Since the natural aromatic oils of garden herbs are most bountiful in August, this is the ideal time for your harvest.
You will want to choose a clear, sunny morning when the dew is gone, and the noonday sun cannot rob the plants of their oils.
For an early start, you must have your tools ready: drying screens, sharp knives, and especially labels.
Since half-dried leaves and branches of herbs lose their identity, each variety should be labeled.
Starting Perennial and Annual Herbs
If you start with your perennial herbs, you should cut about two-thirds of the way down the stalk.
Annual herbs, on the other hand, must have enough stalks left so that a second growth may be obtained in the same season. If the branches need rinsing, do it quickly, shaking well to dry them as much as possible.
Herbs may be dried outdoors in a shady, protected spot on ordinary window screens.
To preserve the color of the leaves and to retain the volatile oils, the air must reach the herbs from all directions. At night it is necessary to take the herbs indoors for protection from dew.
Herbs may also be dried in an attic with cross ventilation or in a garage with open doors, where temperatures are steady, and dust is kept away. A sudden change in weather may call for oven drying-—the least desirable method.
The oven must not be hot enough to scorch the tender leaves and evaporate the fragrant oils.
A colonial attic with bunches of herbs hung from the rafters is a charming sight. If the attic is airy and not sunny, herbs—particularly catnip—tied in small bunches may be dried successfully in this manner.
After being stripped from the stems, leafy mints, and parsley may be plunged into boiling water to be wilted and quickly lifted out with a strainer.
Ten minutes of oven drying should crisp the leaves for rubbing through a sieve into a powder.
Storing Herbs
Glass jars, properly labeled, are excellent for storing herbs. Be sure that the herbs, whether powdered or leaf form, are absolutely dry; otherwise, they may become moldy.
Roots such as orris (Florentine iris), sweet flag, lovage, and angelica should be washed when dug and split or sliced if the roots are large.
Dry the roots as you would the foliage herbs. Roots attract insects, so be sure that storage containers are closed tightly.
Dill, anise, caraway, coriander, and mustard seed heads should be cut when the seed turns brown.
If you have coriander in your garden, remember that the seeds are heavy and may drop before they can be harvested unless you keep ahead of them. A week of drying should be sufficient.
Lavender is at its best when the flowers are half-open, while chamomile should be in full bloom when harvested. These are my favorite herb blossoms.
Uses of Garden Herbs
Sage for the turkey, marjoram, and thyme for the red meats, lavender for linens, seeds for cookies, and thyme leaves wrapped in a handkerchief and dropped into a hot bath are a few of the uses for garden herbs.
During the harvest, your home will be fragrant, and your family will have keen appetites. Make a generous kettle of soup with a small bag of herbs in it so that all may share in the harvest without delay.
44659 by Madeline Corse