Starting an Herbal Cabinet: How to Gather and Store
Starting an Herbal Cabinet: How to Gather and Store
Herbs are used for
the volatile oils that they hold inside
the parts of the
plant. Once you have decided
what type of herbs
you want to collect, the next step
is to make a list.
There are two ways to acquire herbs: either
grow or buy them.
Depending on what your interests are
within the field of Herbology,
it is easiest to buy them. But for
some people they are
more fun to grow. Either way is okay,
but if you’re
looking for harder-to-find herbs or ones that are
not easy to grow,
you will have to buy them.
Find a reputable
place to shop. There are some shops
that will deceive
you by selling you something in place
of the true herb.
Many towns have herbal shops or tea
houses where you can
acquire some herbs. They are also
easily found in the
grocery store.
If you decide to
grow them, you can begin them from
seed or use starts.
One big perk to growing your own
is that you know
they are pure and organic and that no
harsh chemicals have
been used on the plants, thus making
the quality of the
herb the best.
The next step is to
identify which part of the plant
you want to use: the
leaves, seeds, roots, or flowers of the
plants. Some parts
of a plant may not be best to use in different
situations. So study
first.
General Rules About Gathering
Herbs like to be
pampered in the growing season by being harvested and
trimmed. Don’t over trim your plant, as this could cause the
herb not to recuperate easily, producing less of a harvest
next time. Harvesting more than half of your plant at any time
could kill it. If you’re growing herbs for the leaves, you must
pick them before they flower or they mature.
Otherwise the herbs
become bitter and can create lanky stems on the plants,
causing the plant stems to harden.The tender part of
the leaf holds the most volatileoils, making it the
strongest part of the plant. Herbs arebest used fresh for
the highest potency. If you are not going to use them up quickly, then it is
best to dry them.
It must be done slowly
and not over a lot of heat. Too much
heat can make the
volatile oils dry up, making the potency
of the plant very
low or even worthless.
Gather them in the
early morning or late afternoon.
The best way to dry
them is to hang them upside down or
spread over a drying
rack. Harvest seeds before the pods
open, allowing them
to pop open during the process. Or
remove the shell
once fully dry; this way will not damage
the seed. Make sure
to hang them upside down with a
paper bag around
them to catch any seeds.
When gathering the
roots, wait until the late fall before
a freeze; by then
the foliage on top will have died back.
Don’t gather any of
your herbs about a month before the
frost sets in. This
gives the plant a chance to become strong and sealed before heading into hibernation.
They will
not need any
maintenance during the late fall and winter
months. They may
stay green but will become dormant
while weathering
over the winter. There are some herbs
that will not winter
over outside once frost hits.
Storage and Preserving of Herbs
There are three main
ways to store herbs. Each way
has perks and
pitfalls, so knowing how you intend to use
the herb will make a
big difference.
Fresh herbs are best
stored in refrigeration using baggies
or jars; wrap them
in a paper towel first. This draws
moisture away from
the plant. Change the paper towel
whenever needed.
Wetness can be the worst enemy; it
will cause rotting
faster because the water becomes colder,
creating a similar
effect like frost. Some stemmed herbs
can be stood in a
jar with water, but they will only last for
a few days fresh.
Remember, if the amount of herbs you
need is measured in
a dry form, you must only use half of
that measurement in
fresh because of its potency.
Dried herbs can be
stored many ways by using paper,
plastic bags, or
glass jars, depending on how you will want
to use them in the
future. Most often once dried, they are
separated into
parts. Leaves are often crushed or ground
and placed in darker
containers. They are best if kept out
of the direct
sunlight and used up within a six-month
period. The reason
is that the volatile oils continue to dry
up making them
inert.
Herbs can be dried
in a conventional oven on very low
heat and checked
often. Some people do use food dehydrators.
They do work better
because the heat flows all over the
plant and not just
on one side. Some herbs can be kept for
up to a year if
handled safely. Freezing herbs is a great way
to ensure that the
volatile oil stays fresh but it does cause
damage to the plants’
appearances. Once an herb has been
frozen, it can never
be used for anything other than cooking
because the thawing
process makes the herbs soft and limp.
Now that you know
the basics to herb storage and
gathering, creating an herb cabinet is easy.
***Featured first in Paranormal Underground Magazine April 2013
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