Herb Gardening

Lesson 4: What Now?

Drying your herbs.

Drying is the most common form of preserving your summer’s work. There are several methods; all of them work as long as you remember the importance of air flow. Never lay your herbs on the ground or any solid surface to dry.

One of the best ways to air dry your harvest is to set up old screens on saw horses or similar support. This allows for plenty of air flow. You can set up the screen in any semi-dark, warm place such as a garage or barn, attic or any other convenience place that meets the requirements. Spread your stems, flowers or leaves evenly across the screen, never crowd. If they are bunched up the moisture in them will cause mold.

Another method is hanging your herbs to dry. You shouldn’t bundle more than fifteen stems to a bundle. Either tie with string (I prefer this method) or use a rubber band to bundle your herb harvest and hang them either from garage or attic rafters or any other place that you deem appropriate.

The same rule applies here; it should be semi-dark and warm. I like to hang my bundled herbs from a clothesline strung across a screened porch. They are out of the direct sun and it is warm enough that the drying is completed quickly.

You can also use a folding clothes-drying rack to hang your herbs. They are portable and easily put away for storage. Or a wooden dowel hat rack on a kitchen wall is great. That way you can enjoy the aroma of the drying herbs. As long as you place it away from a bright window.

If you want to dry your herbs out in the open try tying a bundle of herbs and covering them with a paper bag, the stems sticking out the top of the bag. Tie the bag shut and hang it from a tree, never in direct sun. If you live in a humid area you will want to cut some small holes in the side of the bag to guarantee air flow.

If air drying herbs does not appeal you can always put a small amount of herbs on a baking sheet, cover them with cheese cloth or something porous (I heard one person saying she used old nylon stockings) and place them in a sunny window sill or on the back of the cooking stove. They will dry in a few days and without the dust. Take care not to bunch them up. They won’t dry quickly enough to avoid molding if they overlap.

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