How do I dry my own herbs such as basil and cilantro?

These tender, annual herbs don't dry well. Their essential character is lost if they are dried, unlike perennial woody herbs such as rosemary, lavender or thyme, whose tough leaves have natural oils which retain the scent of the plant. Cilantro and basil are best used fresh, of course, but if you have a bumper crop, you can try freezing them or making them into something else--like pesto or chutney--which allows the true scent and flavor of the herb to be preserved, frequently under oil.

If you don't have nettles growing in your area, count yourself lucky when weeding :)

You can buy them - try your local health food store.  If they don't have it, they'd probably be happy to order it for you, or you can buy dried nettles online:

 http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=nettle+tea&hl=en&safe=active&prmd=imvns&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.,cf.osb&biw=1537&bih=846&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=16628130219154030467&sa=X&ei=26wJT4mUG8i42QXs2-iSAg&ved=0CK8BEPMCMAE

 

Or, you could try to plant them:

 http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-6898-stinging-nettle.aspx

How do you all use nettle? I have it taking over my 2 acres! It would be nice to be able to do something with it other than fight with it.. it seems indestructible.

I have not used this technique yet, but I have read in other posts that you could use your attic for drying herbs. Usually they are vented, and you have shade. Another place one often forgets about is utilizing your car which turns into an oven when sitting in the sun. Just make sure you keep the windows open at least part way for some air circulation. I have used both window screens and paper bags for drying herbs with success.

I typically dry basil and mint by 1st bunching some branches together. I take a string approximately 18" long and tie it into a loop. I slide the loop into the stem end of the bunch of herbs. I then wrap an elastic band around the very end of the stems making sure the string is toward the leaf side of the elastic band. I hang the bunch by the string leaves down. The elastic band tightens on bunch as the stems dry so it holds the bunch together as the stems shrink. It takes a couple of weeks for the bunch to dry all the way. P.S. My grandmother nukes mint to dry it. It works really well, but I'm not a big fan of the microwave.

Herb drying methods will depend upon some variables >

1. Temperature & humidity. Air drying in the shade is best for preserving flavor & nutrition & herbs dry quickly if your temperatures are warm, air is relatively dry & you have some natural air movement. I have dried a lot of herbs in these conditions. In humid conditions you may need to add heat or air movement & even use a dehydrator machine. Some small experiments will test your conditions for drying in a few days. Someone else will know more about dehydrators than I do. You want to avoid excess heat, so oven-drying would be a last resort in a humid climate!

2. What volume of herbs do you want to dry?  Traditionally, small amounts of herbs are pictured tied in narrow bundles & hung from a shady line to dry. Bundles can be very pretty. We have produced many apple-boxes of dried herbs by spreading the harvest in a thin layer - one or two branches deep - on a sheet in a dry, shady place with air movement. We turned the herbs by hand a couple of times & they were fully dry in a few days. The aroma is wonderful, especially if indoors!

A big dried herbs harvest can be stored in clean boxes - mine are from the Post Office - & stored in a closet until you are ready to process the dried herbs for your pantry or gifts. For me that is usually after Thanksgiving & we make a day of the project with children who have helped harvest. Why clean boxes? We found that free produce shipping boxes sometimes brought us unwelcome insects. And I wouldn't trust plastic with volumes of dried herbs because of existing or reabsorbed humidity.

3. When harvesting mint ... we have two full harvests per summer by cutting the mint back 2/3 when it is about a foot+ tall. After a cool spring, we are just starting the first harvest of a big Peppermint patch that wants to grow along the banks of the irrigation canal. My friend spread the first cutting on a sheet on her sunny deck & folded the cloth over for shade. We will see if that works in our dry climate - or if the cover slows the drying. The next cutting will be spread on a sheet indoors & i am looking forward to the aroma!  :-)

4. When harvesting basil, cilantro & other herbs ... you should cut what your plant can spare & still look nice - or harvest ~ 2/3 if it's early enough to expect a second-growth harvest.

5. Maximum flavor ... probably results from harvesting early in the day, as soon as the dew is off the herbs. But i don't recall being picky about time of day & the preserved flavors have always been very rewarding.

Update: Folding a sheet over herbs for shade in the sun does not work - they need more air movement, even though plenty hot. Drying herbs on a sheet indoors is working normally, even though this floor is carpet rather than tile. Just the refreshing aroma would make a small herb-drying project worthwhile.