Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Drying Herbs From The Garden

Over the weekend, David transplanted our herbs to a new location. We planted them last year in our main vegetable garden, but needed to move them to make way for our new raised beds and revamped garden plans this year. The herbs had grown really well and were starting to come back strong, so we decided to bring some of them inside to dry.


I've seen so many cute images on Pinterest of herbs hanging in kitchens, so I wanted to do the same with several bunches of thyme and oregano. I just tied the bunches together with kitchen twine and David made a garland of sorts to hang on the Hoosier cabinet. I love how it turned out!


To dry herbs, all you need to do is hang them upside down until they are completely dry then remove the leaves and store them in a container. My herbs were grown organically, came from my own back yard, and weren't dirty, so I didn't wash them before hand. If you do wash them, just be sure they are totally dry before bunching together. I've read that some people find it useful to put each herb bunch in a paper bag to catch any dry leaves that fall off but I've never tried that myself.

We saved some dried basil from our garden at our old house several years ago, and it is still good! So apparently dried herbs can last years if dried and stored properly. Dried herbs wouldn't necessarily go bad, but they may lose some flavor and potency over the years. But our basil is still going strong!

Have you ever dried your own herbs? What method do you use?

~Tammy

Shared with Home Sweet Home, Farmgirl FridayTuesday Muse, Backyard Farming Connection HopWhat To Do Weekends, Tweak It Tuesday

51 comments:

  1. looks cute and i bet it smells good, too!

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  2. How did the mature herbs go with the transplant? I lost a couple doing that over summer.

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  3. Oh that looks lovely, and I'd love to just stand there and breathe deeply!

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  4. Bet it smells great!!Surprised that you're already getting herbs in after the winter! Love your hoosier cabinet!

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  5. Tammy-cute! I love the old clothes pins and the twine!! I've dried herbs before in the same way-in bunches-but now I'm inspired by you to be more stylish next time:)

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  6. I love it when functionality looks so adorable! I bet it smell divine too.

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  7. I like the "antique" cloths pins. It looks like you are all set to cook something.

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  8. Beautiful! We dry our own herbs all the time, I hang them up in my kitchen window over the sink. It brings a nice fresh touch to the kitchen :)

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  9. Haven't tried drying herbs yet, but will do this summer. I CAN'T WAIT! Your pictures are making me jealous. My method will likely look very similar to yours.

    Looking forward to see your raised vegetable beds. Sadly I'm not sure we will get to that this year, but I'm planning a new spot in our garden for all of our lettuce and herbs right outside my door...out the door and down the deck, but whatever. :)

    Oh, I'm hosting an Outdoor Extravaganza link party with four other bloggers in May (I introduced it in today's post):

    http://inspiredlivinghome.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-polka-dot-party.html

    Maybe you will have some projects completed to share by then!

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  10. I used to dry the wild onions that grow in our field they are very hot and I have no idea how long they have been there we have been here 35 years. They seem to keep getting hotter every year. They dry pretty well and then I crush them and use to spice soups. I love the look of your little garland of herbs. B

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  11. Love your Hoosier cabinet, the garland looks so cute on it! I haven't dried any herbs yet, I'm planning on planting some this year tough.

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  12. Wow - nice decorating idea. I would've never thought of it.

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  13. That looks so homey! Wish I had some of that thyme about now.
    I'm gonna work on my herb garden just so I can hang mine up like that! ;0)

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  14. We usually hang them inside a paper bag. That has worked well for our parsley, basil and sage which we have been using for several years now! This year I am planting a lot more herbs so I am going to try using the dehydrator to dry large batches at a time.

    Your 2nd photo of the herbs against the cabinet is really nice!

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  15. Hi Tammy,

    I belong to an organic food co-op here in Washington state, not only for health reasons but also to support the local farming community. It's wonderful that you are doing so much of your own farming. I have grown and dried my own herbs.. They are delicious! I can also by them in bulk through the co-op. lavender is my favorite;)

    xxleslie

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  16. I dry herbs like that and use a small paper bag to catch the leaves. I also freeze basil in ice cubes and just drop them in soups in the winter, it's just like having Once you do you will not want store bought.

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  17. Love the look of the garland and I'll bet it does smell wonderful! I like Megan's idea of hanging them in the kitchen window over the sink too. I have dried oregano and thyme in the past by spreading it out on a cookie sheet and setting it in a warm room. It's so dry here that they are ready in no time! ;)

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  18. I use the exact same method!! :) Works like a charm. I use a beaver stick (from the marsh) and tie my herbs above my sink and just leave them there :) Best way I know!

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  19. Oh, I love your Hoosier cabinet! And your herb garland is the perfect accent for it.

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  20. An herb garland! Very cute, and very French county kitchen-ish! I love it, I can't wait for our herbs to come in, I'll have to try this!

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  21. I have used a dehydrator before, but your method is much more stylish. Love the old clothespins.

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  22. What a great idea and cute too! Love those clothespins how fun.

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  23. i really like that, so pretty...

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  24. Great idea and it looks very cute!

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  25. I haven't tried to dry my own, but it does look nice hanging. I also didn't know that dried herbs don't go bad (but could diminish in quality over time). That's a good to know.

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  26. i like that look too...i'll have to do that when summer comes to an end!

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  27. I love to dry out herbs and they make such fun decorations. Yours look adorable!

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  28. What a great idea and they look so cute! Fab pics.

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  29. Such a neat idea. I have never heard of this before. I love it!

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  30. I love drying our own herbs. I have a great dehydrator now since I dry so many....love the herb garland - so fun!

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  31. It looks lovely and I'll bet it smells divine!

    I use old wooden clothes drying racks that fold down when not in use to dry herbs. They were my Mom's so they are special. Enjoy your harvest! xoxo

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  32. I love dried herbs. Cute photos of yours.

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  33. That is a really cute way to dry your herbs! I can't wait to try it!

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  34. I dry mine by tying them together and hang them, when I'm adventurous. Last year I left them in baskets to dry and then picked them to put into herb bottles.

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  35. I hang mine in the kitchen window over the sink. I love seeing them when I walk into the room.

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  36. Hmm, I have some of those old clothespins. Great idea! Usually I just bunch 'em with a rubber band and hang them in the cupboard under our kitchen stairs.

    I LOVE your Hoosier!

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  37. Would make great framed pics in ta kitchen!!

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  38. I dry mine the same way -- I still have some sage hanging in the kitchen from last year. Doh! :)

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  39. Rustic and beautiful! I shall try that this year!

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  40. I love your dried herb hangings! What a wonderful idea.

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  41. I have never tried this, in fact.... this will be our first year to have a real garden. I should probably grow a few great smelling/fragrant herbs and dry them myself. xox

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  42. Love this simple but great idea of an herb garland while drying them.
    Mary Alice

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  43. This is a great idea!! I'm growing herbs this year and I love that I can dry them out for storage later! Thanks Tammy!

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  44. This looks so lovely on your cabinet!

    Jeanette @ Creating a Life (visiting from Tweak It Tuesday)

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  45. I love the look of herbs hanging in old French farmhouse kitchens. Just like this. Perfect!
    Kelly

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  46. That's how we dry our herbs also. Thanks for linking! Linda

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