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Herbs are grown for many different reasons: culinary, medicinal, cosmetics, and aromatherapy. In most cases, you want to preserve them to make them most useful and for easy storage and this is done by drying. Drying garden herbs can be done by many different techniques such as the following: bag drying, tray drying, air drying and the most recent, microwave drying. Some herbs with beautiful flowers also have seeds that are useful. To preserve the seeds, start by letting the flowers dry on some paper. When they are dry, roll up the paper and empty the loose seeds into a container for storage. If you want to keep the herb leaves, a little more work is required. Isolate and lightly wash the stalk, then immerse it in water for several hours. This should eliminate any impurities that weren't removed in the initial rinse. Place them to dry on an absorbent towel. Place the plant in a small sized paper bag. The flower will now be gone, but place this end inside with the stalks showing about an inch to two inches out the top of the bag. Place a tie on the bag around the stalks, putting it upside down. Upside down meaning from the point of view of the plant. For example, the bag should be on it's base and the stems should be facing up. The leaves will become saturated with the flavor and the aroma when the oil in the stems moves using a capillary action. If the bags are kept in a fairly dry place, the leaves of the plants should be brittle within two weeks. Some may take less time, some more. Carefully take them out of the bag and take the leaves off of the plants and put them in an air tight container. This will preserve them until you are ready to use them for cooking or to put into potpourri. If you decide to use a tray for drying garden herbs only keep the leaf stems and leaves. Lay them flat on a tray without overlapping. Store them in a dark, well ventilated place free of moisture. Flip the leaves and stems everyday to ensure even drying. Your herbs should be dried within a few days with this method. If you're short on time, turn to your kitchen microwave for help. Absorption will be better if you place the herbs in the microwave on top of a paper towel or paper plate than a microwave-safe one. You can microwave for a few minutes on medium power. The variety and quantity of herb, in addition to your kind of microwave, will determine the time you need to cook, but 2 to 3 minutes is good for most uses. The dryness of the leaf can be easily checked by just placing it between your fingers and rubbing it gently. When the leaf easily crumbles, it is ready for use. If it is not ready, keep trying thirty seconds at a time until it reaches usability. Warning: drying garden herbs in the microwave is time sensitive. A microwave oven causes evaporation by causing the moving water molecules in food to heat. Once moisture is gone you won't be drying the plant, and what's more, it is possible to harm your microwave. You will cook the herb if you have the power too high or set the time for too long. It is necessary to try different things until you discover what works for you particular circumstances.
Article Source: http://www.health-fitness-for-all.com
You can learn more about planting and harvesting herbs as well as get information on drying garden herbs at basicherbgardeningtips.com/ where you will get basic tips for growing herbs both indoors and out.
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