Drying Herbs

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theoretikos

theoretikos

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Does anyone have tips on how to dry herbs? I have lots on the garden and don't want it to go to waste once the winter kills them off :)
 
I know this is a slightly old thread, but @theoretikos what herbs did you try to dry and how did they go? I have a bit of a mint forest in my garden and drying that is super easy, but I've not tried anything else.

For the mint I let it grow really long, picking off leaves for eating fresh, but leaving the stems. I don't harvest it until after it's flowered. Then I cut low (leaving a little bit of green stem for next year, rather than cutting into the woody bits) and tie it up in a giant bunch. And hang that from a high door knob or off the bannistersmor similar in my house. My house is quite cold, but rotating it a couple of times a week dries it in 7-10 days fine.
 
I chop, portion and freeze! OK, it's not drying, but it's way easier and ensures nothing goes to waste :)
 
Tiny said:
I chop, portion and freeze! OK, it's not drying, but it's way easier and ensures nothing goes to waste :)
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Are piggies okay to have herbs which have been frozen and then defrosted? I thought I read somewhere that they can't, but if they can that's great as I have a whole heap of frozen herbs for my other rodents! I'm great at finding heavily reduced (like 2-11p) herbs in Tesco, so tend to buy all that there is and whack them in the freezer, to slowly dish out over time.
 
Oh, I genuinely didn't realise this was for piggy consumption, I thought it was talking about not wasting them for humans! :))

In that case, I'd err on the side of NO, just as I've read to not give piggies frozen/defrosted veg so I'd presume the same advice applies.

Just to confirm, I've never fed my piggies frozen or defrosted food :)
 
I also was talking about drying them for human consumption so as not to waste them, i'd feed them fresh to piggies :nod:
 
@acapae I've had success either tying herbs into bunches and hanging them from window frames. Or I've put them into the plastic fruit crates from the super market and either popped a few bricks under to lift it off the ground and get some air flow. Or I've put the crates onto a freestanding metal shelving unit with mesh shelves rather than solid.
 
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