Heirloom Gardener: A primer of Old-fashioned Garden Tips and Techniques
Heirloom Gardener: A primer of Old-fashioned Garden tips and techniques.
by Denise Adams and Deb Felton
Herbal bounty. The abundance of autumn herbs needn`t be cut short at first frost. To enjoy the bounty for months to come, follow these time-honored techniques for harvesting, preserving, and using your favorite garden herbs.
Preservation Techniques
Lovely and timeless, rooted at once in gardens and in life, the great herbs come to the gardener`s hand our most noble heritage of green”. Henry Bestom, Herbs and the Earth, 1935
Herbs may be preserved in a number of ways, depending on their ultimate use. For best results, start with herbs that have been cut after the dew dries on a sunny, dry day. Then follow any of these methods.
Air-drying.
Use this techniques to dry herbs for cooking, fragrance, and decoration. To hang herbs for air-drying, gather them into small bunches, staggering the flowers within each bunch. Strip the leaves from the bottom one-third of the stems.
Secure the stems with rubber bands, which will continue to hold tight even when the stems begin to shrink from drying. Hang the herbs in a clean, well-ventilated area.
Allow the herbs to dry for two to three weeks, depending on the moisture level of the plants and the ambient humidity. After the plants dry completely, remove the leaves and store them whole in an airtight container. If used for cooking, crush the leaves as needed.
Containers.
Some herbs can be loosely arranged upright in a container to dry. Artemisia “Silver King” and sea lavender, for instance, can be dried standing up in a basket or large pot.
To dry baby`s-breath, set the stems in a container with 1 inch of water and a couple of drops of chlorine beach. Let the plants sit until the water has evaporated and the baby`s-breath is dry.
You also can dry herbs by laying them flat in containers, creating an instant wreath. Simply arrange the herbs horizontally in a circular fashion and let them dry completely. Small hearth-shaped containers or baskets will hold tender thyme and lavender stalks, creating miniature wreaths to give as gifts.
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