Fresh Herbs and Roots, Harvested to Order
Most of what we sell is dried — harvested at peak, dried low and slow on the farm, and ready to ship year-round. But some preparations want the living plant: tinctures folks make from fresh root, glycerites, cold-process work. For those, we run a different system. We don't hold fresh herbs in stock, because fresh herbs don't hold. We dig or cut to your order, pack the same day, and ship it straight to you.
This page explains how that works, what's available fresh from our certified Organic fields in Charlevoix, Québec, and when each crop comes out of the ground.
Why Fresh Is Pre-Order Only
A dried herb is a stable product; a fresh root is a living thing on a clock. The only way to ship it at real quality is to compress the time between the field and your door — so nothing is dug until it has a name on it. When your order comes in, we schedule it against the harvest window, lift it, wash it, pack it, and get it to the carrier at once. You get the root at the same freshness we would want for our own tinctures.
The trade-off is patience: fresh orders wait for the right season, and the windows below are set by the plants, not by us.
What's Available Fresh
| Herb | Part | Harvest window | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nettle | Fresh aerial | June · July · September | $22 / kg |
| Angelica | Fresh root | Early July | write to us |
| Echinacea purpurea | Fresh leaf / flower | Summer bloom (July–September) | $25 / kg |
| Marshmallow | Fresh root | September dig | $30 / kg |
| Dandelion | Fresh root | September–October | $30 / kg |
| Echinacea purpurea | Fresh root | September–October | $40 / kg |
| Echinacea angustifolia | Fresh root | October | $40 / kg |
Every fresh line ships in 1 kg units with a minimum order of 5 kg, within Canada only — fresh plant material cannot cross the border. Windows are approximate; the season, not the calendar, has the final word.
How Pre-Ordering Works
- Order the fresh listing on the product page (or write to us for angelica and larger plans). Fresh listings stay orderable even when nothing is in stock — that is the point: you are reserving a harvest, not buying off a shelf.
- We confirm your window. You'll hear back from us with the expected dig or cut date for your crop.
- We harvest to your order — dug or cut, washed, and packed the same day.
- It ships immediately, and we coordinate timing with you so the box doesn't sit over a weekend or arrive while you're away.
Fresh or Dried?
Dried is the right call more often than people expect: it keeps for a year, ships anywhere, and for teas, infusions, and most everyday preparations it is exactly what you want. Fresh earns its premium in a narrower lane — tincture makers who work from fresh root, glycerite and succus makers, and anyone whose recipe or tradition specifies fresh material. If you are unsure which your preparation wants, ask us — we would rather point you at the cheaper bag than sell you the wrong one.
Why Ours
- Certified Organic, cultivated — field rows in living soil, never wild-gathered from ground of unknown history
- Harvested to order — your root is in the ground until your order calls it up
- One farm, full traceability — grown, harvested, washed, and packed in one place, by the people who planted it
- Real roots — cultivation gives us the thick, foot-long taproots and dense crowns that make fresh work worth doing
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I order fresh herbs outside the harvest window?
You can place the order any time — that is what reserves your spot — but it will ship inside the crop's window. Fresh material only exists when the field says so.
Why is there a 5 kg minimum on fresh orders?
Because each fresh order triggers its own harvest, washing, and same-day packing. Below about 5 kg the field work outweighs the order; above it, we can do the job properly and get it to you at its best.
Do you ship fresh herbs to the United States?
No — fresh is Canada-only. Fresh plant material faces border inspection delays that defeat the purpose of shipping fresh. Our dried herbs are the cross-border option.
How should I handle fresh roots when they arrive?
Open the box immediately and refrigerate, then process within a few days — tincture makers typically start the maceration the week the roots arrive. If your timeline slips, fresh root can be washed, chopped, and frozen for later extraction work.
Want to learn more? A few places to start:
- Fresh Marshmallow Root: Uses, How to Order & Why It's Worth It
- Medicinal Weeds: the wild plants we harvest on purpose
- How to Make an Echinacea Tincture
Interested in knowing more about what's going on at the farm? Our occasional emails bring you stories from the field, new herbs for sale, and herbal insights. 🌱 Browse our Organic herbs or sign up for our newsletter to stay connected.