You have planted the herbs and watched them grow and flourish. Hopefully you will now know how very useful they can be in lots of different ways. But, using herbs from a home herb garden requires a little bit or work first.

The very first thing to do is to harvest them and getting the timing right is one of the most important things. The wind and the heat can disperse the essential oils of the herbs. You should choose a calm and dry morning during midsummer to harvest your herbs. Fewer oils are produced by the herb on extremely wet days. So wait for a few hours for the early morning dew to evaporate from the leaves and then pick them just before the flowers open. Click here for more: 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. Also you won’t necessarily need to use them immediately after picking. You can preserve them to use later.It is important that you leave at least two thirds of the plants foliage ant any time. This will help the herb to recover and re-grow. 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; drying, freezing, or preserving them in a medium like salt or vinegar. For drying, you can bunch the stems of six to twelve together removing any unwanted leaves at the base. Tie the bundle up with some gardening string. Hang the bundle in a cool location away from sunlight. 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 alternative for storing your herbs is via 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 make a flavored salt to preserve herbs by alternating layers of fresh herbs between salt. The salt will completely dry out the herb and all that is needed is to separate them and store in an airtight tub. 

You can, of course use your herbs fresh and straight 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. If there is a large quantity of herbs you can use the sink. Place about two tablespoons of salt in the water. The salt in the water will drive away insects without damaging the plant. Remove the herbs from the water and dry them in a salad spinner. 

There are many different kinds of herb for many different uses. Each different type of herb has their own list of instructions on how to use, harvest, and chop them. Make sure into research the specific type of herb you are using to use it correctly. Click here for more: Herb Garden Facts

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