Harvest.

Before the next lot of heat hits I thought to harvest some herbs to dry. I'm often bad at this. I love to use fresh herbs most days and just run out and pick some and I love to give away fresh bunches. Now and then in the supermarket I look at the fresh bunches, the size and prices of them and realise what an asset I have and that doing this is worth a lot of money!

But I don't keep up and the garden grows huge and lots of herbs are wasted... the chooks get bunches to eat which is really good for them. Also I know much of it will grow back and better if I cut it back so I have had a harvest of herbs to dry and am planning to make bouquet garni and fill jars with these for the winter months and for gifts.

Just cutting into the herb garden with scissors is amazing, the smell of oregano, thyme, rosemary is beautiful. Yum. I have tied up bunches of bay leaves, rosemary, oregano, thyme and parsley and have them drying. 

After all this I still have plenty of fresh herbs to cut daily and also I did not cut basil as to me that should be fresh and we are keeping up with it that way.

The parsley, thyme and bay leaves are the ingredients for a basic bouquet garni and I have muslin so I can make lots of these for free. A really lovely gift for a cook. All home grown, no pesticides, sprays, just natural herbs. How healthy and good!

I had a lot of parsley going to seed, I left some so I get baby plants coming up everywhere which I just love and I gave some of the seed heads to the chickens which they love!

Some of the herbs are hanging inside and some are outside in the sun, kind of an experiment.  They dry so quickly this time of year, in 24 hours they had shrunk by about a third.

I find here the things I plant in January do the best so in a week I will buy some seedlings of basil and more tomatoes and a few things and plant a second round. Each year these do much better than the spring planted things, I don't know why, but doing it means I have herbs and tomatoes for months to come.

Another thing I know... having herbs and vegies growing is very good for me. Seedlings mean you have to go out and BE in the garden. They need watering three times a day when it's hot... I know the outside, the sun, the birds, the scents all being me health and joy. It's extra fresh and healthy amazing nutrients and flavour but also the joy and beauty of nature and the happiness of growing things.... It is good for us. I know I even sleep better if I have spent plenty of time outside during the day. It's also accidental exercise, gardening...

Many places the prices of fresh produce are high, especially in remote places in Australia. Growing things and also sprouting things inside can add a huge amount of fresh flavour and goodness cheaply in those circumstances. You always have something fresh to garnish and sprinkle over meals. They look extra lovely and fresh and fragrant as well.

                                   Fresh herbs drying in the sun from my little harvest!