Dry herbs for winter use

I recently harvested herbs from my garden. Herbs are an important staple in my kitchen. I add them to my evening tea or as added flavor to our meals. Here are some of my favorites.

Lemon balm is true to its name. This plant has a very strong lemon scent and provides a nice subtle lemon flavor. My plant grew about two foot tall this year. Since this is a tender perennial and will mostly likely not survive our winter, I typically harvest the entire plant. I add a couple leaves to many types of tea, including black and lavender.

Lavender is quickly becoming my favorite evening tea. I grow lots of lavender in my garden. The mild floral scent is heavenly and therapeutic. Studies have shown that just smelling lavender can reduce anxiety. Lavender is a perennial plant here and should survive a central Illinois winter. It does prefer a well-drained soil, however, and can die out in early spring if the roots stay wet too long. Since I’m leaving all my plants in my garden, I only harvest the flowers and longer shoots.

Mint is also a perennial plant, but it can be very invasive in a garden. I grow most of my plants in containers, placed where roots cannot escape into other parts of my yard. The opposite of lavender, mint is considered a “pick-me-up” herb. The slightly crusted whole leaves add zing to water, iced-tea, and mojitos. Spearmint is the traditional mint for use in mint juleps and mint tea.

Sage is a staple of my herb garden. I use it fresh and dried. Dried ground sage is a required ingredient in my meatloaf and turkey stuffing. I’ve been using the fresh leaves this summer to make a sage tea and a hair rinse. It tastes just like turkey stuffing and is surprisingly good. This is also a perennial plant that overwinters here. I cut a few leaves off the plants and leave the rest to overwinter. Sometimes I use sage leaves to make decorative wreaths. Once the leaves are dry, grind them in a mixer, food processor, or coffee grinder.

Stevia is a natural sweetener that is grown as an annual plant in our climate. Therefore, I usually harvest the entire plant. Once the leaves are dry, they are crushed to release stevia’s sweetening power. Homegrown stevia lacks the potency of refined white stevia extract available in grocery stores. Still, I find that my homegrown stevia sweetens my herbal teas just fine.

Be sure to cut and dry your herbs so that you can use them all winter. Good air circulation is the key to successfully drying herbs. Sometimes drying is easier if the leaves are stripped from the stems and dried on screens or in food dehydrators. This year I dried most of my herbs in a food dehydrator, but I also like to use mesh metal baskets, wicker baskets, paper towels, paper bags, and more. When dry, store the herbs in airtight container and use regularly. Be sure not to use any pesticides on herbs you harvest to eat.  

Below is a video I made a few years ago that demonstrates how I dry herbs.