Using Herbs from a Home Herb Garden
It’s a great feeling to watch your herbs grow and flourish from your very own home herb garden. Eventually the time will arrive where you will need to harvest your herbs so you can use them effectively in so many different ways. Using herbs from a home herb garden requires a little bit of care and work to ensure you apply the correct harvesting techniques at the right time.
Probably the best time to harvest your herbs is mid summer and important you choose a calm and dry morning, preferably just after the dew has dried (mid morning) from the leaves and cut the afternoon sun. The essential oils in herbs will evaporate during the day, so it is important to collect them when their flavor is at their peak and only cut an amount that you will use in a day.
The term “harvesting the herb” does not mean cutting or removing the entire plant. You should only remove a certain amount of the herb’s growth for use; a good rule of thumb is to be careful not to take or pick more than one third of the plant’s foliage at any one time. Your home herb garden plants will need a good amount of foliage to ensure healthy re-growth. Before you harvest it’s also good to inspect the health of your herb plants for any insects or damaged leaves as you’ll want to remove any dry or unwanted leaves or critters before bring them into your home.
Remember, you don’t need to immediately use the herbs that you are harvesting at the time that you pick them; you can preserve them for later use. Take note that herbs with a high water composition such as basil, chives, lemon balm, mint and tarragon will tend to mold before they ever dry. So to preserve herbs with high moisture content, you should consider freezing them as a better option.
Let’s quickly talk about the three most common ways of preserving your herbs for later use:
1. You can Dry herbs for concentrated flavor
2. You can Freeze herbs to retain their flavor for several months, or
3. You can Preserve herbs in salt or vinegar and use to your heart’s desire
To dry herbs, you need to bundle six to twelve stems and remove any foliage near the base of the stems. You can secure the herb bundle and tie it with string at the base of the stems and then hang the bundle in a cool location away from sunlight. If you’re looking to dry the individual leaves of your chosen herb you can place them on a screen or a rack and remember to turn them regularly so they may dry properly. Some folks turn to using appliances like dehydrators, ovens or microwaves to dry herbs however the most effective way is to let them dry naturally. Drying works well for basil, dill, fennel, lovage, mint, oregano, parsley, hot peppers, rosemary, sage, savory, scented geraniums, tarragon, and thyme.
Freezing herbs is a fairly simple method of preserving herbs so that their flavor can be retained for several months. Cut the herbs into ¼ inch lengths or pieces and place on a small tray or baking sheet. Keep the leaves flat and separated so that they don’t bunch together. Once the herbs are frozen, you can place them in a bag or airtight container and store them in the freezer for later use. Freezing works well with basil, chervil, chives, cilantro, dill, lemon balm, parsley, hot peppers, sorrel, sweet cicely, and tarragon.
The third way to preserve herbs is by alternating layers of fresh herbs between salt so you can use the flavored salt to season your foods. When completely dry separate the brown herb from the flavored salt and store it in an airtight container. Alternatively you can also choose to cover herbs like chopped mint, basil or tarragon with vinegar and they will be preserved for many months. . Salt draws moisture from herbs and at the same time absorbs some of their essential oils. Salting herbs works best with thin-leaved herbs such as savory, rosemary, marjoram, dill, tarragon, and thyme, but can also work well with most large-leaved herbs such as basil.
The alternative method of using herbs from a home herb garden is to pick fresh herbs right out of your garden to add to your favorite foods or meals. Add fresh basil to pasta sauce or rosemary to a chicken or lamb roast. Do take care when cleaning fresh herbs before they are added to recipes. To clean fresh herbs place them in a bowl filled with cool water or use the sink if you have a large quantity of herbs. Place about two tablespoons of salt in the water as the salt will tend to drive away insects without damaging the herb. Then remove the herbs from the water and dry them in a salad spinner or dab them with absorbent paper towels.
As you can see from reading this article, different types of herbs are used for a variety of purposes. Each different type of herb has their own list of instructions on how to grow, use and harvest them. Make sure you do your home work for the best way to harvest or preserve the specific type of herbs you are growing so you can maximize their wonderful aromatic and flavorful properties.
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