Hello once again my fellow garden enthusiasts. Wow – two garden blogs in one week. I thought I would get another one posted before the season is officially over and planning for the 2012 begins. On Wednesday I wrote about how my zucchini plants flourished well into October despite the odds and today I’d like to discuss drying the herbs from the garden.

Some herbs (like parsley) tend to be heartier than others (like basil). However, if you have herb planters you can extend their growing season by placing a tarp over them at night and on cool days. The growing season has been generous to my parsley and it has taken off like a weed. So I decided to try something different and dry it. I cut and washed the parsley then plucked each leaf off the steam and placed them in the dehydrator. I then ground up the dried leaves and kept it in an airtight container.

Image of dried herbs in bowls courtesy of foodandstyle.com (click to enlarge)

I’ve since tried the parsley in a variety of recipes and was astounded by its amazing flavour. It may seem obvious that freshly dried herbs will be more flavourful than those purchased at the store, but this was my first time drying my own parsley so I had no idea just how much more flavourful. I chopped some up and mixed it with butter (you can also use the vegan if you prefer), and then froze the mixture into logs so now I even have fresh (and delicious) compound parsley butter ready to go.

I also dried my chives, as I do every year, because dried chives can be used in a multitude of dishes. In addition to drying chives and parsley, I also dried my sage and used it on (Canadian) Thanksgiving. It gave a fresh and robust flavour to my stuffing—I’m now looking forward to using it at Christmas. Herbs are not the only things that one can dry; in addition to tomatoes you can even dry hot peppers. If you wash them then cut them in half lengthwise they will dry nicely in your dehydrator or oven. When the peppers are dry you can crumble them and they become the perfect accompaniment to pasta dishes or anything that needs a little “hot” kick.

These are ways of preserving the fresh flavours of summer so you can enjoy them all year long. So when you are wondering what to do with your surplus harvest think about drying as a viable option.

Do you any of you dry or dehydrate anything from your garden? If you have any tips, tricks, or stories please share in the comments.
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