I just cut my catnip down when it gets too big and bushy, tie it up and
hang it from the rafters in the porch.  I have a rosemary plant in the
south window that I am trying to shape, now that I have managed to keep one
alive.  I just snip off the branches and tie them up with twine string and
hang them on a nail in the kitchen till dry then I strip it off the stems
and put in a plastic sandwich bag to use whenever.  Ruth






At 4:58 PM -0500 2/4/05, Gabriel Orgrease wrote:
>There is no particular season. If you want to dry them, though, it is
>best not to cull them in the rain.
>We have spearmint at the end of the driveway and if the plants were
>poking up from the snow I'd be able to go out and snip them now.
>We have sage that I snip any old time I feel like it... though I don't
>usually care to chew on it.
>Some plants are only going to be useful for short periods of time. For
>example, there is only a very brief time in which to collect Tiger Lily
>petals.
>They tend to twist themselves up, turn mushy, then fall to the ground.
>If you miss them then you are out of luck.
>Rose petals are a bit of a fix, as well, as you have to get them before
>they suddenly all fall off the plant.
>Rose hips, which are high in vitamin C and make for a fine tea can be
>harvested through the winter into spring.
>Though there is likely an optimal time for their harvest.
>Herbalists/cooks, and histo presto herbalists, would grow their plants
>and snip from them fresh for cooking.
>Cooking with fresh herbs can be a whole different experience than using
>them dried.
>Sumach buds (the red ones, not the white and not poisonous) also make
>for a fine tea.
>You might also experiment with a food dryer particularly as something
>gadgety to do on DFI to avoid other 'chores'.
>
>][<
>
>--
>To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
>uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
><http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>

--
Ruth Barton
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Dummerston, VT

--
To terminate puerile preservation prattling among pals and the
uncoffee-ed, or to change your settings, go to:
<http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/bullamanka-pinheads.html>