Home-dried oregano

It was a pretty crappy Summer season in my garden overall, with the grand total of 12 manky-looking tomatoes and two cucumbers (there were three cucumbers, but something ate one of them). The outlier here has been my herb collection. These little guys have gone gang-busters. Verdant is not a word I use often, but it’s wholly appropriate in this case.

My oregano has been particularly enthusiastic and we were unable to eat or give away all of it. Seeing as I hate to let anything go to waste (just ask my husband about my left-over wrapping paper collection), I’ve had a go at drying it so I can enjoy it in warming, hearty dishes as we slip into Autumn.

I began this little exercise five weeks ago as this is the recommended length of time for drying out herbs, according to far better gardeners than I online (how lush and gorgeous do the herbs in these photos look? Definitely a candidate for ‘verdant’). Harvesting several bunches of my oregano provided a thoroughly gratifying and pastoral afternoon down in my little courtyard. The bees were all over the oregano flowers which made me feel happy, thinking that somewhere out there, someone could be in line for some honey assisted by my oregano crop.

The method is pretty simple. Cut stems of oregano and tie into bunches, with 2-3 stems per bunch. When knotting the string or whatever you are using to tie the stems together, leaving 5-10 centimetres of string before cutting. Suspend the bunch or bunches upside down from a rail or ceiling, using the extra length of string from the knot. I suspended mine from a curtain rail, over some sheets of paper to catch any early-falling leaves. Check after 4 weeks and leave until thoroughly dry (mine took 5 weeks). Once dry, harvest by holding each branch over a piece of paper or cloth and brushing downwards to remove the leaves from the branches. Rub the leaves with your fingers to break up into smaller fragments and store in an airtight container. Use in cooking or as a garnish.