The Home Herb Garden
You have planted the herbs and watched them grow and flourish. They are extremely useful in so many ways. However, you will also know that for a successful home herb garden, there is a bit of work needed.
In order to use the herbs you will need to harvest them first and timing is a huge factor. Did you know that the essential oils in the herbs can be leeched away by the wind and heat?. You should choose a calm and dry morning during midsummer to harvest your herbs. Fewer oils are produced by the herb on extremely wet days. So wait for a few hours for the early morning dew to evaporate from the leaves and then pick them just 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. This will help the herb to recover and re-grow. 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. Tie the bundle up with some gardening 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 gardeners use machines like ovens or dehydrators etc. to dry herbs, although this may not be as good. For more visit our blog: Herb Garden Blog
Freezing is a fairly easy method of presaervation. Place the ¼ inch cut herbs onto a baking tray covered with wax paper. When frozen store them in a freezer bag until they are needed.
The third way to preserve herbs is through a medium. Vinegar is very good for preserving prepared mint, basil or tarragon and will remain usable for many 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. To clean them correctly, place them in a bowl of clean cool water. Use a sink if there are a lot of herbs to prepare. Place about two tablespoons of salt in 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.
There are many different kinds of herb 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 Garden Guide
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