Drying herbs is a great thing to do so that you always have seasonings on hand, even when your favorite fresh herbs are out of season. Here are some tips and tricks on drying herbs.
Air Drying is the cheapest and easiest, although it does take some time. This works best with hardy herbs like Rosemary, Dill & Thyme, although you can try this technique with others too of course! (I'm going to go ahead and give it a whirl with my chives.)
1. Trim branches from plant, sit out to let dew or extra moisture dry. (If you do not dry your herbs properly they will rot. eeeek.)
2. Gently scrub off anything extra (bugs, etc) and pick off those dead leaves.
3. Gather herbs into bundles and tie tightly with a ribbon or somethin'. Be sure and tie it tight, the herbs will shrink as they dry and may fall out of their little get-up. I learned this the hard way while drying roses. They fell from my balcony to the first floor... oops.
4. To avoid my mistake above, try putting the herb bundle in a paper bag (*recycling opportunity!*) and then tie your twine on. Poke a few holes in the bag for ventilation.
5. I hang mine outside on my balcony, but you can hang yours anywhere that they'll be out of the way, as long as the place is warm & dry.
This process takes weeks. So, just keep-a-checkin' and when they're dry and crumbly, chop and place in a jar or airtight container. I use all those cute little jars (like for pesto or pimentos) that I just can't bring myself to throw away. Guess what! Now you have an excuse to keep yours too. :)
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