Although many people grow herbs only for their beautiful flowers and aromatic fragrance, there are many reasons to harvest them for the purpose they were meant to be grown for. Medicines and seasonings are two that are useful at home and there is a market for. Proper preservation techniques are required to get the most out of your harvest. Drying garden herbs by traditional methods such as bag, tray and air drying are the most popular but new methods such as using a microwave are being used by more people.



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 your plant into a small paper bag with the (now removed) flower end inside and the stalks sticking out an inch or two from the bag. Tie the bag around the stalks, then place upside down. That means upside down from the point of view of the plant, so what you do is put the bag on its base with stems up. Oil from stems will move via capillary action into the leaves, where they will be saturated with aroma or flavor.

Within a week or two the brittle leaves will be easy to crumble, although the air needs to be moderately dry. Try not to break them at this point. Instead, seperate them and store them in an airtight jar. When you are ready to use them you can put them into potpourri or even crumble them to use as seasoning.

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 are trying to work within a certain time frame, using the microwave is an option when drying herbs. You will want to put the herbs on either a paper plate or a paper towel first. A microwave-safe plate will not help absorption as well. Try setting the microwave at medium power for just a couple of minutes. 2-3 minutes is normally the correct timing, but depending on the type and amount of herb this could vary.

Check relative dryness by rubbing a leaf between your forefinger and thumb. The leaf ought to be brittle, crumbling with little pressure. If not, try it again at half-minute intervals until you have found the right dryness for your intentions.

Drying garden herbs in a microwave is not always the easiest or best thing to do. Sometimes instead of drying out the herbs, the heat settings on your microwave may cause you to cook the herbs instead. When the moisture has been dried out of the herbs, the microwave oven still runs. This may damaged your microwave. Microwaves work by shaking up water molecules in foods and this causes them to heat up and dry out. You may want to experiment with different settings on your microwaves to see what works best with your unit; however, you may want to try a different method of drying.