Hi readers! Today we are talking about harvesting those yummy smelling herbs you have been growing in your garden. Properly harvesting herbs gives both you and your plants some great benefits. Here in Mo's Garden we are in grow zone 8A-B. We grow many different herbs in the garden that need harvesting.
When should I harvest my herbs?
Each herb that you grow has its own preferred way of growing and its own way of being harvested. Depending on what you are growing harvesting garden herbs should be super easy.
Before thinking about harvesting make sure your plant has enough foliage to harvest. Here in Mo's garden we are growing the following herbs: ( click the drop-down arrow for full list )
Mo’s Garden Herbs
English Lavender
Wild lavender
Lemon Balm
Chocolate mint
Orange mint
Indian mint
Chinese motherwort
Basil
Purple Basil
Thyme
Italian Oregano
Greek Oregano
Hot’n’Spicy Oregano
Lemon Thyme
All of the herbs we grow in the garden can be cut pretty much the same way. There are multiple ways of cutting herbs for harvesting, so do what you feel is the most comfortable for you and your plants. Some gardeners prefer to cut just the leaves while others like to cut entire stems, side stems, single and multiple nodes at a time or over time. Tools and good old fingers all work the same in harvesting most herbs in the garden. Make sure any tool that you use has been cleaned and dried. Avoid cutting different plants with the same tool without washing in between each plant. By washing your tools before cutting a different species of plant will minimize or prevent cross contaminating pests from different plants as well as any other contaminates that can cause fungus or poor sealing of any area you are cutting during harvesting.
What happens to the area after cutting my plant?
If you are harvesting nodes on your plant, the stem will take a few days to heal. If you are cutting nodes off a plant make sure to cut just above the node below, leaving extra stem exposed to the air and light, can cause diseases, rotting, and plant death. Make sure that the leaves point outward this will promote outward grow. Cutting one node will make two new branches grow in its place, as well as maturing lower leaves and buds on your plant. Only cut what your plant can tolerate, cutting more than your plant can handle at one time will stunt growth or cause the plant to go into shock and risk dying or not growing to its full potential.
How should I dry my herbs?
Drying is super easy and can be successfully done multiple ways.
Dehydrate with dehydrator
- using a dehydrator is fairly easy and can be done at home. You can find dehydrators online and in select stores.
Dehydrate using air
- Dehydrating via the air can be done by bundling herbs hanging them upside down on a line. Using a mesh netting rack that hangs from a ceiling is another route
Drying herbs is the easiest part of growing herbs. You must determine what you want to use your herbs for before growing them so they don’t get waisted. Some people like growing herbs just to have a plant that smells good or looks appealing without realizing just how amazing flowers and herbs really are for health, skin, and well-being.
How should I store my herbs?
Storing herbs once they are dry is pretty straight forward. If you plan to store your herbs in containers you need to make absolute sure that your herbs have fully dried. Placing herbs that have not dried all the way will cause bacteria to grow on all of the herbs in the the container and they will no longer be suitable for use. Here in the