Dried herbs

 It's time to do some last minute herb drying and storing for the winter.  We are using an old wooden baby gate that we attached to the underside of our basement stairs to hang the herbs on to dry.  This is a nice location because we have a wood stove nearby and with the cooler nights we have been burning some wood.  This has helped to dry our herbs very quickly.  I am trying to beat the frosty nights to a few more herbs for our tea, salves, and tinctures.  You might not be able to see all the herbs in the picture to the left but we have thyme, lemon verbena, lavender, comfrey, candy-apple mint, and rosemary drying on the rack.

This is a picture of our thyme (Thymus vulgaris) all dried and ready to be broken up and placed in a jar for storage.  Thyme is a wonderful addition in many foods but it also has medicinal properties.  Is is often used for colds and throat problems like laryngitis.  Is has antiseptic action so is good in mouthwash and toothpaste and it can be used for parasites as well.  It does need to be used with caution because too much can cause issues with your thyroid and it can cause symptoms of poisoning in large dosages.

This is a picture of fresh comfrey (Symphytum officinale)  that we dry for salves and tea.  Comfrey is high in many vitamins, minerals, and nutrients as well as having a high calcium and protein content.  Some people won't use comfrey internally because some limited testing has shown to cause liver damage in lab rats.  We use it and haven't had any problems but if you choose to use it be aware and do your own research.









This is horehound (Marrubium vulgare) that we started from seed this spring.  It is generally used for cough and bronchial problems but can also be used for skin conditions.  We use it for colds inour house.

 Lemon Verbena (Aloysia triphylla)  is used for cooking when we want to add a lemon flavor.  We also put it in tea and soap or salve to give a lemon scent.

The candy-apple mint goes in our teas and is used in some cold glycerites to give a nice mint flavor and bronchial action to them.  The Rosemary is used in cooking, herbal remedies, and to supplement our goats in the winter.