Wormseed Oil Growing & Harvesting

Wormseed Oil Growing and Harvesting. . , In early spring, wormseed plants were grown with some of the previous year's seeds in newly cleared ground. The six to eight inch tall plants were then transplanted to the field in June. Plants were cultivated until mature for harvesting in September with distillation occurring in October and November. Wormseed had to be sown, planted, cultivated and harvested by hand to ensure the seed pots remained attached. The plants were left to dry in the field for seven to ten days. Growing and harvesting the plant was labor intensive and time consuming., After the curing process, plants were hand-loaded onto wagons in late evening or early morning while dew was still on the plants. This kept more of the valuable seeds intact. Fully loaded wagons or trucks then went to local wormseed oil distilleries so that processing could begin., After the oil was steam extracted, the plants would be used for cattle feed or returned to the field as fertilizer. No animal would eat the plant before the oil was removed, but some found it palatable afterward. Reincorporating the plant as organic fertilizer was important as the crop depleted the nutrients from the soil.