How to Use Your Herbs

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Herbs are truly some of the easiest plants to grow in the garden. They also provide you with some of the greatest value for your money. When managed well, a $3 pot of an herb, like sage, can provide years of seasoning for your dinner plate. That same sage plant can also provide a delicious appetizer, tea, and other delicacies throughout the year in addition to numerous health benefits.

I’ve been growing herbs since I lived in a small apartment in college. My roommate and I placed a small plant stand in front of the sliding glass door, and displayed our favorite potted herbs on it. Common herbs like parsley, chives, and oregano held places of honor. Come dinner time, it was simply a few steps away to snip some fresh herbs for our meal. 

As I’ve moved from place to place through the years, I’ve always grown herbs. Some in pots, and some in the ground. Now, at the Suburban Farmhouse, I have a dedicated herb garden. While the herb garden is just that, a dedicated location for our herbs, it also plays host to a few vegetables that need regular harvesting such as cucumbers. On occasion it also hosts overflow veggies from the vegetable garden. It always houses a combination of annual and perennial herbs planted in the ground, as well as an array of herbs in pots.

Growing herbs – pots vs in the ground

Growing herbs is fairly simple, and the good news is that many of them don’t require a lot of space so you can easily grow them in containers. The first thing to know about your herbs, and truly any plant, is whether or not it is hardy in your zone. Sage, lavender, and chives are examples of the herbs in my garden that are hardy in my area. This means that I can plant them once, and enjoy them for many years without having to replant. Of course, this only works if the herb is also a perennial….which means that it grows back from the roots each year.

My cold hardy perennial herbs are planted directly in the ground. They form the skeleton for the herb garden around which all other herbs are planted. Any perennial herbs, such as rosemary, that are not hardy in my area go into pots. These get transferred into the house once temperatures start to drop and are overwintered where they can stay nice and warm. By overwintering them indoors I avoid the cost of replacement each year. 

Through the years, I’ve learned that these plants need to be placed in a warm, well lit area away from heating vents. The heating vents dry them out too much, often weakening the plants making them susceptible to disease. We’ve found the ideal place is in our front entry area with a supplemental light source to help with the short days.

Nearly all my annual herbs get planted directly into the garden bed. These herbs are ones that are grown from seed each year and will completely die back in the winter. A good example of an annual herb is basil which hates the cold Wisconsin winters, and does not do well indoors. 

In the end, the best way to find out what works for you is to use trial and error. I’ve found that parsley sometimes overwinters in the ground, and some years doesn’t. I’ve never had any luck keeping it over the winter indoors, so I don’t bother. I simply replant each year in the ground. If you live in an apartment and don’t have access to a garden, planting all your herbs in pots is a wonderful way to access fresh herbs all summer long.

In the end, there is no hard and fast rule as to whether to plant in a pot vs. in the ground. It’s completely up to you.

The Herbs Are Growing, Now what?

Harvesting 

Once your herbs are growing, it’s time to start harvesting and enjoying the myriad of flavors.

Harvesting is best done in the mornings after the dew has evaporated from the plant and before the heat of the day sets in. This is to ensure that the leaves and flowers are at their best. When harvesting it is important to avoid harvesting more than ⅓ of the plant at a time. If the plant is new, only harvest a small portion of the new growth. This is to allow enough foliage to remain and provide energy for additional growth.

Annual herbs can be harvested continually until frost sets in and the plant starts to die back. Perennial herbs should only be harvested until late August so the plant can gather strength for the winter. Late season pruning can lead to new growth which will not have time to harden off before winter. These tender sections can be damaged, inviting disease, as cold sets in.

When harvesting the flowers from herbs, such as with lavender, harvest the flowers in early summer. Then cut the plant to half its height. This will encourage a second flowering in the fall.

I like to bring a pair of garden shears and a basket with me into the garden when I go harvesting. I use the shear to cut the herbs I need, then place them into my basket for carrying back into the house. On occasion, we’ve been known to run outside to the herb garden with the kitchen scissors to harvest a few herbs for dinner. 

Using the Herbs

The next question is what to do with all the herbs once they start coming into the kitchen. First things first is to decide what their fate will be….will they be used fresh, or preserved in some manner? I use a lot of our herbs fresh, but also work to put some aside for the winter months so I don’t have to buy as many from the store.

Fresh herbs can be used in all of the same ways that you would use your store bought herbs. Here are a few ways we like to use ours:

• Salads: basil, sage, chives, parsley, lavender
• Salad dressing: thyme, oregano, chives
• Pizza sauce: oregano, basil, thyme, lavender, bay, sage
• Pasta sauce: oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, bay, parsley, sage
• Soups: oregano, chives, basil, rosemary, thyme, bay, mint, sage
• Eggs: chives, thyme
• Salsa: cilantro
• Cocktails: basil, thyme, mint
• Tea: mint, lavender, sage 
• Pesto: often made from basil, it can also be based on parsley, tomato, and many other items from the garden

During the summer we like to add fresh herbs to pretty much whatever we are making for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Simply harvest, rinse off, chop up, and add to the meal. For cocktails, herbs can be muddled or used as garnish.

I always like to set some herbs aside for use outside of the growing season. This means freezing or dehydrating them. 

Drying Herbs

People have been drying herbs nearly as long as we have been eating them. Historically, herbs were laid out to let excess moisture evaporate. While drying off, dead and damaged foliage was removed. Then the cleaned stems were gathered up and tied into small bundles using string or twine, and hung upside down in a warm airy room to dry. It is important to be sure they are kept out of direct sun so the oils don’t evaporate too quickly. Also important is to ensure good air circulation to avoid mold growth. 

Traditionally this meant that herbs were hung in places like the attic, or in the back corners of the kitchen. Many homesteaders continue to use this method today. 

Screen drying the herbs is another option. Simply suspend old window screens between two sawhorses or unused chairs, and spread the herbs on them. Be sure to turn the herbs periodically to ensure even drying. As with the hanging method, it’s important to ensure the herbs are in a well ventilated location out of direct sunlight. 

Both the hanging and the screen drying methods can take awhile, not to mention be rather difficult in areas of high humidity. I’ve personally never achieved great results with either, likely because I’m a bit impatient when it comes to drying my herbs. 

Oven drying is a fast, and economical, method that is readily available. Spread the herbs on a cookie sheet or oven rack with small openings, and place them in the oven. Set the oven at its lowest temperature setting. As ovens often don’t go below 170F, and the best drying temperature for herbs is around 95-115F, leave the oven door open slightly.  

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I used to oven dry all of my herbs until I finally broke down and bought a dehydrator. I’ve had my Nesco dehydrator for years, and used it intermittently for drying herbs. This year I finally decided to up my game and let me tell you…I love it! I don’t know why I haven’t used it more in the past. However, since I’m on a mission this year to increase the amount of food we produce ourselves, my dehydrator has become my best friend.

Following the same principles as above, I simply spread a layer of herbs across each tray. Then stack the trays on the base, add the lid, set the temperature, and plug it in. Depending on the herb (and indoor humidity levels), they will be dry anywhere from 2-8 hours. 

Once the herbs are dry (they’ll be brittle and crumbly), I gather them off the trays and pack them in glass jars with airtight lids. If left out, or placed in a container that is not airtight, the herbs will absorb water from the air and go bad. Wait to pull the leaves off of the stems, unless you can do so without crushing the leaves, until you are ready to use them. Crushing the leaves too soon will reduce the flavor. When stored properly, dried herbs can keep for a year or more.

Freezing Herbs

Another option for storing herbs is to freeze them. Remove any dirt and dead leaves, and give the herbs a quick rinse. Remove as much water as you can by shaking the herbs or gently patting dry with a clean kitchen towel. I’ve placed the clean, dry herbs directly into a ziploc bag and pressed all the air out before throwing it in the freezer. This works well if you know you will be using a large amount of herbs in one shot since they will be frozen together. 

Herbs can also be chopped finely, and placed into an ice cube tray. Once the herbs have been placed in each of the ice cube spots, cover them with water or oil. If using oil, you will need to leave the herbs in the tray as the oil does not always freeze solid. Using the water method, you can remove the herb cubes and place them into a ziploc bag for long term storage. This method allows you to reuse the ice cube tray for making more herb cubes.

When it comes time to use your frozen herbs, grab an herb cube and pop it into the dish you are making. Frozen herbs are best used in cooking and not as a garnish.

Using Dried and Frozen Herbs

Use your dried and/or frozen herbs in many of the same ways you would store bought herbs. Add them to your favorite pasta sauce, use them in a pasta salad, on top of pizza, in your eggs, and so much more. 

Dried herbs can also be used alone, or in combination with others, to make your own tea blend. Many herbs and flowers have medicinal properties that our ancestors made use of. Mint and lavender have long been used to help promote restful sleep. So why not combine dry leaves from both and make a sachet to keep by your pillow. Or blend them in a warm tea to sip before bedtime.

Frozen basil and parsley can be made into pesto in the middle of the winter if you didn’t get around to making it while they were fresh in the garden. When the ground is covered with snow and the winds are howling outside, nothing tastes better than homemade pesto, full of the bright summer flavors from the garden. 

The uses for herbs are truly limitless. I’m constantly exploring ways I can use them…whether by reading books, trying new recipes, or exploring the internet. I encourage you to explore not only the culinary uses, but also the medicinal uses of herbs. While they don’t replace the medications from your physician, you may find you can handle that bloated tummy feeling by simply chewing on some mint instead of having to pay an expensive copay. 

Through my explorations, I’ve learned that there’s a lot more in my yard that I can be making use of than I realized. Rose hip tea anyone?

Resources:

Nesco dehydrator: https://amzn.to/2XnSgPH

Herb books:

Prescription for Herbal Healing: https://amzn.to/3sff27M

Herb Gardening for the Midwest: https://amzn.to/3z0UD9j

Growing and Using Herbs in the Midwest: https://amzn.to/3yMVPgl

Cooking with Wild Berries and Fruits: https://amzn.to/3jTZSRC

Happy gardening!

-Kim