Herbs & Jars ♥

It has just been a fun, mad dash to harvest and dry herbs around here before they begin to go to seed. I've been researching in the middle of projects and cluttering my bedroom floor with crispy leaves and scrapbook paper. Kind of a rushed way to learn things about each herb, but there will be time. For now, I have simply been looking for the right methods for each plant to be dried. They all take different lengths of time and some need special attention before they're ready... 

About a week ago, I rigged up this little line from the rung of a ladder to the spindle of a chair in one corner. Pinned in experimental clumps were lemon balm, cinnamon basil, globe basil, sage, chives, parsley, catnip, and oregano- respectively. I knew those mini clothes pins I picked up at Hobby Lobby would come in handy. 

My room is the coldest in the winter, and the hottest in the summer. It's ideal for hanging herbs, and with the window open or the fan going, the air-flow is great. 

Lemon balm has been decidedly the fastest drying of all. It has been ready within three days, followed closely by catnip, actually. The slowest is definitely parsley along with oregano. 

Time to prepare some containers for these herbs once they are dried! This is the fun part. :D

Before

After

Yesterday, while the milk tank washed, I ran up to the weedy side-hill by the barn and collected wild yarrow flowers to add to this mix of drying vegetation. Just in time, too. We got quite a rain storm! I intend to do a lot of looking into of its use as a fever reducer.

And the day before, I picked a swathe of spearmint. It's been growing wild along the creek banks both at the barn and by the pond ever since I can remember. I sort of associate the scent with frogs now, due to my childhood romps through the mud with siblings on amphibian-catching adventures. 

The spearmint was dry within two days. 

At present, I've moved dill, sage, lemon balm, catnip, spearmint, and some basil to their individual jars. 

The aroma in my room was really strange. Plants that were half way between living and dead, strong odors and sweet scents all blended together (plus remember the frog-related smell)... it was a different atmosphere. XD

Sage came out so nicely. It's a different look from most of the other leaves...

Globe basil can probably be allowed to grow a bit bigger before I pick more. Its size certainly doesn't lessen its strong smell, though! 

I had an eager little helper. ;)

While processing the catnip, I had my cat Emily mosey on over. She inhaled my fingers with deep interest and affection. :P

And lastly, cinnamon basil. Very pretty purple flowers... the odd thing about it is that it tastes like anise. I've been calling it my licorice basil.

 Ahhh... everything is coming together.
On the subject of gardening, the snapdragons in the barn garden are so glorious, and new color shades and combinations develop each year. My favorite summer-autumn flower. ^_^

I asked God to bless the garden as the dirt was worked, the seeds panted, and the weeds pulled. Throughout the obstacles of torrential rain storms that should have washed the seeds away, thieving bunnies, and swarming slugs, it truly has survived all odds. Everything prospers and I am so happy.
And look! I attempted rosemary twice, both times with failure. And now a tiny sprig has appeared nowhere near where I planted it. Mysterious ways. ;)

 Thank You, Father. 

Lemon Balm

 

Lemon balm is believed to be most useful in the areas of helping digestive problems, relieving pain, and aiding mental disorders, and is also very handy for soothing anxiety and restlessness. 

When applied to the skin, lemon balm can heal cold sores and sooth insect bites. It's also a mosquito repellent.  

I decided to try and make a lemon balm tincture. I'm not using vodka or any other kind of alcohol (obviously), so I tried the apple cider vinegar method. ACV isn't going to make as potent and useful a concoction as other versions would, but it can be used for salad dressing, hair rinse, and herbal baths. And the healing and calming benefits still reside.

--Lemon Balm Apple Cider Vinegar Tincture--

I picked several stalks of the herb from my garden, generally selecting the largest ones from the perimeter of the patch. It grows like crazy and will keep expanding and filling out. 

Brush off any dirt with a dry paper towel... I was reluctant to rinse them and lose any of the oils, but you can do that if you want. 

Strip off all your leaves and chop them up. Load them into a sterile jar- press lightly, but don't pack them down.

Pour in your vinegar (you could also use red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, etc, just not white vinegar) so that it just covers the lemon balm. You can warm the vinegar slightly before hand to help steep the leaves, but room temperature will suffice.

Shake the mixture well and store in a cool, dark area for four weeks, shaking well twice a day. After this period, strain your leaves from the liquid using a cheesecloth or muslin. Shelf life should last between one and two years if stored properly.

I'll let you all know what I use it for and how it goes once I've completed the process myself. :)

--Dried Lemon Balm--

I picked three little bundles of lemon balm and bound them with rubber bands, hanging them in the open air for three days. 

If they had been a little bit dryer, I would have been able to crumble them in the wax paper, bit as it was, they were just stiff enough for me to pluck from the stems and still have the entire leaves. 

So, these dried leaves I will keep in a jar for tea when the season for fresh lemon balm has passed into Autumn. I think I'll dry a bunch of the wild spearmint that grows  by our creek, too, because that would mix well with the lemon. 

...But so long as there is still fresh lemon balm, it makes a wonderful tea, mixed with raw honey. 

For best results, crush the leaves with a spoon before adding hot water.

And look! My bee balm is back, tall and glorious. ^_^

Drying Dill -- Results

Approximately two weeks later, after processing the dill for drying, here are my results!

I took the three little bundles out of their paper bags and rubbed all the dried pieces off onto wax paper. A couple little long bits had to be picked out. It looks and smells wonderful! Still lush green, and perfect. I have four more bundles drying now, and hopefully will get all the dill in the garden dried before it's too big and goes to seed... which means I'd better hurry!