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Drying herbs

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Jon Peterson

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Drying herbs

by Jon Peterson » Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:34 pm

Requesting instructions for drying herbs at home.
Our tiny herb garden is a complete success; beginner's luck I'd guess. I assume that it easy to dry herbs at home without buying since folks have been doing it for 100s of years. Just gather and hang upside down? Is that all?
Thanks in advance!
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Redwinger

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Re: Drying herbs

by Redwinger » Wed Jul 02, 2014 1:47 pm

Jon-
That's pretty much what I do.
A few tips:
Pick the herbs after the morning dew has dried.
I insert the upside down stalks through a hole in the bottom of a paper bag (don't use plastic). I'm not sure this is necessary, but I dry the herbs in the garage and I'm always putzing around in there and the bags keep the dust ofj the leaves.
Smile, it gives your face something to do!
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Jo Ann Henderson

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Re: Drying herbs

by Jo Ann Henderson » Wed Jul 02, 2014 3:08 pm

That's pretty much how I do it. But, I try to dry in small batches where I can just lay them out on a sheet pan. It only takes a few days for most herbs. For large batch harvesting (like lavender), I don't bother hanging, I just gather into a grocery bag and sit them in the garage. Without the bag (paper) you will end up with fallen dried herbs all over. The ones that do best without falling seem to be rosemary and bay. Good luck.
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