One of the greatest pleasures that I get from my garden is the fresh herbs.

I absolutely love picking herbs for dinner every night. So during the winter I feel the absence of my herbs, especially when I am craving a delicious homemade soup.

My solution: dry my fresh herbs in the fall.

I had no idea that drying herbs was so easy and I can use them year round. All you need is some string and a paper bag.

Simply cut your herb of choice at the base, and bundle them together with sting at the stem. Leave some excess string because you are going to need it to tie the herbs to the bag. I prefer non dyed string but you can use whatever you have handy.

I like the paper bags with the handles but if you don’t have that kind, no worries you can improvise. You will want your paper bag to be well ventilated so cut lots of small holes on both sides. Don’t cut any holes in the bottom of the bag because you want it to catch any of the dried herbs that fall off the stems during the drying process.

Next tie your herb bundle to the handle so that your herbs are hanging upside down inside the bag. If you don’t have a handled bag you can cut a hole at the top of the bag on both sides, reinforce the edges of the hole with tape, and run your string through the hole.

You will want to hang you bag in a well ventilated area. This is very important because if you don’t have proper ventilation you will end up with moldy herbs and that is just so disappointing. So pick your hanging place well. I like to hang my by a window so that I can use natures ventilation when possible.
After about 2-3 weeks your herbs will be dried and ready for storage. Any airtight container will do. You can recycle empty bottles from previous herbs. Use caution when removing them from the bag. They are going to be very fragile and will fall apart easily. Just removed the leaves and crush them using your fingers. I like to do this on a clean white piece of paper because when I am finished it is easier to pour the herbs into a bottle.

Don’t forget that dried herbs are much more potent than fresh herbs so a little goes a long way. If you have extra, dried herbs make for wonderful gifts.

Subscribe to www.GardenMandy.com by Email

 Email this post to a friend.