Harvesting Herbs from Your Home Herb Garden

Now that you have successfully planted the herbs in your home herb garden you can begin to watch them bloom and flourish.  They are extremely useful in so many ways.  Using herbs from a home herb garden, however involves a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

In order to use the herbs you will need to harvest them first.  Timing is a huge factor.  The wind and the heat can disperse the essential oils of the herbs.  Therefore, you should harvest your home herb garden in a calm and dry morning during the midsummer months.  Fewer oils are produced by the herb on extremely wet days.

You can harvest them in the morning when the dew has dried right before the flowers have opened.  Harvesting the herb does not mean removing the entire plant.  Remember that you are only taking a small portion of the plant for personal use.

You don’t necessarily have to use the herbs right after you have picked them from your home herb garden.  You can preserve them to use later.   Just make sure to take no more than one third of the plant at a time.  The plant will need a good amount of foliage to re-grow well.  You should also check the plants for pests and rotten leaves before you harvest them.

There are three ways you can preserve your herbs after harvesting your home herb garden: by drying, freezing or preserving them in salt or vinegar.  Place herbs to dry by making a bundle of six to twelve stems together, removing any leaves left at the base of the stem.  You can secure the bundle with string.  Hang the bundle in a cool location away from sunlight.

If you are looking to dry individual leaves you can place them on a screen or a rack.  Just remember to turn them as often as possible so that they will dry evenly.  Some people have even utilized artificial ways like dehydrators, ovens or microwaves to dry their herbs.

Freezing is another simple way to preserve herbs.  Cut them into ¼ inch pieces and place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Once the herbs are frozen, you can place them together in a bag and store them in the freezer until use.

The third way to preserve your herbs is by using a growth medium.  Herbs like chopped mint, basil or tarragon, for example, can be stored for several months using vinegar.  Or you can preserve them by alternately placing salt between layers of fresh herbs.  When completely dry, separate the brown herb from the salt then place it in an airtight container.

Of course, people often use herbs fresh right out of their home herb garden.  Take care cleaning the herbs before they are placed fresh in recipes.  In order to clean fresh herbs place them in a bowl filled with cool water.  You can even use the sink to accommodate more of them.  Place two tablespoons salt in the water.  The salt in the water will drive away insects without damaging the plant.  Remove the herbs from the water and dry them in a salad spinner.

Different types of herbs in a home herb garden are used for many different uses.  Each different type of herb has their own list of instructions on how to use, harvest, and chop them.  Learn more about each type of herbs so you can use them accordingly.

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Filed under: Gardening Tips • herb garden • herbs

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