Five Easy Herbs to Grow and Preserve

When a new gardener asks me what they should start growing I almost always default to herbs. Herbs can be quick to grow, very forgiving, and have a great return on investment. 

Fresh grocery store herbs can be anywhere from two to five dollars for a small sprig of thyme, rosemary, sage, etc. If you were to buy one plant from a nursery for three dollars and leave it in the container and do nothing other than water it and harvest from it, you’re still better off than buying individual sprigs from the grocery store! 

Don’t even get me started on dried herbs in the store… they lack flavor, the coloring is off, the food miles travelled, and the price is just *too* dang high for something that can easily be grown in your home, apartment, RV, really anywhere! 

Most herbs are quick growing. One plant can be harvested from numerous times throughout the growing season and if they’re harvested properly, it actually increases the number of stems on your plant and gives you even MORE to harvest! 

While this is kind of counterintuitive- you take from a plant and it gives you more- it’s part of the reason why I suggest beginners grow herbs! Your harvests from one plant are plentiful and it teaches you the right way to prune. A simple thing to learn and the lesson rewards you with great harvests. 

Not only are herbs easy to grow but a lot of herbs are perennial, too! Perennial simply means that the plant lasts for more than one growing season unlike annual herbs. Basil, an annual herb, only lasts for one growing season before it dies off. Perennial herbs save you money and time! You don’t have to grow the plant from seed again every year or buy it from your nursery every spring. Perennial herbs keep on coming back, they’re the gift that keeps on giving!

Examples of perennial herbs include: thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano, mint, lemon balm, chives, chamomile, sorrel, winter savory, tarragon, lavender, and the list goes on and on! You’ll want to be sure that any perennial herbs you’re growing are actually perennial in your growing zone. While thyme may be perennial in Virginia, it may not be if you’re in an incredibly cold climate. Herbs that are perennial but won’t survive a cold winter can always be brought indoors and placed in a sunny window or under grow lights. 

All five herbs below can be grown in a sunny windowsill, in containers outside, raised garden beds, or directly in ground. If starting from seed doesn’t seem like something you’re ready for, these can all be picked up at your local nursery or garden center. 

Five Herbs

Mint

An almost indestructible perennial plant that produces like crazy! Grown in ground, mint will grow as much as you’ll let it. It will spread everywhere. To contain your mint, you can plant it in a container. The larger the container, the more harvests you’ll get. 

Mint can be dehydrated and used to make loose leaf tea, added to yogurt, stews, salads, fruits, and much more! It can help your digestive system and relieve nausea and headaches, too! 

Basil

Probably one of the first summer herbs everyone thinks about growing! Basil is easy annual herb to start from seed indoors and can even be grown year round in a sunny windowsill! It’s just as easy to start directly outside when weather permits. There are plenty of varieties to choose from but you can’t go wrong with a classic- Genovese basil. 

Basil can be dehydrated and used in recipes by itself or mixed with other Italian herbs to make Italian seasoning, pizza seasoning, and to flavor tomato sauces. 

Thyme

A perennial herb that can be thrown into just about any recipe. You’ll want to check the specific variety to see if it’s a perennial in your zone. Not all thymes will survive winter in colder zones and may need to be covered. 

If you’re wanting to grow thyme but it won’t survive your cold winter, it can be grown in a container and brought indoors for the winter. You can always start from seed or buy new plants in the spring if you don’t want to bring the thyme indoors. 

A favorite container combination of mine is a determinate tomato, basil, and thyme filled into one container. It smells divine and is begging to be turned into a delicious tomato sauce! 

Oregano

Another perennial herb that is just as happy to grow in a container or in ground. Oregano can be grown near fruit trees and acts as a companion plant in a fruit tree guild. It’s growth habit is upright but it also spreads along the ground and doubles as a living mulch. It sends roots down wherever the branches touch the soil and can take over an area pretty quickly!  

Oregano can be dehydrated and saved on its own and in spice blends like Italian, Mexican, and taco seasoning. 

Parsley

Neither a perennial nor an annual, but a biennial plant! Parsley will grow for an entire year, survive in most winter climates, and then bloom in the spring and send its seeds all over the place. If you’re growing it outdoors, it will happily reseed itself as long as you let it go to seed and don’t till the area surrounding it where the seeds may have scattered. 

If parsley overwinters in your zone, it can be harvested year round directly from the garden. You can also dehydrate excess and add to your homemade seasoning mixes. Fresh parsley is hard to beat! 

Harvesting 

You’ll want to harvest your herbs about every two weeks if you’re not already doing so for fresh consumption. Regular pruning promotes a bushier plant which leaves you with more to harvest each time you go back!

With the exception of parsley, they’re all pruned in the same way and it’s really easy to do! Check out this reel for a quick how to! 

Parsley should be harvested from the outside of the plant in. Larger stems on the outside of the plant should be cut at the base first. As these are slowly removed, the inner leaves and stems will grow and eventually become the most outer parts of the plant. 

A final prune can be done on your perennial herbs in the fall a few weeks before your first fall frost. Some plants are better off if you’re not harvesting from them during the cold winter months, especially if there’s freezing conditions. Pruning well in advance before a hard frost or freeze allows your perennial herb time to recover and “heal” the area that you pruned. The exposed soft tissue would most likely die back with a hard frost or freeze right after. 

Preserving 

Methods: Dehydrator, Drying Rack, Paper Bag in a Closet

A dehydrator is a quick and easy way to preserve your herbs. It dries the herbs quickly (in about 4-6 hours) and is a great way to get a lot of herbs dried and stored in one day. 

You can also dry your herbs on an herb drying rack or by tying them up with string and hanging them upside down in a closet with a paper bag on top. The bag keeps sunlight away from the herbs which helps them keep their color and prevents dust from settling on the herbs as well. Drying herbs in the open on a rack will work as well, but you’ll want to be sure to keep moisture, pests, and dust away. 

Herbs can mold in a stored container if they’re not thoroughly dried. We like to use a dehydrator for this reason. It allows us to safely store our herbs without concern of moisture still being present in the leaves. 

Time to preserve 

• When you preserve your herbs, set aside any bruised, dead, or soiled leaves. 

• Wash your herbs, being sure to remove any bugs and debris

• Strain and pat them gently with a towel to wick away water

• Start the drying process using whatever method you’ve decided on:

In a dehydrator– place herbs on the dehydrator racks and turn the dehydrator on the lowest setting. Your dehydrator instruction manual should have a specific temperature for herbs but an ideal temperature is no higher than 115F. A tried and true temperature on our dehydrator is 105F for 2-8 hours depending on what herb we’re drying and the moisture content of the leaf.

Dehydrate until herbs are completely dry and are crumbly to the touch. 

Herbs can be dehydrated with the stems intact and leaves can be separated from the stems after they’ve been dehydrated fully. It’s a lot easier to separate them from the stem once they’ve been dehydrated, too! If you’d like, you can remove the leaves from the stem before dehydrating but this may be an unnecessary step. 

For smaller or lighter herbs, you can place a mat on top of the herbs as well. Anytime we go to dehydrate saffron, lemongrass, or thyme, they go flying all over the place if we don’t add a rack on top to keep them in place. 

On a drying rack- place herbs on a rack, being sure they’re not overlapping each other. Hang the rack in a dry, cool, and dark place where the herbs will air dry for a few weeks. You’ll want to check back on them every day or so to make sure they’re drying and mold isn’t developing. 

Hanging herbs upside down in a paper bag- tie the herbs in bundles with string or twine around the stems of the herbs and create a loop at the top with string so they can be hung on a hook or rack. Place herb bundle into a paper bag and leave the looped string outside of the bag. Cinch the bag around the stem of the herb bundle and wrap with string or twine around bundle again. Hang to dry in a dry, cool, and dark place (closet) and check back every few days making sure mold isn’t present and the herbs are drying correctly. 

Hanging herbs to dry on a rack or upside down in a paper bag works well for herbs that have low moisture content like sage, thyme, and rosemary. Basil on the other hand has a high water content and will likely mold if it’s not dried properly. 

Storage

Before you store them, make sure they’re completely dry! 

Dried herbs can be stored in virtually any container as long as it’s airtight and won’t let moisture in. Keep your herbs in a cabinet, preferably away from the stove or sink. These areas in the kitchen have a lot of moisture, especially when cooking! 

Storing herbs in their whole leaf form allows them to retain more flavor in the jar and they’ll release more flavor if you crush them just prior to using them. 

Label your herbs with their name and date your harvested them. 

Dehydrator manufacturers will give you different timelines on how long you can safely keep dehydrated herbs but a good rule of thumb is about 1-2 years (assuming you don’t cook them all up before then!) 

As you replenish your herb containers the following year, you may want to discard older herbs by adding them into the compost, adding them to stocks, or feeding them to chickens (in moderation.) This will keep your stocked herb cabinet fresh and flavorful! 

Happy growing! 

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