Drying Herbs
by John Yazo
Drying and preserving your fresh garden herbs is a simple and inexpensive way of having herbs readily available for your needs through out the year. Drying herbs can be preformed by two methods. Air drying or with the assistance of a dehydrator. Both methods work well under two different circumstances.
Air drying works best with herbs that don't have a high moisture content like, dill, oregano, rosemary and thyme. letting these types of herbs dry naturally with the air method helps to preserve the oils in the plant. Herbs like, basil, chives and mint have a higher moisture content and can be dried with the assistance of a dehydrator.
When air drying herbs you want to do it in an area that is dry, warm, dark with low humidity and well ventilated. The ideal temperature for air drying is sixty eight degrees Fahrenheit. If you don't have a dark area available you can simply cover the herbs with brown paper bags and punch holes through the bags to allow for ventilation. Under the proper conditions it can take anywhere between one and three weeks for your herbs to dry.
Harvesting of herbs needs to be done before the plants starts to flower. If you have been harvesting throughout the growing season there is no need to worry about the plant turning to seed. This happens at the end of there growing season. Late summer is a good time to start harvesting. You want to start before the cool weather starts.
The best time of the day to harvest is in the mid-morning. This leaves time for the morning dew to dry from the plants.
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