How to grow and store your own herbal tea

Some herbs to try-
Mint, Lavender, Lemon verbena, Lemon balm, Thyme, Chamomile, Rosemary, Fennel, Sage, Lemon grass (will grow in a pot and can be over-wintered that way), Rose hips (I've mentioned this before, but they have an amazing amount of vitamin C), Linden tree flowers (harvest before the flower bud opens, and they taste like honey), Hyssop (lovely, fragrant leaves and the bees love the flowers), Clover blossoms,Organic citrus peels (eat the fruit and save the peels from the outside. Trim off the sour, white rind to improve the flavour), Blackberry and raspberry leaves, and Borage (the flowers are sweet and the leaves a bit cucumber-y). If you want to get some nutrition into yourself in early spring try gathering some nettles. They are surprisingly healthy, with vitamin C, B1, K, carotenoids, and a lot of calcium and magnesium and a few other minerals. Use gloves to gather them because of the stinging, but after being immersed in hot water they are safe to handle. Young nettles were commonly chopped up and added to pottages in the spring to help people recover after a winter of less food (and vitamins and minerals). Later in the summer they get too woody and fibrous. In fact, nettles are another source of spinnable fibres and are processed like flax.

How to dry and store herbs and plant material-

You don't need any fancy or expensive equipment to dry herbs. All you need is a an undisturbed corner of your house. I like to use large paper bags for my herbs, and an old stove rack or baking rack with some paper towels over them for the juicier things like citrus rinds and rose hips. The tip to good drying is to keep air-flow around the plants, so don't let them bunch up or they'll go moldy. If there's a bit of dirt on them give the plants a rinse with clean water, shake them off, and then let them dry for a while. I like to use paper bags because I just stuff a few stalks inside and let the leaves dry that way, and then remove them after they're dry. Other people like to remove the leaves first and then dry them, but I find that you need a lot of horizontal rack space for that. Also, if there are seeds or loose leaves they will be trapped in the bag.

Once everything is nice and dry I like to put them into glass jars with a rubber seal, but old tomato sauce jars or honey jars do a very good job as well. Anything glass with a good lid. Then, they need to be stored away from light, like in a pantry or a cupboard. You can make up pre-mixes of flavours that you like together, or keep them separate.

Because these plant materials have natural oils in them they will go rancid eventually, so try to use them within 6-8 months of storage for best taste.

There's nothing nicer than brewing up your own blend of herbal tea in the winter. It's a bit of summer garden in a cup while the snow blows outside.

And, up next week, herbal tea recipes and blends you can grow yourself.