If you were a regular at the old shop, you know I love Avena sativa. Safe for all ages and stages, from pregnancy to infancy to elders. Oatstraw was always a highlighted herb in most of my classes, especially nourishing herbal infusion classes. As much as I love oatstraw, I love milky oat tops (same plant) even more! And I've never had abundant access to fresh milky oat tops until this year. While dried milky oat tops still pack a potent punch, there's nothing like the fresh herb. 
This is our rabbit food plot, we planted Chicory, Oats, Timothy and Red Clover. As you can see, there's an incredible abundance of milky oat tops! 
Milky oat tops have a small window for harvesting, as the tops only produce milk for about a week. This is the time the seeds are medicinally potent.
They are incredibly nutritive and contain alkaloids, saponins, and are rich in vitamins and minerals and are incredibly restorative on many levels. Milky oats are considered both nervine and adaptogen. They're well known for their affinity to the nervous system. Relaxing the mind and body, aiding with fatigue and is a go to herb for acute and chronic stress, bringing the body back into homeostasis. Milky oats are well known for stregthening the mind and improving concentration and are often utilized for managing ADD and ADHD. They're also a popular herb for withdrawal from narcotics and pharmaceutical medications. Milky oat tops have also been studied for their ability to enhance libido and support hormonal function.