Hello fellow gardening folk…

I am successfully (if somewhat frantically) growing coriander during the winter months (too hot, as you know, during the summer…).

I also have some sweet basil, dill and of course parsley.

All these I would like to pick and preserve.

I have been drying the basil on a kitchen towel, then crumbling into a clean ex-herb bottle (Thanks, Masterfoods).

There has to be a more efficient way. I will have Culpeper’s recipe for basil pesto when the kid’s computer is restored to me. However, I was wondering about hanging up to dry? Visions of using very loose weave material scraps, wrapped around bundles tied at the stems with kitchen twine, and hanging from the shaded part of the clothesline???

Have never seen herbs drying so am a complete novice here…

Also, have tomatoes coming along nicely, half my garlic died :( but the other half is powering along…the pony stomped on two of my potato plants and they got squashed but the remaining plant could be a goer…what could I grow where these potatoes were? I was fancying sugar snaps…

Hope you’re all well and enjoying the cool change

Regards

Dinetta

hi Dinetta

various methods of drying herbs are: as you described, laying on a baking sheet in a very low oven with the door open, microwaving (be careful not to overcook), commercial food drier.

Peas after your spuds should be fine. Just don’t grow more spuds, tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum or other related plants in that spot for a few years.

my lovely wife has bought some airtight plastic containers and layered basil leaves with coarse sea salt and olive oil and then put them in the freezer. seems to preserve them for several months at least. i’ll post a piccie this weekend sometime.
you can make a ‘pizza base’ by cooking toms, basil, herbs, onions and whatever – then put in plastic bags and freeze.

Oh goody, thanks BlueGreen, PePe, for the replies…

My daughter has a feral basil…I think she has green fingers (but not from me!) …I’ll pass the olive oil/sea salt technique on to her next time she moans “muuuuuuuum_what will I _do with all this basil?”

Just don’t grow more spuds, tomatoes, eggplant, capsicum or other related plants in that spot for a few years.
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Oh darn…what about a three sisters garden? Beans, corn and pumpkin???

I’ve got tomatoes beside the potatoes…it’s a round bed divvied into quarters…

beans, corn and pumpkin will be just fine :)

the reason we are advised not to grow the toms etc after spuds is because they have the same pests and diseases and they will build up in the soil so the health of your plants may be compromised. It is not a hard and fast rule but a recommendation.

I found this:

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8111.html

(sorry haven’t worked out the html thing yet)…

which pretty much backs up what you said, BlueGreen…

ooh
ooh
ooh

it automatically went to an html URL link….

How about that??!!

This one is good too…

http://www.herbsociety.co.uk/schools/activities/drying.htm

Has piccies…

:)

sorry – no camera so can’t show frozen basil this weekend.

just found the camera
basil packed in alternating layers with seasalt and gaps filled with olive oil – frozen.

Thanks PePe…

off to bbq some sausages so I’ll have a good look later

pepe said:

just found the camera
basil packed in alternating layers with seasalt and gaps filled with olive oil – frozen.

I am wondering…. how the basil will fare after its thawed??

I am wondering…. how the basil will fare after its thawed??
—-
the cook raves about it.

pepe said:

I am wondering…. how the basil will fare after its thawed??
—-
the cook raves about it.

Well can’t get any better than that.:D

Hi Pepe, thanks for the photos. I’m going to try one container-ful.

What I would like to know is this: what happens to the Olyve Oyl and salt after the basil is used? Also, will the basil peel off OK, so you need only take as much as you want for any one cooking event? I’m guessing that you lay the salt, lay the basil, top with olyve oyl, freeze. Then repeat with a layer on top of that for the next harvest of basil leaves, until the container is full?

Dinetta said:

Hi Pepe, thanks for the photos. I’m going to try one container-ful.

What I would like to know is this: what happens to the Olyve Oyl and salt after the basil is used? Also, will the basil peel off OK, so you need only take as much as you want for any one cooking event? I’m guessing that you lay the salt, lay the basil, top with olyve oyl, freeze. Then repeat with a layer on top of that for the next harvest of basil leaves, until the container is full?

the cook says;
you take out a few leaves at a time and cook with them.
they’re salty so no need to add salt to recipe – the oil is cooked with the basil – as it comes.
you’re right about the layering but each container is done at a single time – in fact all those containers were done at once..

Hmmm, obviously the Pepes have a far more abundant basil crop than I do!

What I could do, is freeze a batch, move to a similar container, freeze another batch, place on top of first batch, and so on…I have only the one basil plant and usually this is all I need…however I do tend to kill them off from time to time and of course you can’t beat homegrown herbs…

My plant is just about ready to harvest again so I’ll have a go tomorrow.

Thanks for the information and pictures, Pepe and The Cook.

:)

Ok, so it’s coarse sea salt…goes to check yesterday’s purchase…

finely crushed…

darn

I now have 3 tulle bags of herbs hanging in the shade to dry: coriander, parsley and dill…tulle because I had scraps in the sewing cupboard…hope the dill doesn’t fall through the holes…

Calling Pepe

re the frozen, oiled and salted basil…it’s as hard as a rock…does The Cook dig it out with a knife or a fork, or does she put it on a chopping board and slice it?

Mind you it smells as good as the day it was laid away…

The bunches have been put into envelopes (loosely) to await crumbling and storing into recycled herb jars. My last lot, a great crop too, has been spoiled by the recent rain…can’t win every time…

Just by the by, Pepe, does The Cook have a way of storing tomatoes, esp. cookers, similar to the basil?

Dinetta said:

Calling Pepe

re the frozen, oiled and salted basil…it’s as hard as a rock…does The Cook dig it out with a knife or a fork, or does she put it on a chopping board and slice it?

Mind you it smells as good as the day it was laid away…

The bunches have been put into envelopes (loosely) to await crumbling and storing into recycled herb jars. My last lot, a great crop too, has been spoiled by the recent rain…can’t win every time…

Just by the by, Pepe, does The Cook have a way of storing tomatoes, esp. cookers, similar to the basil?

the cook is currently occupied – will be back soon.

re the frozen, oiled and salted basil…it’s as hard as a rock…does The Cook dig it out with a knife or a fork, or does she put it on a chopping board and slice it?
————
hers are in little plastic storage jars – so she just pulls out how ever many leaves she wants.
not sure what you mean by envelope but ms pepe says that greaseproof paper and alfoil are no good as wrappers because they stick.
to store tomatoes
1. dry first or
2. cook as pizza base and then freeze.

Note to Pepe: that basil in olyve oyl and rock sea salt is coming up well, now. I think I should just do a few layers at a time, into one container, and use plenty of oyl…the first lot of leaves were as hard as rocks and very difficult to lift, but now they’re peeling away easily…

thanks to The Cook for the tip…

Dinetta said:

Note to Pepe: that basil in olyve oyl and rock sea salt is coming up well, now. I think I should just do a few layers at a time, into one container, and use plenty of oyl…the first lot of leaves were as hard as rocks and very difficult to lift, but now they’re peeling away easily…

thanks to The Cook for the tip…

no probs. i showed them to Lucky and we tasted them straight frozen. a bit tasteless. i think they are better used for cooking once they have been frozen.

no probs. i showed them to Lucky and we tasted them straight frozen. a bit tasteless. i think they are better used for cooking once they have been frozen.
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I only ever intended to use them for cooking …they do make the olyve oyl and rock salt taste wonderful…