Growing and Drying Herbs

You probably already know there is nothing better tasting than a vegetable right out of the garden but did you know that there is a huge difference in taste with fresh herbs as well? When I started gardening I grew vegetables. I thought that is all I would ever grow but if you are familiar with gardening then you know that it is an addiction and one plant leads to another and another…

I started growing herbs somewhat by accident. I was attending a party and I wanted to make a dill dip that I found on the internet. I went to the grocery to purchase a couple of pieces of dill and I was shocked that they charged me like $5 for a couple of pieces! At that moment I knew I would never buy pieces of herbs again. It is less expensive to purchase a whole plant rather than the pieces. At least with the plant if I was successful, I could use it more than once! 

Here’s the deal, I am not much of a cook at all. I sure do love to eat and I think home cooked meals are the best so I decided to make an herb garden at my boyfriend’s house. That way we can have wonderful meals with our fresh herbs. Even if I never used the herbs, I really love the look of the plants themselves so it’s a win, win. 

You can grow herbs indoors or outdoors. Herbs like to be exposed to sunlight so if you grow them indoors make sure they are by a window. The more sun they get the better the flavor. Now I am not saying they need Florida full sun all day long but they would be very happy with morning sun for about 4 to 5 hours a day. Some of the most popular herbs people grow for their good home cooking are thyme, sage, basil. rosemary, mint, parsley, dill, cilantro, chives, and oregano. There are so many more you can grow. You can put them in containers individually or group them in containers together. Just make sure the plants you put together require the same lighting and watering. 

Even though I love fresh herbs in cooking, I also prefer them dried when cooking certain foods. There are many ways you can do this. I use a food dehydrator because I usually have a large amount I would like to have done at one time. This takes about a day and a half. Other ways you can dry herbs:

• Hanging – hang them by a string out of the sunlight – 10 days
• Microwave – put on paper towel in one layer for one minute, rotate and then try 30 seconds at a time
• Oven – make sure you only dry the leaves this way – lowest temp – 3 days
• If you live in Florida, you might want to put them on your dashboard for 15 minutes on a hot summer day 

I do not crumble the herbs until I am ready to use them because I feel like they keep their flavor just a little bit longer that way.

If you have never grown your own herbs before, I encourage you to buy one plant and give it a try. Put that fresh herb on the food you prepare for dinner. Dry the herb and see the difference in flavor from your freshly dried herb compared to the dry herb you have from the store. There is a chance that the plant could die but believe me, the reward overweighs the risk!