How to Harvest Slippery Elm

Slippery elm bark has been a traditional Native American medicine for hundreds of years. Slippery elm can ease coughs and colds and relieve gastrointestinal distress. It is also used to treat skin rashes and boils. It's important to harvest the bark correctly. Stripping the bark can invite diseases and pests, which can eventually kill the tree.

Things You'll Need

• Pruning shears
• Knife
• Scissors
• Screen or food dehydrator
• Coffee grinder
• Airtight container

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Instructions

• 1

  Harvest slippery elm before April or after July. Harvesting bark during the "off" months can invite Dutch elm disease.

• 2

  Trim off a few of the slippery elm's branches. Remove branches that need to be pruned; this can actually make the tree healthier. Remove spindly branches, branches or twigs that are crowding other branches, branches that are hanging too close to the ground, and those that have been damaged by weather. Never remove more than 1/4 of the slippery elm's branches.

• 3

  Use a sharp knife to peel the bark away from the branch. Peel deep enough to get the inner green layer, which will be moist and slightly slimy.

• 4

  Snip the bark into small pieces with a pair of scissors. Put the pieces on a screen and let them dry in a cool, dry room. Leave them until they're brittle (at least two weeks). Slippery elm bark can also be dried in a food dehydrator.

• 5

  Put the dried bark in a coffee grinder and grind it into a dust. Store the dust in an airtight container and label it.