Homegrown Herbal Tea

This year, knowing life would get hectic (but not as hectic as it got), I planned to start switching over to more herbs/perennials and less labor-intensive annual food crops. This past year was herbs in addition to other crops, this coming year most of the crops will be history, back to flowers and herbs. Trying to graduate, hopefully.

I planted lemon balm, bee balm, German chamomile, and anise hyssop for herb teas. The balms (and mint from the previous year) grew like crazy. The anise hyssop never came up, and the chamomile produced only a few flowers. So I have a cup of mint/lemon balm tea in front of me now.

What do you do? Very simple. Grow the plants. Cut off parts that grow where you don't want them to go. You can prune a mint unmercifully in this climate, and it will grow even more. Bring leaves inside and dry on a towel. The low humidity of hot, dry weather and air conditioning help the process. No dehydrator required. Put crispy leaves in a dark glass container to block deterioration from light. Store until winter.

Go for a walk in brisk winter air. Come in with your face tingling and your glasses foggy from the warm house. Warm a cup of water. Crumble about a teaspoon of leaves into a tea ball (metal ball with holes to allow essence of leaves to escape). Drop tea ball into water and let it steep until it smells good to you. It won't get dark like green or black tea, unless you add those leaves to it. Curl your cold hands around the cup and savor it. Mmm.

Basil Aplenty

I like basil in soups and pasta sauce, but sometimes my plants produce so much, we may not be able to eat it all. If you want to start herb gardening, I would suggest starting with basil or mint if you like them. They grow easily, aren't too fussy about conditions, and produce big yields. Fresh basil (especially enough to make a pesto, if you can get pine nuts) is REALLY expensive, so it could easily repay the cost of a pot and some soil and seeds or a seedling. You can freeze basil or mint, or use them fresh. Advice is mixed on drying them, and I have never tried. I might try it in the attic this summer, but it gets so hot up there that the flavorful volatile oils of the basil might evaporate. A small batch as an experiment won't hurt. The picture is from last year on July 4, and the basil is in the front next to the tomato plants. Scary thing is, my tomato plants are almost that big now, from seed, in a different bed with more sun. Wow!