How to Dry Herbs

To dry thin-leaved herbs such as thyme and rosemary, make bundles of 3 to 5 sprigs, tie them together with a twist tie, and hang them in a warm, airy, dry, and dark location. (Keep them out of the traffic areas.) They should dry to feel crisp in a couple days.

For large-leaved herbs that you can't get to dry well by hanging, any dehydrator will work as long as it has a low setting (90°-95°F). You can put sprigs or individual leaves in the

dehydrator. The leaves will dry faster when stripped off the stem, but sprigs are easier to

handle. When dried, the crispy leaves snap right off when you run your fingers down the stem. Most herbs will dry overnight in a dehydrator.
When the herbs are dry, put them in the oven at 120°F for a few minutes to make the herbs as crackly as corn flakes. Strip the leaves off the woody stems. If you're sure they're completely dry, you can store the whole leaves, which helps preserve essential oils. But I've had a lot of problems with mildew on herbs stored this way. So I now process them into flakes in a blender or food processor. I add a cup or two of leaves and pulse them in the blender until they become large flakes. Then I seal them in an airtight jar. I like to add a small packet of white rice, wrapped up in cloth or paper, to suck up any excess humidity. You can store the jars in a cool, dark cupboard, but I like to keep the jars in the refrigerator, which helps preserve quality longer.

To dry roots such as orris root, horseradish, and lovage, slice them thin and put them in a

dehydrator or warm oven to dry until they are hard. Store in an airtight jar.

To dry seeds, hang the mature plants upside-down over newspaper or cloth in a warm, dry

location. When the seeds fall, they're easy to scoop up. You also can dry herb seeds in a

dehydrator on low heat. But if the seeds are small, cover the drying trays with cheesecloth so the seeds won't fall through. When dry, you may need to separate the seeds from the rest of the plant. Put the dried material on one side of a cookie sheet that has elevated edges. Crush the plant debris with your hands. Then elevate the tray slightly so the seeds will slide down, separate from the chaff. Once they are separated, put the seeds in the freezer for 48 hours to kill any pests that may be inside. Then seal them in an airtight jar and store in a cool, dry location.

To dry flowers for potpourri or herb wreaths, place individual flowers or sprigs in the

dehydrator. Grower Marty Sickinger likes to dry flowers upright in a vase with a little bit of water. Let the water evaporate slowly, while the plants maintain their open shape. This works especially well with black-eyed Susans and daffodils, which would dry closed up if you hung them upside-down. Experiment with different flowers. Some dry well upside-down, and some  dry best spread out on a screen. Develop the method that works best for you.

One way to gather dill seed is to hang the plant upside-down and wrap a paper bag around it to collect the seed as it dries and falls off.