Preserving Herbs From Your Garden

Learn about the different ways of preserving herbs with Blain’s Farm & Fleet.

You’ve worked hard to grow the herbs in your herb garden. And you want to be able to use them year-round. Preserving herbs is easy, and there are actually a few ways you can do it.

From freezing them to drying them out, preserving herbs only takes a few steps. Blain’s Farm & Fleet is here to help you get started.

Freezing Herbs

There are a few ways to preserve herbs in the freezer. The easiest way to do so is with an ice cube tray.

You can leave the herbs whole or chop them up into smaller pieces. Pack the herbs into the ice cube tray, leaving about a third of the tray well empty.

Pour either water or olive oil over the herbs, filling up the rest of the tray well. Olive oil works well if you’ll be using them for things like salad dressings.

Cover the tray with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze the fresh herbs overnight.

Once you have completely frozen herbs, store them in a freezer bag or freezer box. Label the bags so you know which herbs you’ve preserved.

Now, anytime you want to cook with the herbs, you can simply pull a cube from the freezer!

Drying Herbs

Drying herbs is another way to preserve your garden crop. Herbs such as thyme, sage, and oregano can simply be air-dried.

Use string or a rubber band to secure the herbs in a bundle. Then, hang them up to dry in a dark, well-ventilated room.

Once the individual leaves are dry, remove the stems and store them in an air-tight container. Mason jars work well for this, and you’ll be able to see the beautiful herbs you’ve preserved.

Some herbs with thick leaves, like basil and parsley, are better dried in a food dehydrator. Follow the instructions of your dehydrator, and store the dried herbs in a mason jar or other air-tight container.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can also use a microwave to dry out your herbs. Just lay them out in a single layer on a piece of paper towel, and cover them with another piece.

Microwave until they’re dry and brittle. Check them for this every 20 seconds. This should take about one to three minutes.

Let them cool. Then, store the same way you would dehydrated herbs.

Growing herbs is a great way to get organic ones right from your own backyard. Learn how to make your own terracotta window herb garden and more by visiting our Gardening Blog.