Hang herb bundles upside down in a warm, dry, dark space with good airflow, such as a corner of the drying shed or a covered porch; drying takes 1-3 weeks depending on the herb. Dry each species separately and label it at once, because dried leaves of different plants look alike and a misidentified medicine or poison cannot be told apart later.
Herb and medicine drying is the slow removal of water from cut plants in a sheltered, ventilated place so that their active compounds are kept and mold does not grow.
Drying Is The Easy Part; Keeping Species Straight Is The Hard Part
A drying shed already offers what herbs need: warmth, moving air and shelter. The risks lie elsewhere. Direct sun degrades the compounds that make the herb useful. Slow drying lets mold grow, and mold can produce toxins. And dried leaf, stem and root from different plants look very much alike, so a mix-up can pass medicine for a poison. The shed is the easy answer to the first two; labels and separation are the answer to the third.
For the full method of harvest, drying and storage, and the potency each preserves, see Drying and Storage and Herbal Medicine. For the garden that supplies the herbs, see Herb Garden.
What You Need
- A warm, dry, dark space with good airflow: a corner of the drying shed, an attic, or a covered porch
- String and a rail or line to hang bundles from
- Racks or screens for flowers, seeds and roots
- Labels: species, date, and where harvested
- Airtight containers for finished herbs, stored cool and dark
Method: Dry And Label
Step 1: Gather small bundles. Small bundles dry through to the middle; large ones stay damp in the center.
Step 2: Label first. Tie the label to the bundle before hanging it. Do not rely on memory.
Step 3: Hang upside down in the shed. Warm, dry, dark and airy. Keep bundles apart so air passes between them.
Step 4: Dry for 1-3 weeks. Check by touch: leaves should crumble and stems should snap. Longer in humid weather.
Step 5: Keep species apart. Never hang two species in one bundle, and do not mix medicines with culinary herbs on the same rail.
Step 6: Store dry. Move finished herbs into airtight containers and keep them away from heat and light.
Step 7: Throw out anything moldy. Do not try to save a bundle with mold on it.
Common Mistakes
- Drying in direct sun — loses the active compounds.
- Big bundles — the middle rots.
- Unlabelled bundles — an unidentified plant is unusable and potentially dangerous.
- Over the stove — steam and grease; see Drying and Storage.
Safety
Misidentified plants and mold
Several common wild and garden plants are poisonous and resemble useful herbs once dried. Never use a dried plant you cannot identify with certainty, and never relabel from memory. Keep medicines out of reach of children and apart from foods. Moldy herbs can carry toxins and spores that damage the lungs; discard them and wear a cloth mask if clearing a large moldy mass. This page gives no doses; see the herbal medicine pages for any dosing, and do not guess.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Drying and Storage — the full method and potency
- Combine with: Solar Drying Shed Design — the shed that dries them