The second floor here is hot, so the guest bedrooms there serve as storage. I spread a sheet over the rug, and spread baskets full of mints in rows.
In a few days, they were perfectly dried.
Here you can see the stems half stripped into mason jars.
After getting one side done, I moved to the other side and started from there. It was really nice because all the mess stays on the sheet, so all I need to do is take it outside and shake it before starting over.
After all the leaves are taken off the stems, I put them in the food processor for a quick whirl. Normally I leave the leaves whole, but these are being dried specifically for a tea blend that I'm running very low on.
It is really amazing how little finished herb there was, considering that each of these mints started out as fresh, overflowing, large gathering baskets.
A long time ago when we were operating 2 shops, we decided to attempt to harvest and process our own catnip. It seemed silly to buy something that grew everywhere, and we were selling nearly a pound a week. The labor was intensive, the space it took up was insane, and we never tried that again. But now it is something I truly enjoy. The room smells heavenly.Wow - I just noticed this is my 601st post. Sort of makes you wonder if I'll ever run out of things to say, doesn't it?
