Dried tarragon leaves
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Now that you have successfully planted the herbs in your home herb garden you can start to watch them grow and flourish.  Herbs are very useful in so many different ways.  Using herbs from a home herb garden, however involves a lot of hard work and sacrifice.

In order to use the herbs you will need to harvest them first.  Timing though, is a very vital factor.  Wind and sunlight deprives the herbs of their essential oils.  You should choose a calm and dry morning during midsummer to harvest your home herb garden.  Herbs produce little oil during the wet season.

Harvest the herbs just after the dew has dried form the leaves right before the flowers open.  You don’t have to remove the entire plant to harvest the herbs.  At this point, you are just taking a certain amount of growth for use.

You do not need to use the herbs that you are harvesting at the time that you pick them from your home herb garden.  You can preserve them for future use.   Be careful not to take more than one third of the plant’s foliage at one time.  The plant will need a good amount of foliage to re-grow well.  You should also inspect the plants for insects and damaged leaves before you harvest them.

There are three ways you can preserve your herbs after harvesting your home herb garden: by drying, freezing or preserving them in salt or vinegar.  Place herbs to dry by making a bundle of six to twelve stems together, removing any leaves left at the base of the stem.  You can use any kind of string to secure the bundles.  Hang the bundle in a cool location away from sunlight.

If you are looking to dry individual leaves you can place them on a screen or a rack.  Remember to turn them often in order for them to dry properly.  Some people have turned to using appliances like dehydrators, ovens or microwaves to dry herbs as well, although these are less satisfactory ways.

Freezing herbs is a fairly simple way to preserve herbs.  Cut the herbs into ¼ inch pieces and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.  Once the herbs are frozen, you can place them together in a bag and store them in the freezer until use.

The third way to preserve herbs is through a medium.  For instance, you can cover herbs like chopped mint, basil or tarragon with vinegar and it will be preserved for several months.  Or you can make a flavored salt to preserve herbs by alternating layers of fresh herbs between salt.  When completely dry, separate the brown herb from the flavored salt and store it in an airtight container.

Of course, people often use herbs fresh right out of their home herb garden.  Take care cleaning the herbs before they are placed fresh in recipes.  The best way to wash fresh herbs is to place them in a bowl of cold water.  You can even use the sink to accommodate more of them.  Place two tablespoons salt in the water.  The salt in the water will drive away insects without damaging the plant.  You can then remove the herbs from the water to dry in a salad spinner.

Different kinds of herbs in a home herb garden are used for many different uses.  Each different type of herb has their own list of instructions on how to use, harvest, and chop them.  Make sure to research the specific type of herb you are using to use it correctly.

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