As you can see in the picture above, the peppermint I have growing on my deck is more than ready to be harvested. It is actually in two containers and I have them placed side by side.
Seeing that the peppermint and a few other herbs in my garden are in need of gathering right now, I thought I would post this little tip on what I do when I harvest my herbs. I have been doing it for many years now and it works out really well.
The evening before I plan on harvesting my herbs I go out and wash them with a gentle spray of water. This removes dirt and other little things (like insects) that might be clinging to the leaves. One important thing to remember about harvesting herbs is you want them free of water when you are going to dry them for later use. Washing them off in the garden the night before picking eliminates having to wash them after you gather them. By morning they are nice and dry as well as clean and ready to be picked!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
That peppermint is beautiful. I can’t wait until my little plants grow up and I can harvest them.
Daphne- I was thinking you might like that picture since you have blogged about how much you love peppermint!
That is some seriously impressive peppermint. Kudos
I read your post about calendula! Thanks so much…Is there a special method for taking off the head of the flower so it grows back again…This may seem like a silly question but I’m a novice…
BTW- You have some amazing photos. I love your site!
Helen
Ithaca, NY
Helen- Thank you for the kind words! I’m glad you enjoy my site.
As far as removing the flower head from the calendula goes, I simply pluck them off with my bare hands. They pop off real easy. The plant will continue to produce new flower heads at the leaf axil(where the leaf and stem meet). And the best thing of all is the more you pick the more flowers the plant produces! It is trying all it can to produce seed so if you keep removing the flowers the plant will keep making more in an attempt to produce seed. Hope that was helpful!
Thanks again for visiting!