CATNIP (Nepeta cataria)

Labiatae (Lamiaceae; mint family)

Also known as Catmint, catnep, catrup, catwort, English catnip, field balm, nep, nip

DESCRIPTION

• Catnip, a hardy perennial that grows 0.6 to 1 m (2 to 3 feet) tall, is native from the eastern Mediterranean region to the western Himalayas, central Asia, southern Siberia, and China. Most cats love catnip and purr contentedly, tear delightedly, and roll in ecstasy on its crushed leaves. The generic name Nepeta comes from the Italian town Nepete, where catnip was once cultivated.

• Light green, scalloped, opposite leaves have heart-shaped bases, pointed tips, and velvety, grayish-white undersides. The edible leaves, which have a strong mint-like, warm, pungent, bitterish fragrance and flavor, grow in massed profusion before the plant flowers. After the blossoms appear, the leaves become more sparse.

• Catnip has erect, square, branching stems that are covered in soft hairs. The root becomes quite woody and branched with age. Each spring the root sends up an increasing number of new items, many of which are rather close together.

• Produces spikes of small whitish or pinkish, purple- or red-dotted flowers in midsummer.

• May be grown indoors for winter use.

• Catnip is an excellent honey plant.

CULTIVATION NOTES

• Catnip grows bushiest in well-drained, moderately rich soil, although it also grows well in dry, sandy soil. Add a light layer of compost to the top of the soil before planting. Recommended pH range is 4.9 to 7.5.

Culinary Herbs for Short-Season Gardeners

Thrives in partial shade, but can be grown in full sun.

• Grows easily from seed, which should be started indoors about 6 to 8 weeks before your last spring frost date. Sow seeds no more than 6 mm (¼ inch) deep. Seedlings usually emerge in 8 to 10 days.

• Space transplanted seedlings 30 cm (12 inches) apart.

• Can also be propagated by dividing the roots in the spring or fall, or from softwood or stem tip cuttings. Cuttings from young plants tend to root more quickly, often in just a week. Stem cuttings should be about 10 cm (4 inches) long. Grow rooted cuttings to about 15 cm (6 inches) in a moist medium before you transplant them to the garden.

• Catnip self-sows easily, so be prepared to remove unwanted plants. Weed as Required.

• For bushier plants, pinch flower buds as they appear.

• Usually pest-free, but susceptible to rust and root rot.

• Cats are the biggest problem confronting catnip gardeners. Give young plants a chance to get established by enclosing them in a sturdy chicken wire cage, which will protect them from enthusiastic felines. Cats are drawn to catnip only when the branches are broken or the leaves are bruised, thereby releasing the attractant chemicals, so if the plants aren’t damaged, cats will probably leave them alone.

• Overwinters outdoors up to zone 3.

• Indoor plants should be potted in moist, but not soggy soil that is supplemented with lime. Plants need at least 5 hours of direct sunlight daily. Prune as required, as plants are inclined to become scraggly.

HARVESTING NOTES

• Pick leaves for fresh use at any time throughout the summer, although the taste is milder if you pick the leaves before the plant flowers. Collect the leaves in the morning, after the dew has evaporated.

• To dry catnip, harvest complete stems, including the flowering head and the tender leaves. Cut stems about 5 cm (2 inches) from the ground, and hang upside down in a shady location. When dry, strip off the leaves, crumble them, and store in airtight jars out of the light.

CULINARY USES

• Catnip was a familiar herb in English kitchen gardens as far back as the 13th century. Catnip leaves were once used for rubbing meats before they were cooked, and were chopped and sprinkled into green salads. Snip a few leaves into your salads and see how you like it.

• Add fresh or dried leaves to soups, stews, and hearty sauces.

 

HARVESTING NOTES

• Pick leaves for fresh use at any time throughout the summer, although the taste is milder if you pick the leaves before the plant flowers. Collect the leaves in the morning, after the dew has evaporated.

• To dry catnip, harvest complete stems, including the flowering head and the tender leaves. Cut stems about 5 cm (2 inches) from the ground, and hang upside down in a shady location. When dry, strip off the leaves, crumble them, and store in airtight jars out of the light.

CULINARY USES

• Catnip was a familiar herb in English kitchen gardens as far back as the 13th century. Catnip leaves were once used for rubbing meats before they were cooked, and were chopped and sprinkled into green salads. Snip a few leaves into your salads and see how you like it.

• Add fresh or dried leaves to soups, stews, and hearty sauces. Make a refreshing, soothing cup of tea by pouring 250 mL (1 cup) of boiling water over

15 mL (3 teaspoons) of fresh leaves or 5 mL (1 teaspoon) of dried leaves. Alternatively, add dried catnip leaves, along with dried mint or dried lemon balm, to your favorite black tea.

CRAFT USES

• Sew cat toys and stuff them with uncrushed dry leaves for all your favorite felines.

MEDICINAL USES

• In traditional folk medicine, catnip was used to treat everything from cancer, insanity, nervousness, nightmares, scurvy, and tuberculosis, to colic, diarrhea, flatulence, hiccups, whooping cough, the common cold, measles, asthma, yellow fever, scarlet fever, smallpox, and jaundice. Catnip poultices were applied to hives, and to the sore breasts of nursing mothers.

• Catnip does have sedative qualities and is occasionally used in herbal medicine as a calmative and to treat insomnia.

• Catnip is not used in modern Western medicine.

CAUTIONS

• Catnip has some capacity to cause uterine contractions and stimulate menstruation, so you should avoid it if you are pregnant or suffering from menstrual disorders.

• While a cup of catnip tea is helpful if you don’t sleep well at night, the herb’s diuretic properties mean that your peaceful sleep may be disturbed by an urgent need to go to the bathroom.

• It has been said that catnip may be smoked like marijuana; however, there is no proof that this herb has the intoxicating effects of marijuana. Nevertheless, your suspicions may be justified if young people of your acquaintance seem unusually interested in your catnip plants.

• Bees like catnip, so make sure there are none in the flowers that you pick.

CULTIVARS AND RELATIVES

Here’s a cultivar you won’t have to fight over with your cats quite so much.

• Lemon catnip (N. cataria var. citriodora). Has an appealingly mild lemon aroma, which you may prefer over regular catnip Makes a delicious tea. When candied with egg white and sugar, the leaves make a refreshing after-dinner mint. In the belief that catnip roots made even the kindest person mean, early American hangmen used to eat the roots before executions to harden themselves for their work. While most cats are affected by catnip, not all felines are “nipaholics.” Apparently, a dominant gene is responsible for inheriting the euphoric response. It also appears that cats do not react in their customary delighted way to catnip until they are 3 months old.

Thyme (Thymum) Herb

Thyme was a symbol of life energy to the ancient Greeks, of spirit and bravery. "Tosmell of thyme" was an expression of praise, and athletes anointed their chests with thyme oils before games to promote courage. 

The herb's generic name Thymus, thus, is thought by some to derive from the Greek thymos meaning courage. Others think it derives from the Greek word thymiama that refers to a substance burnt as incense, and an incense burner is called a thymiaterion.

Thyme, crushed or as incense, was used for fumigating producing fragrant smoke offerings against evil and in sacrifice to the Gods. Virgil refers to the use of thyme as a fumigant in his Georgics and Pliny informs us that burning thyme puts all venomous creatures to flight. The antiseptic properties of thyme also were fully recognized, as well as its many other medicinal values. Blossoming thyme covered the hills of Hymettos as it still does today.

Ovid's "purple hills of flowering Hymettos" refers to the wild thyme blossoms, and the honey made in this area then, as now, was considered the best in the world. So special was the honey of Mount Hymettos to the ancients that the idea of sweetness was equated with thyme. (Mount Hymettos thyme is Thymus capitatus, an upright subshrub which is sometimes given its own genus as Coridothymus capitatus.)

Pliny remarks that Attic thyme was imported to Rome, but that it was difficult to grow in Italy partly because it required a sea breeze. All thyme, he adds, was once thought to require sea air; but there is a type that thrives now in the province of Gallia Narbonensis on stony plains.

The sweet smell of thyme also made it a popular component of the garland’s beloved to the ancients. In a fragment by the Greek dramatist Eubolus, a garland seller recommends a wreath of thyme, "for who would forbear to kiss a girl who's wearing this?

"Dionysius of Syracuse, famous for his lavish parties, strewed his palace with wild thyme before entertaining, partly because its pungent fragrance was considered aphrodisiac. These thymes were probably Thymus vulgaris or one of several species of creeping thymes native to the Mediterranean area. About 300 B.C. Theophrastus noted that abundant thyme blossoms indicated a large harvest for the beekeeper. If rained upon, the flowers were injured or even destroyed, but they thrived on a sea breeze.

Cultivated forms of thyme are indistinguishable, he adds, 'but the wild kind Attic thyme is said to have more than one form. Of the mountain thymes, one variety is like savory and very pungent, while the other is delicate and more fragrant. 

In his Concerning Odors Theophrastus also mentions the use of tufted thyme flowers in perfume. Thyme appears in Hippocrates' materia medica as a healing herb, and in Dioscorides'herbal "thymos (Thymus capitatus) is known by all." Dioscorides recommends it for stomach complaints, asthma, worms, phlegm, and for dissolving blood clots.

He also lists another thyme called serpyllos because it creeps, saying that it is the garden kind and is used for making garlands. A related variety he describes as wild and upright, growing on rocks, sweet-smelling, sharp-tasting, and better for medicinal uses than garden thyme. Pliny too catalogs several kinds of thyme. His thymus, or garden thyme, seems to be Thymus vulgaris, although he discusses Attic thyme as well as wild creeping thyme that he calls serpyllum, used for medicines and garlands.

Pliny's list contains twenty-eight disorders which thyme remedies, generally paralleling that of Dioscorides. Plinyadds that thyme taken in vinegar and honey cure hypochondria, mental aberrations, and melancholy. Epileptics are revived by its smell and should sleep on beds of soft thyme (probably Thymus vulgaris). Wild thyme drives snakes away.

Aristophanes praised a drink made from figs and thyme. Virgil was among those Romans who thought that thyme was an invigorating food, and we know that it was used as a salad green and to flavor cheeses. Apicius included thyme in moretum, a mixture variously described as a salad, a stew, and a cheese.

It may have been a blend of herbs used as a bouquet garni. In the Deipnosophists, Athenaeus quotes a fragment from Callimachus who wrote: "I should like to satiate myself with thyme. "Identifying the thymes of the ancient Greeks and Romans is made more difficult using the word serpyllum for creeping thymes by Varro, Pliny, Virgil, Dioscorides, and other classical writers.

The Thymus serpyllum we know today is not native to Italy but rather to northern Europe. T. serpyllum is the name given by Linnaeus in the eighteenth century to a northern species of creeping thyme of which he was aware. Classical references to serpyllum, thus, are either to Thymus vulgaris, which does layer itself as a mature plant or to one or more of the complexes of small creeping thymes native to Italy, specifically, T. glabrescens, T. longicaulis, and T. praecox.

Thymus vulgaris is a semi-prostrate subshrub with a woody, fibrous root and numerous hard branched stems. Small, linear, elliptical leaves are set in pairs. Thymus capitatusis a small upright shrub with vertical branches. It has narrower, linear leaves clearly arranged in two ranks that make a cross when seen from above.

 Also Read: Harvesting Drying and Storage of Herbs / Spinach: How to Grow the World’s Healthiest Foods / Basil – It’s Not as Difficult as You Think

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BETONY WOOD — (Betonica OJicinalis.)

The common Betony Wood had many leaves rising from the root. Which are somewhat broad and round at the end? It is roundly dented about the edges, standing upon long foot stalks, from among which rise up small, square, slender, but upright hairy stalks. There is with some leaves thereon, to a piece at the joints, smaller than the lower. Whereof are set more than a few spiked heads of flowers like lavender. Hence it is thicker and shorter for the most part, and of a reddish and purple color, spotted with white spots both in the upper and lower part.

Also, the seeds being contained in the husks that hold the flowers are blackish, somewhat long and uneven. The roots are a lot of white thread strings; the stalk perished, but the roots with some leaves thereon, abide all the winter. The whole plant is somewhat small.

It growth is normally in woods and delighted, in shady places.  It flowers comes in July, after when the seed is swiftly ripped, yet in its prime in May. The herb is appropriated to the planet Jupiter, and the sign Aries. Antonius Mum, physician to the Emperor Agustus Ctesar, wrote a peculiar book of the Virtues of this herb.

Use of Betony Wood

It is among other virtue said of it, that it preserved the liver and body of man from the danger of epidemical diseases. It also helps in from witchcraft also and supports those that loathe or cannot digest their meal. Moreover, those who have weak stomachs or sour belching and continual rising in their stomach using it closely either green or dry. Either the herb or root, or the flowers in broth, drink, or meat, or made into conserve syrup, water, electuary, or powder. As everyone may beat frame themselves unto, or as the time or season required; taken any of the aforesaid ways.

It supports in the jaundice, falling sickness, the palsy, convulsions, shrinking of the sinews, the gout, and those that are inclined to dropsy, those that have continual pains in their heads, although it turn to frenzy. The powder mixed with pure honey is no less available for all sorts of coughs or colds, wheezing, or shortness of breath, distillations of thin rheum’s upon the lungs, which caused consumptions.

The decoction made with mead and a little pennyroyal. It is good for those that are troubled with putrid agues, whether quotidian, tertian, or quartan and to draw down and evacuate the blood and humors. That by falling into the eyes, do hinder the sight. The decoction thereof made in wine, and taken, killed the worms in the belly, opened obstructions both of the spleen and liver. It cured stitches and pains in the back or sides.

The torments and griping pains of the bowels and the wind cholic, and mixed with honey purged the belly. It helped to bring down women’s courses, and is of special use for those that are troubled with the falling down of the mother. The pains thereof, and caused an easy and speedy delivery of women in child-birth. It helped also to break and expels the stone, either in the bladder or kidneys. The decoction with wine gargled in the mouth eased the toothache.

It is suggested against the stinging or biting of venomous serpents, or mad dogs, being used inwardly and applied outwardly to the place. A dram of the powder of betony, taken with a little honey in some vinegar, doth magnificently refresh those that are over wearied by travel. It stayed bleeding at the mouth and nose, and helps those that evacuate blood, and those that are bursten or have a rupture, and is good for such as are bruised by any fall or otherwise.

Moreover, the green herb bruised, or the juice affect to any inward hurt, or outward green wound in the head or body. It will speedily heal and close it up: as also any veins or sinews that are cut; and will draw forth a broken bone or splinter, thorn or other things got into. It is no less profitable for old and filthy ulcers; yes, though they are fistulous and hollow. But some do advice to put a little salt to this purpose, being applied with a little hog’s lard. Further, it helped a plague or sore and other bile’s and pushes.

Betony Wood fume of the decoction while it is warm received by a funnel into the ears, eased the pains of them, destroys the worms, and cured the running sores in them: the juice dropped into them doth the same. The root of Betony Wood is displeasing both to the stomach and taste.  Whereas, the leaves and flowers, are having their sweet and spicy taste, are comfortable both to meat and medicine.

These are some of the many virtues Antonius Musa, an expert physician, for it was not the practice of Octavius Caesar to keep fools about him appropriates to betony. It is a very precious herb that is certain, and most fitting to be kept in a man’s house. So, hence it is both in syrup, conserve, oil, ointment, and plaster. The flowers are usually conserved. 

Read More – Coriander or Coriandrum Sativum ! A Hardy Annual Herb

Cultivating Herbs

Since no self-respecting modern cookbook leaves herbs out of its recipes since courses in herbal medicine are springing up all over the place, and since cosmetics which rely on plants are taking the place of the synthetic beauty treatments what one might ask is a herb?

What is a Herb

Until recently the word has always conjured up pictures of food, which imposed an artificial limit on the range of plants. Now that herbal usage has been revived so much in other disciplines, the definition has expanded to include plants usually grown nowadays for garden ornament, such as the Christmas rose (Helleborus niger), marigold (Calendula) and the Florentine iris; plants which were regarded as weeds, such as tansy, comfrey, yarrow and herb Robert but are being treated with respect as their usefulness for all sorts of reasons is realized again; and plants which supply dyes, cosmetics, insect repellents and fragrances.

Strictly speaking a herb is any perennial plant who’s soft or succulent stems die down to ground level every year, but many herbs are shrubs and trees, such as hyssop, the sweet bay and rosemary. A modern definition of a herb could be any plant, generally aromatic or fragrant, whose parts whether leaf, flower, seed or root are of use in food flavoring medicine, household and cosmetics. 

Herbs were, first and foremost grown primarily for healing and flavoring and as such, were grown in a place reserved for them, whether it was part of a monastery garden, or part of the vegetable patch of peasant or yeoman farmer. As times passed, inevitably, people began to arrange their herbs in patterns when they planted them, until eventually the herb patch became ornamental, and was a garden in its own right. The physic gardens of the monasteries were mostly formal, with rectangular or square beds, but the gardens attached to private homes were developed from these simple plans into intricate designs of curved beds edged with dwarf hedges of box, southernwood or lavender.

Propagation of Herbs

Since herb is an umbrella word covering all types of plant, it follows they can be propagated by most of the methods used for plant increase, but there are two commonly used; seed and division. A third sometimes used is cuttings, mainly for the shrubs or trees. Most of the herbs wich can be grown from seed are hardy and can be sown outdoors in temperate climates; some examples are dill, coriander, savory purslane and lovage. Spring is generally the season in which to sow, but some germinate better if sown in late summer or early autumn, that is, as soon as the parent plants have flowered and set seed, and the seed has ripened. The seed of such plants loses its viability ability to germinate more quickly, so that a spring sowing is likely to result in fewer seedlings. Some seed should not be covered with soil because it needs light to germinate, some needs an acid reacting soil, and some needs a period of cold between harvest and sowing. But most herb seeds germinate like weeds not surprisingly.

Division is a 2^nd method which is perhaps more certain, provided the separated sections each have some root and some buds or potential shoots. It can be done in spring or autumn when the soil is moist, but not waterlogged or dry, and if it is still warm from summer, or beginning to warm up as the spring sun appears. Divided plants will take hold of the soil and grow new roots more quickly if they’re replanted so quickly that the plant hardly knows it has been out of the ground. By doing this its vitality is not completely stopped, it somehow goes on flowing, and the plant, as it were simply gulps a little, and gets on with expanding. 

Nurseries and Garden Centers

Division is all very well, but you must first catch your plant, and in order to do this, it means applying to nurseries or garden centers. Local outlets of this kind will have a choice of all sorts of garden plants and nowadays, a separate area is often reserved specially for herbs. Some garden centers make a point of having a particularly good collection of herbs and if they do it will have well-grown plants considerable variety and correct naming. If there is such an outlet in the neighborhood, it will be a more satisfactory source than a mail order nursery because you can see what you are buying, you can check that it is the plant was named on the label, and you can make sure of getting a strong healthy specimen free from pest or disease. 

Furthermore the herb can be planted without disturbance to the roots almost immediately after buying, whereas those sent through the post may spend many days travelling in inadequate packing having been dug up or removed from a container. Even plants which were well grown and vigorous to start with, are unlikely to do well after such treatment, and unfortunately the mail-order nurseries have no control over postal treatment or delays. As far as cost is concerned there is little difference between the two sources since the cost of postage I offset by the extra cost of the container plants from a garden center. 

But it must be said, that even with the best garden centers, the range of herbs is not great, and consists mostly of the culinary type. For the widest selection, it is better to apply to a specialist herb nursery of which there are now a good many. If there is a local one, then that is far and away the best place to go, otherwise there is avoiding a postal order. A specialist nursery has the advantage that it can advise may be available on the various ways of using it. Some nurseries run short courses on cultivation, cooking with herbs, perfumery and other uses. 

As with any plant, when buying it look for a specimen which is undamaged and healthy, and with plenty of potential growth in the form of small new shoots and buds. Avoid those with broken or hanging stems, wilting leaves, dry compost, and any pest or leaf discoloration at all and preferably buy a plant not yet flowering, though the buds may already be visible.  Tall lanky plants in small pots are not likely to be good buy. Be very careful if the herb has flowered and started to set seed, because if it is an annual, or a biennial, it will shortly die in the natural course of events. This is why it is worth finding out in advance what type of herb it is. 

The correct naming of herbs is a third aspect which unfortunately is not yet as good as it should be. Mail-order plants that turn out not to be the ones ordered are tiresome enough, but when they are labelled as the plant ordered, and are not that plant, it is particularly irritating. Herbs to keep an eye on are the marjoram’s, of which there are at least three different kinds tarragon, dill and fennel, which hybridize very easily, garden mint which is often a cross with horse-mint or may even be that species, lovage which can look like ground elder while young, and French sorrel which is invariably confused with the inferior tasting English sorrel. 

Besides mail-order herb nurseries, there are also seed firms supplying nothing but herbs and wild plants. These will be much less expensive on postage charges and are more likely to be true to name. For success in growing from seed, there is a book entitled, seed Growers Guide to Herbs and Wild Flowers by Helen McEwan available from Seed bank), which has detailed instructions on seed germination and seedling cultivation for herbs together with information on their eggs. 

Many specialist herb nurseries are planned so that the visitor can inspect the plants and their condition at close range. Each herb is labelled with both its botanical and common name. The leaf pattern of fennel is similar to that of dill. When buying a fennel plant, check that it is true fennel. Well (Foeniculum Vulgare), which has a strong anise flavor. Coriander is easily grown from seed but should be planted outdoors and not in a confined space. Until the seeds ripen, it has a strong and disagreeable odour. French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) is one of the most distinctive and delicious culinary herbs. Its close relation, Russian tarragon (Artemisia dracunculoides) has a greatly inferior flavor and should not be substituted in the garden or the kitchen for true tarragon. Source: Charismaticplanet.com

Harvesting, Drying and Storage of Herbs

The oils which give herbs their delightful aromas and flavors are volatile, i. e they’ll readily escape from leaves, stems, seeds, or other parts once these have been injured, and will then be further reduced by evaporation. Moreover, any cuts bruises or other injuries to plants result in oxidation of the injured surface by the oxygen in the air, thus also changing the aroma and flavor. 

How Herbs are harvesting?

Well, one of the most important points to note in harvesting herbs for storage is to avoid injuring them as far as possible. Gather the part required gently, and the cut whole stems rather than single leaves or flowers; lay them in single layers on trays, racks, or in shallow wooden vegetable boxes, and take them into the storage area quickly, otherwise cover with dark cloth or paper. Try not to pile them up to any degree, as it does not take several minutes before even a small heap warms up, and starts the process of fermentation and decomposition. Try to keep each species separate in the tray, so that they do not contaminate each other, and pick only the quantity that can be dried in the drying area comfortably, without crowding. You need to pick herbs which are clean, free from pest or disease and not discolored or damaged in any way already. If they’re dirty, sponge them quickly and lightly with cool water and pat dry with kitchen paper.

When a Harvest Herbs?

 A second point to remember for maximum flavor and oil content is the time at which to harvest herbs: the time of day, the season, and the stage of growth. During the day, the morning is best, when the dew has evaporated so that the plants are dry, but before the sun is at its most intense, i.e. the early morning when the temperature is merely warm. Choice of season depends to some extent on the part and species to be harvested, but is mostly from early summer onwards. Leaves have their greatest oil content just before the flowers open; flowers are at their best when barely opened. Seeds are collected just as they ripen, and roots dug in early mid-autumn as growth ceases and when they contain the food manufactured through a complete growing season.  Well, so summer and autumn is considered see the the harvesting of some part of one herb or other every week, but there’re exceptions, and these’re well described. 

The leaves are the part required for the majority of culinary herbs, but the seeds often have highly individual flavors. The flowers contribute dyes in some cases as well as perfume; roots can be eaten as a vegetable, or contain the essential medicinal constituent, and there’re instances where the stems are the important part. Sometimes it is necessary to use the entire flowering plant, but whichever part is employed, is also best described. 

Herbs which are to work for their living and are not grown purely for garden decoration will be wanted for use all year round, not a difficulty in warm temperate and tropical climates. But there’re quite a number in cool temperate areas which either die down in autumn, for instance herbaceous perennials, are annuals or biennials which die completely at the end of summer. Those which are grown for their foliage and which retain it all year are not a problem, and there are some which come into leaf as early as late winter and continue until late autumn, and yet others whose top growth can be kept growing for most if not all the year with the help of a gently heated conservatory or greenhouse. But flowers and seeds are only available at certain seasons whatever the climate and roots can only be obtained at the expense of the top growth. Some form of preservation is necessary for several herbs whether it is drying or freezing, and the techniques involved from the harvest to final storage should be carefully followed for full conservation of the essential oils. France herbs are harvested and dried commercially, mostly for export when buying dried herbs. It is worth seeking out Provencal herbs since they’re more aromatic than those grown in northern regions. 

Drying Herbs

In order to dry the plants with minimum loss of volatile oils they need warmth, darkness and air. Temperature should ideally be between 21  and 33 C ( 70 to 90 F) Never above 36 C (96 F) that is always slightly below body temperature. Herbs dry at different rates and one has to keep an eye on them to prevent them drying too quickly. The time will vary from two to three days to a week, depending on the part and the species. An airy place is important, so that the moisture evaporating from the herbs can be dispersed quickly and darkness is essential to prevent oxidation of the material with consequent change in flavor and oil content. The domestic airing cupboard, an attic immediately under the roof in summer, provided it does not get too hot, an oven with a low temperature setting and the door ajar, a plate warming compartment an electric dryer for washing or an outhouse with a warm air fan, are suitable drying areas provided the temperature can be maintained between the limits noted.

Material should be spread out in single layers on trays or on slatted wooden racks covered with muslin or netting and the trays or frames placed in the drying area so that they have air circulating beneath as well as on top. The shallow wooden boxes with raised corners used fort tomatoes and other vegetables or fruits such as peaches or grapes are ideal as they can be stacked on top of each other and still allow for ventilation. 

Alternatively the stems roots or flowers can be tied in small bundles and hung, upside down in the case of stems and flowers from a clothes line, provided there is still good air circulation. The length of drying time varies from herb to herb and in general a good guide to completion of the process is in the state of plant material.  Leaves will be brittle and crisp, and will break easily into small pieces, but should not be reduced to a powdery state when touched. Stems should break sharply if they still have a tendency to bend, they need further drying. Roots must be brittle and dry right through any softness or sponginess means incomplete drying. 

Seeds are slightly tricky to harvest as the final ripening occurs very quickly and they fall off and are scattered round the parents. If a few seeds fall when the plants are tapped, then they are ready for collection. Change in color is also an indication of approaching maturity, and some also change their aroma. Seeds should be dried without any artificial heat in an airy place. The almost ripe seed heads can be hung up in paper bags so that the majority of the seeds will fall into the bag as they mature. Seeds need to be thoroughly dried before storage and this can take up to two weeks. 

Some Quick Drying Methods

Some herbs can be dried in the oven in a matter of three to six hours. The oven temperature should be no more than 36 c and for sensitive herbs such as basil and chervil it should never exceed 30 c. Herbs should be placed on perforated sheets of brown paper and the oven door should be left ajar to allow moisture to escape. Check the drying herbs regularly to see that they are not overheating. Microwave ovens have also have used for herb drying. Herbs with small leaves such as rosemary and thyme take about one min while larger moist leaves like mint and basil dry in about three minutes.

Storing Dried Herbs

It is often advised that dried leaves be broken into tiny pieces before storage, but even this can deplete the content of volatile oils, and it is better to store dried material as whole leaves, or in as large pieces as possible until the time of use. Before storing, remove all the unwanted material, chaff from seeds, loose pieces of stem; use a fine-mesh sieve if necessary. If leaves have to be reduced to tea leaf size at once for making herbal teas such as chamomile or peppermint a coffee-bean grinder or the grinder attachment to an electric mixer, or just crushing them with a rolling pin, will do the job.

Dried material must be stored in the dark, so containers which exclude light completely are ideal; dark brown bottles or jars are suitable and it is worth keeping medicine bottles, and other dark colored jars which are right for size and coloring. They must also be airtight, and containers should be filled completely initially, and plain paper used to fill the space that appears in the container as the herbs are used. The herbs should not kept longer than six months or so, as even with all these precautions, they will lose most of their potency, and will begin to smell hay like after this time.

Store each herbs in a separate container, unless they are to make up, for instance, mixed herbs, houquet garni, or your own favorite mixtures for marinades or fines herbs. Label the containers at once and put the date on them. If light excluding containers cannot be found, paint the containers you do have black, or cover them with black paper, or keep the boxes or bottles in the dark, in a drawer or cupboard. 

Freezing Herbs

The modern alternative to drying if there’s a deep freeze available is to freeze the herbs in a variety of ways. This has the advantage that they can be done as soon as picked and the rapidity of the freezing also ensures better retention of the flavor or aroma, but it does only apply to leaves, flowers and soft stems. Sprigs of the herbs to be frozen can be put in small loose bundles in polythene bags immediately they’re cut and before they wilt. They should be labelled, the bags sealed and put straight into the freezer and there is no need to blanch them first. If they’re to be used as mixtures, as suggested earlier, they can be frozen already made up for convenience, and all can go into the casserole, marinade or other dish without thawing. Alternatively they can be chopped up while still frozen, and then used, although such herbs are not suitable for garnishing as they will have lost their crisp, fresh appearance. But herbs can be chopped up fresh and then frozen, if preferred in water contained in the ice cube making tray. Cubes can then be used separately as required, and these can also be put straight into the dish concerned. Single whole leaves or flowers can be frozen in each cube, and the cubes added to winter wine punches and cordials for decoration and flavoring. 

Source: Charismatic Planet