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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Learning About Herbs

Herbs have been a love of mine for as long as I can remember.   When I was young the only herb I remember using fresh was parsley.  Dried oregano was something I always added to pasta sauce although my mom thought I added too much.  I love the smells and tastes of herbs whether fresh or dried.  Learning about herbs is an ongoing process for me.  I have been compiling a list of herb resources that you may want to check out.  If you know of any sites to add please let me know.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Drying and pressing flowers

Have you dried or pressed flowers?  Oregano (the purple flowered variety) has beautiful flowers that dry easily.  Pansies can be set face down and just shrink as they dry creating lovely minature pansies.  Most of my flower drying has just involved placing the flowers in a vase without water or lying them on a dehydrator tray.  Smaller delphinum flowers can turn out beautifully although they are quite fragile. Bachelor buttons are among the flowers that add nice color to potpourri.  Rose petals and lavender are the flowers I dry most often.  Potpourri, decorating sachets, and creating dried arrangements is how I have used most of my dried flowers.  Pressing flowers is something I have little experience with.  Flower Pressing Secrets can give me more ideas of how to dry and press flowers and how to use them.

Basic Herb Growing

I have written a booklet on Basic Herb Growing - available as a PDF for just .75
Check it out and let me know what you think!

Monday, July 5, 2010

Drying herbs

I have begun harvesting herbs for drying.  In my climate it is fairly easy to just lay the herbs on screening and let them dry.  I use trays from my dehydrator.  The air has been warm enough and lacking in humidity so the herbs have dried very well in a short period of time.  I could use my dehydrator since it has a low temperature setting but with the warm weather we have had I felt the herbs would dry quickly enough.  I place the trays out of direct sunlight and check them a few times per day.  So far this season I have dried oregano, dwarf oregano, thyme, lemon thyme, spearmint, chocolate mint, pineapple mint, applemint, rose petals, and sage.  Herbs can also be hung upside down for drying.