We’ve discussed growing several garden herbs (see Relaxing With Gnomes category), and the various health aspects associated with them..but what to do when you are overrun with fresh herbs? Here’s where we’ll talk about drying those delicious, fresh herbs you work so hard to grow. For the example photos here, I’ll use lemon balm..but the steps are the same for any herb you have. My lemon balm from last year is already ready for it’s first drying harvest! And we’re barely into May!! My returning oregano is almost ready for a drying harvest, but I’ll give it a few more weeks. I’ve already used oregano in cooking, and made some lemon balm tea – but here I’ll focus on harvests for drying instead of just a sprig or two for cooking..
1. Harvesting: Snip long primary stems just above a nodule (just above a leaf sprout). Continue snipping, but don’t take more than about 30% of the plant, unless you’re harvesting at the end of the season.
2. Rinse cut herbs thoroughly. You don’t want any remnants of dirt, unless you like that added flavor in your dishes and tea. 😉
3. Tie the ends of all the stems together with twine or string of any kind. All I had was that thin ribbon used for presents, from which you can make those fun curly cues…
4. Hang anywhere that won’t bother you. I have hung them from cabinet knobs or nails in the wall – anywhere you can find. Depending on the herb, drying time varies. Larger leaf herbs, like basil, take longer. Oregano, for me, can dry fully within about 3-5 days. Basil, though I didn’t time it, I let dry for at least a week, maybe 8 days. Like I said, I didn’t check every day.
5. When herbs are thoroughly dry, remove herb leaves from the large/thick stems if you like (such as with basil or rosemary), then crumble or chop them into small bits and store in airtight containers. I use old spice/herb jars that I had previously bought said herb (before growing it). Example: When the dried basil I had bought a while back was empty, I filled it with my freshly dried garden basil.