harvesting, drying and freezing herbs

Okay, so you planted your herbs in early spring and have been a loving plant parent, faithfully watering your greens and of course enjoying some fresh sprigs of herbs here and there. It is now the beginning of July and your herbs are more than flourishing, rather unruly, acting as though they own the place. You then become a bit overwhelmed knowing you still have a long way to go before fall, but you can’t continue at this rate. The time is nigh! Let’s harvest some of those aromatic herbs and set your garden back to rights.

In this post I focused solely on dill, mint, and basil. I will be harvesting more soon, so keep watch for updates!

You may have a few questions at this point, so let me take a couple guesses…
1. How do you know it’s time to harvest? 2. Does harvesting mean my plant is done and it won’t grow any more this season? 3. Do I have to harvest?

-1. I chose to cut back my dill and mint because it was so tall and heavy it couldn’t stand on its own anymore. So I took that as a common sense sign to harvest and lighten the plant’s load. I have also heard that it is a good time to harvest herbs once they begin to flower.

-2. It is up to you if you want your plant to be done for the season or not. You can cut your plant back in a way where it will remain healthy and continue growing, so you can get a few more harvests out of it. You can also just lop it all off if you’re finding you do not have the time or desire to maintain your plants any longer. The choice is yours!

-3. No you do not have to harvest or cut your plants back! You can let them grow as big and wiley as you like. You can also set up supports and ties for your plants so they won’t fall (like mine did!) and let them keep ruling the ground.

To the garden!

As you see, my dill in the front and the basil behind it had fallen over. I cut the dill stems down 3/4’s leaving behind a few small growths so it could continue producing, and did the same for the basil. I cut the one leaning basil stem back but left behind two big leaves toward the bottom of the stem.

I cut only one stalk of my mint plant, not pictured, and brought my cuttings inside for freezing and dehydration prep. I did a little research about washing your herbs before drying and a lot of people recommended not to wash as it can make it less flavorful. I chose to rinse my herbs because they had fallen from a hard rain and had a lot of dirt on them. I would rather use more herbs if needed than to crunch down on some dirt.
Once rinsed I placed them out on paper towels and gave them a little shake to dry off as I set up my dehydrator.

There are a few different fresh herbs and roots I like to keep on hand in the freezer. Basil is really nice when making pasta sauce to be able to pull out of the freezer, because even though it has been frozen, it still adds more of a fresh punch than if you were to add dried basil. Dill works the same as well if you are cooking chicken or adding it to potato salad- can’t beat that freshness. Dried herbs last longer than the frozen though, so I like to have both on hand.

I set aside my freezer portion and labeled clearly. You may know what it is but there tends to be a lot of traffic in my freezer so having things clearly labeled helps all who explore the freezer to be more efficient, rather than trying to identify the mysteries the freezer can hold.

I have a Nesco Dehydrator, which I love. NESCO FD-79 Snackmaster Pro Digital Food Dehydrator for Snacks, Fruit, Beef Jerky, Meat, Vegetables & Herbs, Gray, 4 Trays. It comes with a handy book of recipes and instructions. The dehydrator also features instructions right on the lid to take out the guessing game and allows you to set your temperature very easily. For herbs and spices, the setting is 95 degrees F, and the book gave recommended times per herb individually. Since I was drying them all together, I ditched the book and just continued to check until I was satisfied with the dryness.

All my trays were full and it is for this reason that it took longer than the recommended time. I checked the progress after 3 hours and could tell they needed significantly more time. I looked again and rearranged the trays after another 4 hours. I left them over night and checked them first thing in the morning, rearranging the trays one more time. From start to finish- I put the herbs in at 3 pm and they were done 24 hours later.

I usually like to put my dried herbs in empty herb/spice containers that I save and recycle, but I didn’t have any on hand this time. Instead, I placed them in ziplock bags and took the air out. As spice containers become available, I will switch them out, but in the mean time it is convenient to crush the herbs in the baggies- less mess rather than crumpling them into the containers as you go. You can put them in whatever air tight container you choose such as a mason jar or Tupperware. I like the slim fit of the bags in my spice drawer while they wait for their proper containers.

I am going to primarily use the dried mint for tea, but another staple I have been using it for is a lemon, dill, mint-dressing. I will link a recipe soon.

Thanks for following along with my little herb journey. The dehydrator method is perfect for a quick small batch of drying since my 4 herb stalks used up all the trays. Stay tuned for next time, as I document my “bulk” herb drying approach and hope you join in the fun!
I love doing this at home, knowing exactly what I am getting. These are plants I grew from seeds to maturity –no pesticides– and now I get to reap the bountiful rewards of patience.

What herb harvesting methods do you enjoy?


*Update: Click the link to take you to my gardening page, Petit Garden, and find the bulk harvest method I used titled “Hang Drying Herbs”.