Get your electrolytes!

 

Like a lot of the country lately, the Pacific Northwest has been locked into a record-breaking heat wave, with sustained temps between 105-110 degrees. As farmers, we don’t get to work inside for a few weeks waiting until the temps cool down. Crops still need tending. That’s why it’s key for our team to stay hydrated while they work, and we’re excited to share our favorite hydration recipe with you!

Lots of our crops want to bolt into flower with the heat and need to be rapidly harvested to capture them while they are at their peak constituent levels. Additionally, the plants need more water, both to ensure they don’t wilt in the sun but also to keep some crops cool when the heat would otherwise shut down their growth. Of course, with water and sun, come weeds and the need to be hoeing for days on end. Needless to say, it can be extra stressful for both the plants and the farm crew when we have prolonged hot weather.

During these hot spells, we have learned to take several precautions to keep our crew healthy and as happy as possible until the thermometer drops back down to normal. The farm crew has shifted to working earlier than normal, starting at 5 am, beginning in the dryers to turn the herbs and bag what is dry. By 5:30, it is light enough for us to see outside without lighting, and we hit the field at the first opportunity, aiming to get the hard work done before lunch. Weeding, harvesting and watering all need to get done while the temps are still cool enough to work. By lunch, we are usually out of the field, having weeded a couple of crops and having brought in 2-3 harvests for the day. We spend our afternoons in the barn, processing herbs, getting them ready for orders, and hiding from the sun. We need to stay hydrated, and for that we lean on some of our herbal allies for support.

 

Be Nourished Electrolyte Concentrate Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 gallon water
  • 1 bag of Be Nourished Tea
  • 1 oz organic Marshmallow root
  • Rose hips, blackberries, Elderberries * (1/2 cup if dried, 1 cup if fresh)
  • 1/2 cup organic raw sugar
  • 1/2 cup sea salt
  • 1/4 cup aloe juice
  • 1/4 cup organic lemon juice
  • Optional ¼ cup organic coconut water powder

*Traditionally hibiscus flowers are used, but we like to use other local high vitamin C plants here. You can also use a combination of what you have growing around you or in your apothecary

Directions:

  1. Bring ½ gallon of good drinking water to a boil in large pot with rose hips or berries
  2. Once it comes to a boil, turn off heat, and add Be Nourished Tea, Marshmallow root, and Hibiscus flowers (if you are using these instead of berries/rose hips). Cover pot and let sit until cool (even overnight if fine).
  3. Stain with a fine mesh strainer or mesh nut bag.
  4. Press out herbs to get all the herbal goodness. Compost pressed herbs.
  5. Add all other ingredients. Stir to dissolve.
  6. Pour into container and label “Be Nourished Electrolyte” CONCENTRATE with date.
  7. Add 1 or 2 Tbsp to 8 oz of water

The recipe makes about a half gallon of concentrate.

Divide the recipe in half if you want to make a smaller batch.

Concentrate keeps for up to 2 weeks refrigerated.

Enjoy and Be Nourished!