I love the idea of fresh herbs. Having fresh herbs on hand is so much nicer than store bought stale herbs. I am growing so many herbs.
- Cilantro
- Chives
- Rosemary
- Oregano
- Flat Leaf Parsley
- Curly Parsley
- Lavender
- German Thyme
- Spearmint
- Peppermint
- Marjoram
- Basil
- Dill
- Chamomile
My herbs are growing faster than I can use them. Even after giving some away I still have quite a bit. I cut and collected any herbs that were going to seed and also any herbs that were growing to be unruly. Then I prepped them to go onto the dehydrator my mom so nicely lent me. This is easy work but can be time consuming. You cut the herb, then wash it and pat it dry. I pulled the leaves and flowers of the stems and placed them onto the dehydrator trays.
I dehydrated the herbs. This really didn't take very long at all. As you can imagine certain herbs dry faster than others. The dill only took a few hours however the mint leaves took several hours.
I found some cute herb mason jars with shaker lids to store my dried herbs in. I put the dried herbs into the jars and labeled them. Be careful not to crush the herb until you plan to use it. When the herb is crushed the flavor is released which is why store bought herbs tend to be stale because the manufacturer has crushed them for your added convenience. These herbs will keep for a year which is perfect because at this time next year we will do it all again. It is pretty amazing to think that I bought some inexpensive non-GMO seeds and grew the herbs. My herbs grew very easily and are low maintenance. My dill grew to about 4 feet tall and is now going to seed. I had previously used some as it was growing. After drying what I had left it filled an entire 4 oz jar. A half ounce of organic dried dill at the grocery store cost about $3.00. My jar of dill would've cost $24.00 at that rate. Luckily I only have to pay the cost of the seed which was a couple of dollars. It is definitely worth it to grow your own herbs as they are hardy and really don't require that much space.