How nice, and most importantly, it’s useful to take a steam bath in the birch broom! After this procedure, breathing so easily! However, it is worth remembering that its benefits directly depend on the quality of the broom. Therefore, it is so important to know when birch brooms are harvested. And how to do it right.
Weeping birch is the most suitable tree for harvesting a broom, because it is tall, and its branches are flexible and do not break. The most useful brooms are made from young trees that have not yet bloomed. When harvesting birch brooms, look at the leaves - they should be tender, velvet, rough only at the top. Brooms from birch branches growing on the banks of ponds are ideal.
How to harvest birch brooms? First, loosely tie the branches and hang the bunches under a canopy in the draft. Direct sunlight should not fall on them. So they should sag for a week and dry well. After that, they are tied, now tightly, and stacked on a flat surface in a dry, ventilated place. If you immediately tie the branches tightly, the leaves located in the center will lose their color - they will “burn out”. Such brooms have no characteristic aroma, and their benefits are much less.
When birch brooms are harvested , they are shaped like a fan or a broom. The first option is preferable. To form a fan-shaped broom, it is freshly laid on the floor and turned over every day until it dries completely.
If all conditions are met when birch brooms are harvested, they will look like this: all leaves are of the same color (matte and green), the broom smells of birch oil, and the smell sharply intensifies when steaming.
When to harvest birch brooms? This is usually done at the beginning of summer - the leaves have already grown and become strong, but the essential oils from the leaves and branches have not yet evaporated. Young shoots are elastic, and it’s nice to bathe with them. From ancient times, brooms were harvested for the feast of the Holy Trinity, that is, on the 49th day after Easter - this is about mid-June. If it rains these days, you can wait a few days. Gather branches before dinner, but the dew should come down.
Before knitting a broom, the place where the handle will be is cleaned of knots and foliage. Thicker branches are laid inside, and thinner branches around. This will ensure the density of the broom, as a result of which it can be used several times.
In villages, brooms are often stored directly in a haystack, and harvested birch branches are sometimes formed into one large sheaf, from which, if necessary, the required number of branches is separated.
Birch broom is a faithful assistant for muscle and joint pain after heavy loads: it soothes, cleanses and heals the skin. The main feature of birch brooms is that they contribute to the discharge of sputum due to the expansion of the bronchi. Improving ventilation, it helps asthmatics and smokers. There are many essential oils and tannins in birch leaves, as well as vitamins C and A. With a broom tincture, you can wash your hair - dandruff will stop tormenting you, and your hair roots will strengthen.
Harvest birch brooms correctly and worry about your health!