Preparing Your Healing Herbsby Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger 16 Aug 2007 10:58 AM If you're going to use herbs for healing, PLEASE make sure that you have correctly identified the plant before using. Some plants that look like safe, medicinal herbs may actually be toxic. If you have any doubts, don't use the plant. Ready to harvest your herb garden? Try to pick your herbs on a sunny morning, after the dew has dried but before the sun has started to bake the plants. Wet plants can mold or mildew -- believe me, you don't want to use a moldy or mildewed plant. Drying leaves, stems, and flowers is as easy as tying them up in bunches and hanging them up. Try to pick a spot that is out of direct sunlight and has good air circulation. The idea temperature is between 90 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but I've had no trouble drying herbs in slightly cooler temperatures -- around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. When dried, the leaves and stems will be crisp and crackling to the touch. Flowers should hold their shapes, but will be light and brittle. Everything should look and smell much the same as it did when you picked it; the colors and scents will be slightly muted, but otherwise, your dried herbs will look and smell much like fresh ones. Drying roots and thick, moist stems takes a little more work. They're usually too moist for hang-drying. Clean roots and stems and chop them into one-inch pieces. Spread them on a screen and place them near a heat source to dry. Use a food dehydrator if you have one. Roots will be ready for storage when they snap or chip easily. Store your dried herbs whole in opaque glass, wood, or hard plastic containers. Metal containers will leach metal into the herbs. When you are ready to use your herbs, you can crush them by hand or use a mortar and pestle for finer grinding. Don't crush your herbs before storage; this can release the oils prematurely and weaken your remedies. Learn more about Aimee Amodio  Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover... Relevanthealth tags User Comments No comments on this article yet. Be the first to comment! Community Tags dried herbs, herbs, herb garden, herbal remedies Discuss this article
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