Drying Your Herbs To Preserve And Enjoy

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Drying your herbs will preserve the leaves. You can enjoy them in foods or dried arrangements. These plant specimens dried will last a long time. Sow, Grow and Preserve. Does this sound a little odd to you? These plant species are wonderful and easy to grow, maintain, and to dry. Herb growing from seed explains step by step how to germinate your seeds. Taking care of the plants doesn't require much effort. A sunny location in a landscape garden or a container garden works best. Just water at regular intervals. Many of these plants produce beautiful color flowers. The flowers can be dried as well as the leaves. There are several different ways you can dry these plants. Below are three basic methods you might want to consider.

The first step is to make sure all your plants are freshly watered before cutting. Give the plants a good watering about an hour or so before you plan to harvest them. Water the roots and mist the leaves. Always cut each branch at an angle so you don't damage any of the leaves or flowers. One of the best method of drying the leaves is to let them dry naturally.

• Dry them in a dark location. A garage, shed, bedroom, or closet works well. The area needs to be warm. Some indirect lighting is fine.
• I use a couple of saw horses and put an old screen across the two saw horses. Spread out the herbs so that each individual branch can dry. You can do different specimens on the same screen.
• For long and bigger plants, tie them in a bunch and hang them upside down. Use a clothes rack or take some clothes line and hang in a dark location. Another option is hanging them upside down with a paper bag wrapped around the plant. This will protect dust from accumulating on the leaves. Put a fan close by as it will speed up the drying process.





• Depending on the climate conditions, most herbs will dry in three to seven days. Don't let them turn brown. You want the plants to retain some of their green color.
• Wash and dry your hands throughly. Take a couple groups of leaves and rub them between your hands. Crumble the leaves up as small as you want. Some people like bigger leaves for their Italian dishes. Think about what you will use the plant for, cooking, or Potpourri. You can also use the entire bunch as a decoration in your kitchen. Your kitchen theme can become an herbal paradise by also adding vinegars. Leaves from fresh plants create wonderful vinegars.
This articles explains step by step how to make the vinegars.
• Depending on the quantity of plants, will depend on what size jar you use. I recommend small glass jars with secure lids. I have some jars I still use after three years. They will tend to loose their color and flavor. A good rule of thumb is to replenish the jar after a year or two. A two inch round glass canning jar is a great size to fit on counter tops or in cub boards.

There are also other methods for drying. Put them in the microwave between two paper towels. Heat for two to three minutes. A conventional oven can be used. The temperature should be set around 100 degrees. Place on a baking sheet and heat until the leaves are crisp. Most plants can be dried by any of these three methods. Garlic and Regular Chives don't dry well. Put in a zip lock bag and freeze them up to a year.

The flowers can also be dried in the same manner as the leaves. Lamb Ears, Oregano, Basil, Fever few, Garlic, Hyssop, and Rosemary flowers make a wonderful dried arrangement. Whatever method you decide to use, drying herbs is a simple way to preserve the flowers and leaves.