Herb drying

About ten years ago, I had never grown edibles. I purchased herb seedlings and transplanted them into pots. I watered them and admired them, but had no idea what to do with them. My husband who will usually eat anything wouldn’t touch them. We would stand in the backyard staring at how beautiful the plants were wondering “are we just supposed to pull off leaves and eat them?”

Well, yes. That’s the idea, isn’t it? The following year we planted more herbs. Realizing how silly it was to spend all this time and effort on growing herbs, we plucked off a leaf and ate it. Hook, line and sinker. Today, I cannot imagine life without herbs.

Now for the really embarrassing part of my story, if the above wasn’t bad enough for an individual with a master’s degree in horticulture to admit. We had such a bounty of herbs leftover at the end of that second season, we decided to dry them. We cut off all the plants just before a freeze. Carefully bundling handfuls of stems, we tied string around them and hung them to dry. Great, now what?

The leaves dried beautifully, but they did not crumble up easily. We tried a mortar and pestle. We even tried rubbing the dried leaves together in our hands like we were trying to start a fire. With red, sore hands, we finally got a bright idea. What if we put them in the blender?

Hopefully, you have gleaned a few tips on harvesting and drying herbs from my previous escapades. According to North Carolina State Extension, up to 75% of an herb plant can be harvested during the growing season. I recommend multiple harvests throughout the season. For maximum aroma and oil production, harvest after flower buds have formed, but not opened. Also, harvest early in the day waiting until the dew has dried, but before the heat of the day sets in. For more information: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/harvesting-and-preserving-herbs-for-the-home-gardener.

Drying herbs really is easy. Not everyone has to do things the hard way. Over the years, I have tried the microwave, the oven, and a dehydrator. The easiest and most traditional method is to hang them.

Gather small handfuls of stems (with leaves attached) tying the cut ends to together with long twine. Hang the stems with the leaves pointing downward. We use clothes hangers with varying lengths of string typically getting six bundles per hanger.

Place the hanging herbs in a cool, dry and preferably dark location, like a basement or unused closet or bathroom. Wait six to eight weeks. When the leaves easily crumble, your herbs are ready. Don’t crush them further until you are ready to use them. Store in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid away from light.

From very humble beginnings to writing articles and giving presentations on horticulture, a person can learn a lot in a decade or so. Speaking of presentations, if you have an organization that would like a free (yes, free!) garden related presentation, please contact me. And, don’t worry “that there grad school educated me up real good”.

Kelley Rawlsky has an M.S. in horticulture and is the director of Bringing People and Plants Together, an organization dedicated to bringing horticulture education and therapy to the community. For more information: PeopleAndPlantsTogether@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook.

Article originally published in Broomfield Enterprise - Aug 20, 2017