$500 Challenge - June Edition

It the time of year that I start harvesting my herbs, and hopefully this year, I'll figure out a good way of drying them.  Of course, once they are dry, I need a place to store them.  And, of course, while I don't want to keep all those little plastic bottles that my store-bought herbs came in, I also don't want to spend a fortune on glass replacements.

Local stores to the rescue!

I found the small ones at the dollar store, for $1.25 each, and the larger ones at the bulk food store for $3.39 each.  20 of the small, and 5 of the large should cover most of my herb storage needs.  Yes, they are made in China, and yes, I could have simply kept and re-used jars from other products.


But I have a guilty little secret - I like pretty things.  I like the idea of opening up a cupboard, and seeing all my home-grown herbs in cute, matching little wire-bail jars.  With my tea herbs in larger ones in the next cupboard over.  And while I do agree we need to make some drastic changes in our lifestyles (or we will be forced to do so eventually), I also know that I'm not perfect, and I'll make up for these guilty little purchases by not doing other things, like having a cell phone, or a large-screen TV, etc.  This journey isn't about perfection, it's about doing what you can, the best you can, and enjoying the trip.  And yes, these wee containers do make me happy :)

Costs: 20 x $1.25 + 5 x $3.39 + $5.45

Total: $47.40

Balance: $121.52

Drying, trying, and crying

Drying:  strawberries, blueberries and chamomile flowers


2 quarts of strawberries, already dried.  The smell contained in that jar is indescribably amazing!

Did you know blueberries take FOREVER to dry? (20 hours and counting at this point...)

The beginnings of a winter's worth of tea:

Trying: four different methods of drying lemons.

Slivered zest:

Larger pieces of zest:

Slices without peel (the source of the zest, of course!):

Slices with peel:

And crying:  my first drying failure.  Well, second, if you count my failure in this same area last year.  Mom and Dad gave me the dehydrator last year for my birthday, which is in the fall.  So I first tried to dry my herbs and mints last summer by just bagging them with a paper bag, and letting air dry.

Total, complete, mouldy failure.

I blame Lake Erie :)  Honestly, I think it's too humid here to air dry.  So, this year, I tried the dehydrator.

Total, complete, tasteless failure. 

Those are supposed to be two large bottles of dried oregano.  It smells NOTHING like oregano. 

That is supposed to be a large jar of dried lemon balm.  It smells exactly the same as the oregano.  Which means it smells nothing like lemon balm. 

I jarred them up, thinking the scent would somehow magically re-appear once they were contained.  Yeah, not so much.  I've finally convinced myself the only good place for these is the compost heap :(

I think the problem is the dehydrator, which is simply too hot for drying herbs without ruining their scent.  I'll try air drying again this year, in a place with better air movement.  Other than that, I'm out of ideas.

Does anyone out there dry herbs in a humid place?  Any trick or tips to share?  Please??

Look! Green things!

Radish seedlings!!

More seedlings!!  (Kale??  Can't remember)

Asparagus!!!!

Garlic!

Most seedlings are up now, with the exception of most of the herbs and the peas & beans (got them in LATE!).  I also made a trip up to Lee Valley after work on Friday, and picked up a few things - all necessities, I promise ;)

Nasturtium seeds (I want to try pickling the green seed heads this year), a rain gauge, min/max thermometer, oriel feeder, plant markers, staples for holding down shade cloth and floating row cover (also bought those), some cheap garden clippers and a small sprinkler.  I have almost NO garden tools, and so am gradually increasing my selection.

The rain gauge in action - I like it, since it has a floating disc that makes it easy to read.

The markers in place in the herb bed.

I also bought these tall tomato spirals.  I planted four tomato varieties this year, two of which require staking (I'll be putting up netting for those), and two that don't, but will do better with some support.  So I'm trying out these spirals, and am comparing them side-by-side with the traditional tomato cages.  Already, I'm liking the spirals better, since simply putting the cages in the ground bent almost every one, and broke one of them.  The spirals are much more expensive, but if they work, and last longer, then they will be worth it.

I also bought a charcoal grill (not at Lee Valley)...

... and got it put together just in time to light it and grill some steak and zucchini!!  Sorry, no pictures of that - I was too hungry :)