Lemon Balm

I harvest Catnip in late June to early July as it is just starting to flower. I have a patch that I cultivate and many volunteers that have jumped ship and spread out across my property.   I like to make both an alcohol tincture and a glycerine tincture (more on tincture making soon). Glycerine is much more palatable for children, but doesn’t preserve for as long. Catnip acts as a sedative in humans the opposite of how it acts in cats. Many eyebrows have been raised in response to my praise of catnip for children as most people associate catnip with the intoxicating and sometimes aggressive behavior it elicits in cats.