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Herbal Wisdom:  Drying herbs like crazy!  |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 09 2009 : 11:47:10 AM
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Well my food crops aren't in yet, but boy oh boy am I drying and preserving and tincturing herbs every day for the past week! Lemon Balm and three different varieties of mint for tea (I have enough Lemon Balm plants that I could dehydrate that stuff for two weeks alone!). Two gallon-sized bags are full of dried lavender (oh, my house smelled heavenly while I dehydrated that for two days straight!) Yarrow is macerating in a jar for tincture. Self Heal is getting dehydrated as it blooms. St. John's Wort is also being dried as it blooms (some of it gets more sun than others, so it takes a while to get the full group in).
Soon I'll have calendula blooms coming in. I'm debating on drying Echinacea Tennesseensis blooms (apparently they can work almost as well as the root, so no need to kill the plant after all).
Then in a few months of course, we'll have basil and gobs of oregano, rosemary is catching up in new growth now, and thyme, and holy basil, and and and... I'm TOTALLY having a blast.
Anybody made a tincture from lavender before? Did you use it for headaches? Should I bother, or just keep drying it? I plan on using it for soaps and sachets as holiday presents this year. |
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willowtreecreek
True Blue Farmgirl
4813 Posts
Julie
Russell
AR
USA
4813 Posts |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2009 : 5:47:25 PM
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| oooh, I had lavender ice cream once. It was really good :) |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jun 09 2009 : 7:47:00 PM
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Lynn:
I hope you can give me advice. How does one dry sunflowers? My DH planted these mammonth sunflowers. They are huge! He was asking me how to dry them. I have no earthly idea. I told him that I'd ask one of the MJ farmgirls. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2009 : 06:06:11 AM
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Hi Marly - You mean the whole flower, not the seeds, right?
I have a food dehydrator that I use most of the time to dry almost anything. It has large, flat trays that a large flower could be laid on - I'd think a sunflower would take at least 24 hours to dry, maybe more, because of the thickness of their stems.
The oven might be used too - on low, same amount of time - but expensive.
I'd think the old traditional way of turning a flower upside down in a warm space would take too long for a sunflower - I'd expect the end result to be a little disfigured... though I wonder if laying them out on a mesh tray in a hot attic would work? Especially if you have an attic fan that keeps air circulating some (or can add a fan to the space, on low). I think I'd try that - Louisiana is pretty warm - provided the air is fairly dry and not too humid (I know, I'm in Georgia, not humid in the South haha) it might work. |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2009 : 10:49:03 AM
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Lynn:
Again, thanks for the advice. Where I live, it is super humid most of the time. The sunflowers are huge. I guess if we just live them alone the birds will have a feast.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2009 : 1:15:23 PM
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| If it's the seeds you are after, I just picked the dead heads and brought them inside to dry out enough that I could pick out the seeds. That part is actually really easy. |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2009 : 4:49:46 PM
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yes Lynn. It is the seeds my DH wants to get. Thanks for the advice.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jun 10 2009 : 4:51:09 PM
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Lynn:
What does "tincturing herbs" mean. I am trying to study herbs. I just began. There is so, so, so much to learn.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2009 : 07:41:48 AM
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| Basically a tincture is the medicine you get from the plant after a particular process. There are differing methods of measurement, but basically, you chop up the plant matter, pack it into a jar, and cover it with 100 proof vodka or grain alcohol. Shake the jar every day for two weeks, then strain out the liquid from the plant matter, and voila! Medicine. Typical doses are 1/2 to a full teaspoon at a time. They usually don't taste bad either. |
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Bellepepper
True Blue Farmgirl
1207 Posts
Belle
Coffeyville
KS
USA
1207 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2009 : 09:13:27 AM
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| I am drying herbs also. I dried parsley and thyme one day, oregano and marjorum the next. Sage is ready to harvest. I planted 4 new Rosemarys and only one lived and it is not growing very fast. I'll wait a while to harvest any of it. All I can do to keep from using it NOW. Don't know why 3 of the plants died. Sure needed them. Rosemary is one of my faves. |
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greyghost
True Blue Farmgirl
650 Posts
Lynn
Summerville
Georgia
USA
650 Posts |
Posted - Jun 11 2009 : 12:29:09 PM
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| I had a GREAT rosemary bush - until it died. Turns out a couple of rambunctious dogs played to hard near it, and snapped it down the quick. So, I get to start over! |
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Greyhound Mom
True Blue Farmgirl
57 Posts
57 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 05:56:04 AM
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Greyghost...I am very new to this forum and website...I haven't even introduced myself yet; but, flipping through some of the subjects I was drawn to your question regarding tinctures. I also love herbs and use them any way I can, in the kitchen, in my home and medicinally! Lavender is my passion. I have about 12 English and French lavender plants that I harvest a few times a year. I would think that you need a ton of lavender to produce a tincture strong enough to do any good. So I have pretty much resorted to drying and buying my Lavender oils and tinctures.
"The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth, and we have a sacred duty to protect her and return thanks for the gifts of life." |
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
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JojoNH
True Blue Farmgirl
1984 Posts
Joanna
Dunbarton
New Hampshire
USA
1984 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 09:20:56 AM
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Air drying in bundles is perfect! The only other option I could think of is one used at one of the herb farms I use to work at. They made drying screens ( look like house screens ) and stacked them with small spacers between the screens. Keep them in a ventilated area and dark.
They dried in no time at all, the bonus here was the added room for drying opposed to hanging.
Joanna #566
JojoNH
http://www.CountryCents.com
http://CountryCents.Blogspot.com
http://Twitter.com/Eastwooddesigns |
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Greyhound Mom
True Blue Farmgirl
57 Posts
57 Posts |
Posted - Jul 16 2009 : 11:52:48 AM
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I know it looks nice to hang herbs from ceilings and pegs in the kitchen...but often times I'll put a bunch of herbs (especially ones with small leaves or lavender) in a small brown paper bag. Let the stems stick out of the top and tie up with the opening with twine. The bag is not air tight and can breath and all of your leaves stay fresh and clean while they fall to the bottom of the bag. BUT ~ I still hang herbs just for the heck of it!
"The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth, and we have a sacred duty to protect her and return thanks for the gifts of life." |
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Tapestry
True Blue Farmgirl
1223 Posts
Cheryl
Wisconsin
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - Jul 17 2009 : 02:56:55 AM
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Enjoying this posting. I didn't get any herbs planted this year and now I'm regretting it. I was hoping someone would mention the paper bag or cheesecloth trick so flies don't get on your drying herbs and leave a calling card on them. Welcome to the forum Greyhound Mom :)
Happy farmgirl sister #353
Look for rainbows instead of mud puddles 
http://fantasm01.imagekind.com/
http://tapestrysimaginings.blogspot.com/ |
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Greyhound Mom
True Blue Farmgirl
57 Posts
57 Posts |
Posted - Jul 18 2009 : 05:45:33 AM
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Thanks, Cheryl...so am I! I love all of the great topics everyone provides, not to mention the fabulous information we can all share!
"The earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth, and we have a sacred duty to protect her and return thanks for the gifts of life." |
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Herbal Wisdom: Drying herbs like crazy! |
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Drying herbs like crazy!
