Now is the perfect time to harvest most herbs for fresh use as well as drying for winter use. This is extremely easy to do and quite a simple task. Select plants that are just ready to bloom as this is when the leaves contain the highest amounts of flavour. It is a really good idea to forcefully spray the plants daily with water to knock off any insects and clean the leaves of garden dirt or insect detritus. Never spray with chemicals before harvest. Cut off the stems early in the morning before the leaves start growing (and releasing their oils naturally) to obtain the best flavours. Each plant can have up to one half of their leaves removed (cut the stems down by half). This pruning will give you ample herb leaves as well as stimulate the plant to produce more leaves. Naturally, this means youll be able to get a second harvest later in the season. I generally put all my stalks together and tie them with a shoelace or bit of string. Mine are all hung upside down from the ceiling in a warm spot (not over the air conditioning) so the leaves will dry without mildewing. Good air circulation is essential. It may take several weeks and each herbs drying time will vary but the leaves will eventually become dry and crumbly to the touch. I generally put the herbs in a bag and knock them about to separate the leaves from the stems. Then I put the leaves in old glass sealer jars and store them in cool, dry spots while discarding the stems. You can get even more information about drying herbs right here. Next winter, let me suggest you consider adding mint leaves to hot apple juice to get a pleasant reminder of summer flavours and fragrances. |
