Drying Organically Grown Herbs

It’s that time of year here in South Australia when I’m drying annuals to last through the winter. With only a few weeks left of summer it’s the perfect time to be drying herbs.

I picked a large bunch of golden oregano about a week ago. All I do is bunch it all together like a bunch of flowers and wrap a rubber band around the base of the stems. Then I hang it up-side-down by the rubber band in my kitchen for a few weeks to dry.

Once it has hung for a few weeks I cover the bunch with an old plastic shopping bag. Just cut a hole in the bottom of the plastic bag, big enough for the rubber band end to poke through. Then I hang it in the pantry, ready to use, and the bag prevents any dust settling on the bunch. Don’t tie the bag handles – your oregano might go mouldy.

With basil it’s best to cut branches before it starts to flower, but I still use the leaves from flowering branches. I just rinse everything I’ve picked, shake off as much water as possible and lay it on a clean tea-towel to dry, an dab it with a second tea-towel to help soak up any moisture. Then it’s just a matter of picking off the individual leaves, placing them on a flat surface – only one layer thick. They loose quite a lot of volume with the drying process, so start with as much as you can. Oh, and don’t break up your leaves. Breaking the leaves makes them loose oils, so leave that until you’re ready to cook.

I’m also drying some of our tomatoes, seeing as we had so many. I’m sun-drying them in a an old fish aquarium that I disinfected. Use smaller tomatoes (I’m drying our Tommy Toes) and bring them in at night, or at least under a veranda. Mine take about a week to dry with the temperatures we’ve been having lately. Mostly around 30C. Just cut them in half, cut side up and place on a cake rack so that the air can get around them. Don’t use a glass lid. You need a ventilated lid. Sun-dried, organic tomatoes – yum!

Happy Organic Gardening,

Julie

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