Herbs are becoming very popular. People are staying home and cooking more. If you haven’t tried growing herbs, I encourage you to try. It’s very easy. If you plant herbs in the ground, use corn gluten (Diane’s Greenhouse sells corn gluten) to use as an organic weed control.

It’s easy to dry herbs for winter use, cut off tops of the leafy varieties in midsummer and wash them off with cold water. Hang them up just long enough for the drops of water to evaporate, than tie the stems together and place in a paper bag with stem ends at the opening. Close the bag with a rubber band. Use a paper clip as a hook through the band and place the other hooked end over your line where you are going to hang the herbs to dry, indoors. After 2 or 3 weeks remove from paper bags, crumble the leaves and place on a shallow pan and dry out in the oven with the setting at “warm” or at least not over 100 degrees.

Some herb enthusiasts dry them by spreading them out on trays or sheets of hardware cloth covered with cheese cloth and place in a dry area. To dry seed heads allow them to grow until seeds are mature and ready to drop from the plant. Cut seed heads on a very dry day and spread on clean paper (not newspaper). It is better to keep them in the sun the first day, as little insects (which may have been secreted in the heads) will leave as the seeds dry out. Store herbs in glass jars or other airtight containers in a cool place.

Herbs
	Basil, Sweet Chives Coriander Dill, Fernleaf Lavender, Munstead Marjoram, sweet Mint, Chocolate Mint, Peppermint	Oregano, common Parsley, curled Parsley, Plain Rosemary Sage, officinalis Savory, Summer Tarragon, French Thyme, French