Anyways, for my spring and summer harvest I am really just thinning out the bamboo as it spreads and gets too thick to handle. I also let a few of the runners grow so that I can cut them down when they’re fairly small but still workable, that way I’m not losing any of the new growth for my main bamboo patches.
Winter is a different story though. The bamboo isn’t spreading so there’s no way for me to harvest anything without culling the pieces I wanted to keep. So instead, I play a waiting game. Every year we get at least one cold snap. This may include some snow or may not, but the bamboo always gets iced over. This ice becomes too heavy for some of the stalks to handle and they snap off. I take these naturally broken pieces inside to thaw out and dry. The harvest for winter is much smaller than the summer and spring harvests, but it does keep my work going all year round and there’s something very special about those cold snap broken stalks. They seem to have a special energy radiating out from them and I often feel most connected to whatever I make using these stalks.
I wanted to cover that since my store is going to be opening soon and I’m going to be listing some items over the winter that will be made with this winter harvest bamboo. I didn’t want anyone to get confused about what winter harvesting was. I also just think this is pretty interesting and can give other pagans and magic practitioners some ideas for their own works.
Just some examples of items you can use as your own grounding device, because I know some people work best with examples:
A cactus. If it’s flowering then you can harvest the flowers after they have died and use them in whatever way feels appropriate for you. If it’s non-flowering you can collect the needles occasionally and grind them up for certain mixtures.
Elephant ear. Yes, it’s big, but it can be inside in a pot all year round so even if you’re limited in yard space, you can have one. They’re awesome looking. Best of all, the leaves are huge and they die off and replenish themselves on their own as long as you give them water and care. When the leaves break and start to wither you can carefully cut them away.
Vegetable and fruit plants. This goes really well with those who want to grow their own fruits, vegetables and even herbs. Just meditate with your plants for a while every day and be sure to give them plenty of attention. You can use both the seeds from the fruits and vegetables as well as the plant leaves, stalk and even roots once you’re done with the plant. I have actually wanted to start a small herb garden that I could meditate in the middle of which would infuse so much power into those herbs when I use them in magic potions.
Even just a big pot of dirt or a particular patch of grass outside can work. Make it yours and incorporate it into your life. Collect the grass from that area each time you mow and make use of it. Pull up all the weeds that grow there and then meditate on why they grew there; it’s your space, it grew there because you needed it for something.
