Chamomile is the 2025 ‘Herb of the Year’ according to The International Herb Association! You can read about it HERE.
Our strain of chamomile — Bodegold Chamomile is very fragrant and flavourful— sweet, with flavours of honey, apple and pineapple.
Bodegold is an improved German strain of Chamomile with large flowers (for a chamomile), sweet flavour and high essential oil content. It also blooms earlier than other strains of chamomile. Plants are 12 to 24 inches in height. The daisy-like flowers bloom all summer and you will be able to get multiple harvests from the same plant. Just a few plants will give you a good supply of chamomile flowers.
This gentle herb is a safe and potent medicinal. Gentle does not mean less effective.
Chamomile’s biochemical composition includes the important flavonoids, Apigenin and Quercetin. These flavonoids possess a number of medicinal benefits, including anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties (Ullah et al 2020). Many researchers have reported that M. recutita has pharmacological properties including:
- Antimicrobial (Batista et al., 2014)
- Anti-inflammatory (Batista et al., 2014)
- Antioxidative (Sebai et al., 2014)
- Antispasmodic (Farideh et al., 2010)
- Antiviral (Koch et al., 2008), and
- Sedative activities (McKay and Blumberg, 2006)
A cup of Chamomile tea is a cup of goodness.
How to Plant: Ease of Germination: Easy. Seeds need light to germinate. Sow on top of soil and press in lightly. Keep moist until germination. You can start indoors 4-6 weeks before the last frost date or direct seed in mid-to-late May. Chamomile has a deep root system and does best in the garden or planted in a larger container (5 gallon or so).
How to Harvest: Harvest chamomile flowers at any stage. You can even harvest chamomile flowers after the petals have fallen off the golden centres. Herbalist Rosemary Gladstar has a good idea about how to pick the small flowers: run your fingers like a rake through the flowers to harvest the heads, pulling them up between your fingers into the palm of your hand. This makes harvesting a faster process than picking the flowers one-by-one. Dry flowers for tea. You can also use fresh.
How to Use: Use about a teaspoon of dried or fresh flowers for 1 cup of tea. Steep for 5 minutes and then remove flowers.
Location: Sun, Partial Sun
Life cycle: Annual
Usable Parts: Flowers (dried, fresh)
Uses: Tea
Height: 12 to 24 inches