Using Herbs from a Home Herb Garden
You have planted the herbs and watched them grow and flourish. They are extremely useful in so many ways. However, you will also know that for a successful home herb garden, there is a bit of work needed.
In order to use the herbs you will need to harvest them first and timing is a huge factor. Did you know that the essential oils in the herbs can be leeched away by the wind and heat?. You should choose a calm and dry morning during midsummer to harvest your herbs. On very wet days, herbs make very little of their oils. Harvest the herbs just after the dew has dried form the leaves right before the flowers open. Click here for more: growing herbs at home
When harvesting, you don’t have to remove the whole plant. At this point, you are just taking a certain amount of growth for use. You do not need to use the herbs that you are harvesting at the time that you pick them. You can preserve them to use later.It is important that you leave at least two thirds of the plants foliage ant any time. The plant will need a good amount of foliage to re-grow well. You should also inspect the plant for insects and damaged leaves before you harvest it.
Essentially, there are three ways to store your herbs; freezing, drying and #pickling’ in vinegar or salt. For drying, you can bunch the stems of six to twelve together removing any unwanted leaves at the base. You can secure the bundle with string. Then choose a cool place to hang them. If you are looking to dry individual leaves you can place them on a screen or a rack. Don’t forget to turn them regularly so they can dry properly. Some gardeners use machines like ovens or dehydrators etc. to dry herbs, although this may not be as good. For more visit our blog: Herb Gardens Blog
Freezing is a fairly easy method of presaervation. Place the ¼ inch cut herbs onto a baking tray covered 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. Vinegar is very good for preserving prepared mint, basil or tarragon and will remain usable for many months. Or you can make a flavored salt to preserve herbs by alternating layers of fresh herbs between salt. When completely dry separate the brown herb from the flavored salt and store it in an airtight container.
Of course, people often use herbs fresh right out of the 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. Use a sink if there are a lot of herbs to prepare. Add about two tablespoons of salt to the water. This will keep the insects away and will not harm the plant. Then, take them out of the water and dry them in a salad spinner.
There are many different kinds of herb for many different uses. Each one will need to be picked and prepared in a slightly different way. So make certain you research the type of herb you are preparing beforehand to get the best from it. Click here for more: Herb Gardens