Drying Herbs

This year, I let my herbs go too long in the heat wave before collecting them for drying, so I am not working too hard to dry them. Last night I went out and took some cuttings of what survived, leaving smaller, newer leaves to grow a bit. We are cooling down a bit here upstate, so hopefully they will have a few weeks to grow a bit more before my final harvest. Anything else I need to will get at the farmer's market, or my parent's backyard (they have so much of the now-popular Apple Mint it gets mowed over regularly because of how much it has grown into their yard).

So far, the most sizable of the plants I have cut, cleaned and set out to dry are:

Lemon Verbena - this plant was really difficult to find up here, finally found a potted plant of it at the Co-Op in Albany

Lavender leaves - this plant hasn't flowered (too young perhaps), but I will dry and mix with lavender buds for sachets

Rosemary

Bee Balm

Miscellaneous mints - my mint started to wither a few weeks back...so what I have is a combination of apple mint, chocolate mint, spearmint & orange mint

Some of these herbs are going to be combined with other herbs such as lavender & chamomile for tea. These are going to be part of Christmas gifts...but let's not get too far ahead here. The way I am drying these isn't the best method, but for the small amount I have for now, it's the best method I have for now.