Tips for Harvesting Herbs
As you may be aware, some herbs are more potent when they are dried out or placed in oil suspensions. Therefore, if you plan on growing a home herb garden, it will also be of some help to know more about harvesting herbs. Even though different herbs will require different types of preparations, you can still keep some basic guidelines in mind. Depending on the amount of room you have available, and the herbs in question, you can easily create simple harvesting setups as well as more elaborate ones.
Consider a situation where you have an indoor garden that includes basil, oregano, and parsley. Chances are, you will often want to use the parsley and basil fresh. Under these circumstances, all you will really need to do is pick a few leaves from each plant and use them as you prepare your meals. That said, you should also pay attention to the size and age of the leaves in order to gain the best flavor. If you find that you have extra leaves, it may be of some benefit to dry them out and use them at a later date.
Individuals that love oregano can tell you that it has the best flavor after drying. Therefore, you will need to find some way to dry the leaves out regardless of the time of year. While many cultures simply dry herbs in the sun, you may not have enough light or heat at certain times of the year to take advantage of this method. On the other hand, you may find food dehydrators will be of some help. If you do some research, you can easily find an appliance that will not take up much room in your kitchen.
During the process of harvesting herbs, you may also want to think about preparing them for future use. Among other things, you may want to place lavender in with other aromatic herbs in order to make potpourri. Regardless of whether you store these herbs in sachets and plastic containers, they will be all ready for use whenever you need them. Once herbs are dried out, it will also be an ideal time to place edible ones in tea bags.
If you are planning to use herbs in oil suspensions, you will need to know which ones require fresh placement, as well as ones that need to be dried out or cooked first. Ideally, you should always make sure that the oils are prepared in rooms with the proper lighting and temperature requirements. While it may take a bit of extra work to produce quality oils, you will never regret making the effort. In some cases, good oils can last for years on end without spoiling.
As you learn more about growing your own herbs, you will most likely want to learn more about different harvesting methods. Ideally, you should do everything possible to ensure that you can preserve extra herbs for later use. No matter whether you choose oils, drying, or other types of preservation, you can always look forward to having plenty of herbs on hand for medicinal use, food flavoring, and household maintenance.
For more information on how to properly harvest and store herbs, and possibly make money if you have more than enough harvest for the season, check this out.
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