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Harvesting Herbs

© Traute Klein, biogardener

You don't need to dry herbs to make tea. You want to get maximum goodness out of fresh herbs. Learn when to harvest them and how to use them.

Herbs Used Fresh

There is nothing quite as beneficial as having fresh herbs at your fingertips. Growing fresh herbs for distribution to supermarkets has sparked new business across North America. Unfortunately, by the time herbs are picked, packaged, and distributed, they are no longer fresh and may not be much more beneficial than the dried ones. I prefer to grow my own, and I have to be careful which ones are hardy in zone 3 where I garden. They must also like hot dry summers and alkaline clay soil. Once I know that a herb does well in my garden, I grow lots of it.

I get far more profit per square foot growing herbs than I would growing vegetables. All summer long, we enjoy the herbs fresh in salads, teas, and as snacks. In the wintertime, I will buy certain staple herbs fresh in the grocery store, e.g. onions, garlic, ginger, and lemon grass. The rest of the herbs I use in dried form from my garden. Parsley and green onions I grow in hanging pots in my sunroom. Its windows face east, south, and west, so it gets sun all day long.

Home-grown Herbs for Various Uses

There is no specific season for harvesting most herbs. They are best picked throughout the summer. The best time of day is early in the morning, just after the dew has dried, but before the heat of the day has dissipated the volatile oils. Pick them regularly, taking off the tops. Do not let green herbs go to flower. Once a plant starts to concentrate on flowering and seed production, the leaves get smaller and lose their aroma. They might even fall off.

What can we do with the surplus herbs which are harvested throughout the summer? We all know about saving them for herb teas and cooking. We may even know about making herb vinegars and oils. I have a few other suggestions of how you can make use of herbs which will produce very expensive items with very little investment.

I will give you some ideas here, and I will link the article which contains the instructions. That article also contains many other links to articles on herbs.
• Make herbal pillows for relaxation and congestion
• Make herbal packs
• Make heat packs or cold packs

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