Drying herbs

As I write this, we have a dreary 'summer's' day yet again. So a better day for writing about this than putting it into action. I dry a lot of herbs every growing season to use when they are not available. An added bonus is that the house smells so delicious!

🌱When is the best time to harvest? Aerial parts are best picked on a warm sunny morning just after the dew leaves them. They are also usually more potent medicinally when they are picked before flowering, the exceptions being herbs like calendula and elderflower, berries from some plants or things like roots where you would typically wait until autumn to harvest. Expect to be most active harvesting in late spring and early summer.

🌱Where is the best place to harvest from? Uncontaminated and unsprayed areas like clean riverbanks, quiet paddocks (with the owner's permission) and roadsides away from traffic, and your home garden.

🌱Where is it best to dry them? On racks or in bunches or in a dehydrator (under 46 degrees Celsius), turning regularly to make sure they dry evenly. A dry room with enough airflow and low light is great and helps avoid mould.

🌱Where is it better to store them? In sealed jars or, if it's a large volume, in sealed plastic storage containers, out of light in a cool dry room to conserve the medicinal constituents.

🌱What can I use them for? I collect mine to use in herbal teas, for topical applications like dried powdered yarrow for wounds, in soaps, salves and creams, in tinctures for myself and my family.

🌱What are some good ideas of herbs to collect and dry? Elderflowers in late spring, elderberries in early autumn; yarrow, mullein, raspberry leaf, plantain, and peppermint leaves; valerian and dandelion root in autumn. There is a massive list, it depends on what you like to use for yourself and your family.

Pic is of one of my calendula patches that I harvested from yesterday. I swear they smell like sunshine!