many products for children and adults, these are usually artificially created flavor nuances. The use of woodruff in drinks or jelly is now banned in many countries because excessive consumption of the coumarin it contains can not only lead to headaches, but also to liver damage in the long term. If you want to use real woodruff in the kitchen, you should harvest the plant stalks before the flowering period in April and May if possible, since the content of the active ingredient coumarin in the plant parts increases sharply after flowering. You should therefore either conserve the woodruff in the spring or use it more sparingly for a later harvest. Preservation is possible through:

  • Freeze
  • dry
  • Processing to woodruff syrup

Important information about the woodruff

The woodruff that grows in the shade is not only an ancient medicinal herb for headaches, but also an attractive ground cover with a maximum height of 30 centimeters for the garden.

When is woodruff sown?

As a frost germ, you should ideally sow the woodruff between September and December.

Is the woodruff hardy?

The plant is usually hardy in Central Europe without any problems. If possible, you should only harvest the first stalks from freshly sown stocks in the second year, so that the woodruff can multiply well at the location.

Does woodruff have to be fertilized?

Basically, the frugal woodruff does not need any fertilizer, some leaves piled up in autumn are sufficient as a nutrient supply.

tips and tricks

If you want to use the woodruff for May punch, for example, you should first let the cut stalks wilt or freeze for a few hours to intensify the taste. Then let the stalks soak in liquid for a maximum of half an hour to avoid an overdose of coumarin.

Category:

Herbs