Rosewicket Wicca Coven

 Hi all.

Ok im in need of a few pointers growing my own herbs and also drieing them myself but im unsure of how to store them i put them in little baggies for now but im thinking thats not a great way to keep them. so can anyone leave any tips for me.?

Also how long can they be stored and does it depend upon the plant or herb?

blessed be!

Well, I'm not very good at gardening but I do know that for an herb garden, first just make sure your soil is good for growing plants. Good moisture, ect. There's also a thread here for eco-friendly fertalizers and weed killers if you're interested - it's in the ecology section.

As for getting herbs, I just go somewhere I can find the little baby plants and bring them home to pot. You could go to a Home Depot type store and look in the garden sections, or a specialist plant-warehouse-kind-of-place, particularly Molbax, but I don't know how popular they are or if they're in your area. Potted herb gardens are usually best so you can keep them individual - otherwise one may take over.

Storing herbs! Something I know much about! Alright, for starters I do not suggest you try to store fresh herbs - they could mold, or all around loose taste. It can be done, but I haven't had luck. If you want to use fresh herbs, either for cooking, magic, or medicine, just pick them off the plant a few days in advance at most and keep them in the frige if you won't use them right away. dried herbs are more affective for storing, and not only  that but with the liquid drained out all that's left is thd good stuff! For food, this means lots of flavor, for ritual it means the magical property is very concentrated. Here's a step-by-step:

1. Pick herbs. Make sure they are safe, if you don't know which is which or if they look unappetizing, don't pick them. My rule is, even when herbs are for magic, never pick them unless you yourself would eat them, it's not a waste if you don't - plenty of little critters can enjoy them as food and homes, too.

2. Bring them inside and wash them, especially if you have used sprays and pest-killers (which I don't suggest doing in the first place. We have natural weed and pest killers listed in the ecology section if you're interested).

3. Pat them dry or let them sit on a paper towell until dry.

4. Puncture through or wrap them with a string and hang them in front of a sunny window for a few days, or however long it takes to dry them entirely. Alternatively, you can heat up you oven and put them in for a few minutes. It doesn't matter how hot you heat it up just be sure to watch them - there is a risk of fire if you don't keep track. You can add a little salt at this step to suck up the moisture.

5. Store in an air-tight container and store them in a cool, dark place. I use recycled jam jars or such and keep them in a cupboard. Up to you.

These are other tips, they didn't really fit into the above, but you should know:

-Learn how long you can keep each type of herb. If you're using them for magical practice, then it doesn't really matter if the plant is kept too long and loses flavor; but I use mine for cooking too, and if you keep any dried herb too long it will taste like sawdust!

-If you are doing to be grinding herbs, try to do this as late as you can with a pestile and motar. If you store ground herbs, they often lose prime flavor and texture.

yes I microwave my herbs, to dry then and they seem to keep there colour and smell so I'm assuming the flavour is also being held. jars is an excelent idea i think i could proberbly use jars too, and for small quantities im thinking baby food jars.. only problem there is i dont have a baby haha. im making myself a new herb and spice rack but using most of it for spell purposes, i was not to pleased about using baggies, so im glad you could give me a little tip there, if there is anyother way to store them id realy apreciate it, as jars take up alot of space and i tend to drop things.

im asuming certain herbs only last a few months, i was thinking how to dispose of unused herbs, it seems a bit disrespectful to throw them in the bin any other ideas on this? 

thank you.

blessed be.

Whenever you have food waste (I count herbs as food waste, even when used for magic, ), always put them in the yard waste (with yard trimmings and uprooted weeds) - never the trash. If you have no yard waste bins, start a compost pile or bury them, they will enrich the soil with vitamins. If the weather permits for a fire, you could also toss them in the fireplace and it would perfume the smoke a bit, like smudging. It's too wastefull to throw away biodegradable material such as herbs, fruits, vegetables, or peels.

As for jars - why not just save jars and cans once you'er done with them? Just hold on to them once you're done instead of recycling. Canned beans, corns, or veggies are a good bet, just hold on to the cans when you're done. You can also use plastic bottles and such that you can save after you use the contents up - bathroom products are likely to come in plastic. I store things in jars that once held bath salts or bottles that were once shampoo. Jam and preserve jars will usually be glass. You could probably also find viles or salt and pepper shakers for smaller storage.

I finally finished my herb garden yesterday....

IF you grow mint, grow it in it's own pot or tub as it takes over!

put a layer of pebbles under peat free compost for good drainage!

Water the herbs from the bottom if they are in pots with a saucer.

Grow bay and Rue outside as they make awesome shrubs!

and mugwort is deep rooted so it pulls up nnutrients for the surrounding herbs!

Loads more I could tell you Nats but checkout www.herbexpert.co.uk

thank you for that yes ill try everything i can