Harvesting

While I think everything about growing herbs is a wonderful experience (well, maybe not the weeding!), harvesting is one my favorite things. It is, after all, the biggest reason to grow your herb garden.

Harvesting the herbs is very easy if you remember a few small guidelines. For one thing, you should never take more than 2/3 from a mature plant, and preferably less than that. It's tempting to take a bunch of the herb when it first begins to grow toward maturity, but limit yourself to a few leaves in the beginning. Taking too much from a young plant can kill it.

Use a pair of small gardening scissors to cut herbs. Make gentle cuts just above tender, new sprouts. If you make sure that there is still fresh growth, your herb plants will continue to flourish and give you a large crop. With some herbs, such as sage, cut back the thick, woody stalks first.

Cut back your herbs after the flower buds first appear, but before the flowers open. If you wait until the flowers bloom, the volatile oils and therefore most of the flavor are greatly reduced. On the other hand, if you harvest too early, the oils haven't fully developed. An exception to this "rule" is lavender, which should be harvested just after the delicate purple flowers have faded. Try to do your cutting in the morning after the dew is dry but before the sun gets hot.

Drying

Most people like to dry their herbs for later use. Drying them is extremely easy, even in humid climates. There's no need for large screens or elaborate set-ups; a ball of twine, some paper bags, and a place for hanging is all you need.

After you've harvested your herbs, rinse them thoroughly in a bath of lukewarm water. Gently swish them about in the water. You may need to gently coax stubborn dirt or sand off some of the leaves, or remove leaves with cocoons or egg sacks stuck beneath them. Look carefully for these kinds of things -- it certainly wouldn't be any fun to find a family of spiders living in a jar of carefully dried herbs!

Remove excess water from the herbs with a large towel. Fold the towel in half, and gently press the stalks between the folds. You can also place them in a dishdrainer, laying them carefully to prevent crowding. Gather several stalks together in a bundle. With a length of twine, tightly wrap the base of the bundle 3-4 times around, then tie securely, leaving a large loop for hanging purposes. You can then hang the bundles somewhere to dry. If you would like to keep dust off the herbs while they dry, put the herb bundles upside down into small paper bags. Gather the top of the bags around the tied base and secure with a rubber band, more twine, or even a long twist-tie.

Some people like to hang bagged herbs in a garage or spare room and open up the bags whenever they need some of the herbs. I prefer to clean the dried leaves from the stalks and store them in clean bottles, which I then label with the appropriate name. Herbs will keep best in bottles of darkly colored glass, such as those from powdered coffee creamer, but if they are stored in a dark place you can use any color bottle you have on hand.

As you can see, herbs are easy to work with from growth to use. A little planning and a modicum of care are all that is needed for you to have a delightful source for culinary, medicinal, and craft uses. Take a chance -- there's a bountiful harvest waiting for you!