How to Harvest and Air-Dry Your Tea Garden Herbs

Gardening is a great way to connect with nature, learn about plants, remain active, reduce stress, and improve your diet. If you have a tea garden, you can control the quality of the tea, grow what you love, and save money. If you are wondering what to do with excess herbs after harvesting, you can air dry what you want to last longer. You can harvest and air-dry plants like Rosemary, thyme, chamomile (Spanish needle), mint, and sage.

Here are a few tips and reminders on correctly harvesting and drying the plants from your tea garden.

How to harvest and air-dry plants from your tea garden

Air drying and dehydrator are the best ways to dry herbs and retain their flavours. Air drying is easy and doesn’t require equipment.

1. Harvest in the morning after the dew evaporates from the plant before the sun and heat hit it.
2. Use clean shears to prevent disease pathogens from passing from one plant to another.
3. Wash the plant to remove dirt and bugs. Then, pat them dry to remove excess water.
4. Remove the lower leaves from the stems, leaving about an inch and a half bare stem at each sprig’s bottom.
5. Gather the bare stems in small bundles and tie them together with a fishing line or natural twine. Then, place the bundles on an herb drying rack or hang them on a clothing line to dry.
6. Since light can deplete some herbs of their flavour, it is best to dry them somewhere clean, dark, cool, and dry.
7. Herbs with tender leaves, like mint, can become infected with mould if there is too much moisture. So, check your herbs regularly and remove those starting to mould.

How to know when your herbs are dried

Most herbs take a week or longer to dry properly. When your herbs are thoroughly dried and ready to be stored, the stems will be brittle, easy to crack if bent, and crunchy. If the stems are flexible when pushed, moisture might still be in the herb. Allow them to dry thoroughly before preparing them for storage.

After drying, remove the leaves from the stems and place them in a labelled and dated jar. Try to keep the leaves whole until you are ready to use them. When using them in beverages or a dish, you can crumble them to release the flavours. Pack the jar to the brim, then close the lid to keep your herbs airtight.

Please use our Find Yello listings to find wholesalers, hardware stores, flower shops, and related businesses that offer products or services to make harvesting, drying, and storing your plants easier.

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Sources: Gardenary, The Herbal Academy, Gardening Know How, and Home Plant Remedies.