Herbs

From Antivist

I keep a fresh herb (and flower) garden in my basement. It takes up about two by four feet of space. When I add the herbs to the soups and stews, the fragrance of fresh herbs infuses our home, and feels so good, too, when eaten.

This is how I do it:

   * I have a four-foot shop light outfitted with cool white and warm white fluorescent tubes. I hang the shop light from a wooden frame. You could hang them from the ceiling joists, too. (You might want to staple a piece of plastic to the wood to keep debris from falling from the floor above onto the plants.)

   * The lights are plugged into a heavy-duty timer, set for 6am to 8pm.

   * I water once a week.

   * The six-inch wide round pots were saved from some geraniums I bought about four springs ago. (Each fall I take cuttings and have plants for the next spring).

   * I put a coffee filter in the bottom of each pot, so the soil does not run out the holes in the bottom of the pot and the water does.

   * I bake the soil in the oven in a large pan for an hour at 250 degrees. I add water to the soil mix before filling the pots.

   * I set the pots into a large (28-quart) shallow plastic bin.

The four-foot light will accommodate three bins, and each bin will hold six pots comfortably. The geranium colors provide a happy reminder of spring, fall, and summer.

The herbs that I plant are Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Basil, Parsley, Chives, Dill, and more. I get the herbs in my grocery's produce section for $2 a pot. Repotting them really helps them to grow and flourish.

Storage Techniques

Freezing-I love this method. Simply cut stems or leaves of the herbs, rinse, pat dry and freeze in resealable bags. The small ones work well or if you would like to cut whole sprigs use the large gallon size. Label and freeze-later pull out what you need and replace the unused portions. You can also freeze chopped herbs in ice cube trays with water. After they freeze remove them and store in bags. This is good for using in soups.

Drying-Cut whole branches of the herb plant and tie with string or rubber bands. Hang in a dry, clean place such as an enclosed shed or attic. You can place paper sacks over the herbs as well while they are hanging to avoid dust. When they are dry, crumble into a glass or plastic container and store in a dry, cool location. I have dried entire plants this way-if they are annuals-just pull up and dry. Peppers will dry nicely with this method too. You can also dry herbs by laying on clean screens until dry. If you harvest large leaf herbs such as lovage, comfrey or large leaf basil, remove the leaves and place on screens. If using this method, turn the herbs during the first few days. You can also dry in a very low temperature in the oven on cookie sheets. Watch carefully and turn often.

Herb Salts: I also make herb salt each year. In a 250 degree oven spread a layer of free running salt on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the chopped fresh herbs on top of the salt, and bake for 10-20 minutes, stirring and checking often. When they are dry enough to crumble, then let cool and crumble the herbs into the salt, stir and place in a jar. You can use this as a seasoning salt; especially good with vegetables! Herbs that work well are chives, oregano, thyme, lemon balm or lemon thyme, parsley rosemary or basil.

Microwave-You can dry herbs in your microwave, but it's slow and time consuming. However, it does work! Line the turntable with paper towels. Place the herb leaves on the table so they aren't touching. I microwave for one minute-check and then try 30 seconds at a time until they are dry to the touch. Some herbs take less time, some more. When dry, crumble into containers. I like this method for trying different tea combinations. Mint and lemon balms worked well. I dried and put equal amounts of both into a tea bag and sealed for using later, or you can store in small plastic bags.

Some herbs do not dry well, such as chives or fennel, but try freezing, or using the herb salt method. Below I have several recipes that will help you to use your herb harvest this season.

Drying herbs is very easy and requires little in the way of equipment. You'll need some brown paper lunch bags to keep dust off and preserve the colors, string or rubber bands and a coat hangar. Make small bunches of washed herbs (7 or 8 stems) and place them stem end up into paper bags. Use string or rubber bands to secure the bag around the stem end of the bunch, then hang (from the coat hangar) in a cool, dark place with a nice breeze for several weeks until dry. At the end of three weeks or so, use the herbs to make beautiful wreaths as gifts (get an early start on Christmas!) or strip the leaves off, crumble and store in ziplock plastic bags or small jars with tight fitting lids. By the way, this same technique is marvelous for drying bunches of flowers.