This year, the most popular and sought-after medicinal plants at "Kurmīši" are cornflowers and mullein. The harvested crop goes into the preparation of tea bags, as well as the preparation of culinary and cosmetic products, for example, bread or soap production, the medicinal plant growers said.
Two plant dryers are operating in full swing, where medicinal plants, collected from the field, are brought directly.
"At the moment, both white and red cornflowers are prepared in the dryers. One dryer is larger, the other smaller, and those plants can be dried as needed. If the volume is larger, then in the large one, if smaller, then in the small one," said Ivars Geiba, the founder of the farm.
The smell that comes from the dryers is indescribable, and the amount of moisture that remains in the air from the amount of plants put in the dryers during the drying process is also impressive.
"We are not tea producers, but rain producers. Because only 20 kilograms of tea are obtained from 100 kilograms of fresh plants, 80 kilograms go into the air," said Geiba.
So far, the harvest of medicinal plants has turned out well, and there is no shortage of hardworking hands who collect them. 13 students can collect both cornflowers and mullein flowers through the seasonal worker program.
"Medicinal plants grow over 7-8 hectares, there are quite a lot of phacelia and other nectar plants, and in general this year is quite good in terms of harvest. Well-grown honeysuckle, also a nice field of cornflowers. The blue cornflowers have also been joined by white and red ones, in the colors of the Latvian flag. The power of mullein is gaining great popularity. The areas do not change for us, but the number of plants does. And thanks to social networks, we have been viewed a lot, we have around a million views, and they are people from Greece, Turkey, from half the world," said Ivars Geiba.
New generation
Ivars and Sandra Geiba have already handed over their farm "Kurmīši" to their new generation, their eldest son Mārtiņš has become the new owner of "Kurmīši" and started selling medicinal plants, which have become popular.
"My son develops the cultivation of seedlings more. People want to grow their own medicinal plants on their windowsills, on their balconies, they first taste teas and then find a combination of seedlings for themselves, and then they can grow them themselves," explained Geiba.
Mārtiņš admits an Internet presence is indispensable nowadays.
"This year cornflower and mullein are popular, because they are very bright, beautiful plants. We have around 40 different plants for everyone's interests. People buy plants for tea and use our products for baking bread and making soap and candles. Because plants are colorful and naturally valuable. Every year we become more and more recognizable and we get more and more customers," explained Mārtiņš.
"Thanks to social networks, the website, the online store, the market for the product is good, so we go to different markets less often. The outlet is both in Latvia and Europe. We planted the last plants on the farm a couple of weeks ago, in a one-hectare greenhouse. We planted lemon balm, catnip, St. John's wort, burdock and other plants," said Ivars Geiba.
"Now is the best time to visit us if you want to see how the plants bloom. It's true, we don't let them bloom for long, we harvest them when they are in full bloom. But there are flowers that the more often they are picked, the more often they bloom. And now is the right time to visit us," said Ivars.
