The Home Herb Garden-How To Use Your Herbs

If you have already planted your herbs, you will have watched them sprout and flourish. They are extremely useful in so many 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. On very wet days, herbs make very little of their oils. Harvest the herbs just after the dew has dried form the leaves right before the flowers open. Click here for more: home herb gardening

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. The plant will need a good amount of foliage to re-grow well. You should also inspect the plant for insects and damaged leaves before you harvest it. 

Essentially, there are three ways to store your herbs; freezing, drying and #pickling’ in vinegar or salt. For drying, you can bunch the stems of six to twelve together removing any unwanted leaves at the base. You can secure the bundle with string. Hang the bundle in a cool location away from sunlight. For individual leaves, place them on a drying rack. Don’t forget to turn them regularly so they can dry properly. Some people have turned to using appliances like dehydrators, ovens or microwaves to dry herbs as well although these are less satisfactory ways. For more visit our blog: Herb Gardening Blog

Freezing herbs is a fairy simple way to preserve herbs. Cut the herbs into ¼ inch pieces and place on a baking sheet lined 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 way to preserve herbs is through 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. When completely dry separate the brown herb from the flavored salt and store it in an airtight container. 

Of course, people often use herbs fresh right 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. Use a sink if there are a lot of herbs to prepare. Add about two tablespoons of salt to the water. This will keep the insects away and will not harm the plant. Then, take them out of the water and dry them in a salad spinner. 

Different types of herbs are used 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 Gardening