Using Herbs from a Home Herb Garden
You have planted the herbs in your home herb garden and watched them grow and flourish. Herbs are extremely useful in so many different ways. But, using herbs from a home herb garden requires a little bit or work first.
Harvesting the mature plant is the first step in enjoying your home garden herbs. Timing though, is an extremely vital factor. The wind and the heat can disperse the essential oils of the herbs. Therefore, you should harvest your home herb garden in a mild 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 part of the plant for home use.
You do not need to use the herbs that you are harvesting at the time that you pick them from your home herb garden. You can keep them for future use. Be careful not to take more than one third of the plant’s foliage at one time. It needs a healthy leaves for the plant to replenish its lost nutrients. You should also inspect the plant for insects and damaged leaves before you harvest it.
Typically there are three ways that people preserve their herbs for later use after harvesting their home herb garden: drying, freezing, or preserving them in a medium like salt or vinegar. In order to dry herbs you need to bundle six to twelve stems together and remove any foliage near the base of the stems. You can secure the bundle with string. Then hang them in a cool, dry place.
Individual leaves can be left to dry 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 employed 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 herbs is through a medium. For instance, you can cover herbs like chopped mint, basil or tarragon with vinegar and it will be preserved for several months. Or you can store 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. The best way to wash fresh herbs is to place them in a bowl of cold water. If there is a large quantity of herbs you can use the sink. Place two tablespoons salt in the water. The salt will drive away insects without damaging the plant. Remove the herbs from the water and dry them in a salad spinner.
Different kinds 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.