Important Home Herb Garden Secrets
You have planted the herbs in your home herb garden and watched them grow and flourish. They are extremely useful in so many ways. But, using herbs from a home herb garden requires a little bit of work first.
Proper season and timing is a very important factor in harvesting your own herbs. Herbs are best harvested during dry season because fewer oils are produced by the herbs during wet season.
In harvesting, inspect for those damaged leaves and insects penetrating the plant. You should also get only a part of the plant and not the entire of it if you plan to harvest the herb. Remember not to take more than one third of the foliage of the plant because they need a huge amount of foliage to re-grow well. Upon harvesting the herbs, it does not mean that you have to use them at once but you can preserve them, keep it in the refrigerator for future use.
Typically owner of a home herb garden know that there are three ways to preserve their herbs for later use; drying, freezing, or preserving them in a medium like salt or vinegar. In order to dry herbs you need to bundle six to twelve stems together and remove any foliage near the base of the stems. You can secure the bundle with string. The home herb garden enthusiasts protect the bundle in a cool location away from sunlight. If you are looking to dry individual leaves you can place them on a screen or a rack.
Remember to turn them often in order for them to dry properly. Some people who owning a home herb garden have turned to using appliances like dehydrators, ovens or microwaves to dry herbs as well although these are less satisfactory ways.
Freezing herbs is a fairy simple way to preserve herbs. Cut the herbs into inch pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Once the herbs are frozen, you can place them together in a bag and store them in the freezer until use.
The third way to preserve herbs in home herb gardens is through a medium. For instance, you can cover herbs like chopped mint, basil or tarragon with vinegar and it will be preserved for several 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.
If you are using the fresh herbs right away after it has been harvested, you should see to it that you wash it with a cool water and two tablespoons of salt because there is a possibility that insects are present in the herb and the salt will drive them away without damaging the plant. To dry the herb, remove it from the water and place them in a salad spinner.
Herbs have different types. They also have different uses, different proper ways on how to harvest them. Whatever herb you have in your own home herb garden, you should have the proper knowledge and background of it for them to be used and cared properly.
