Harvest, dry herb plants to gain seasonings

: I have never tried planting herbs in my garden and I don't know what to do or how to get the seasonings from them. Is this too complicated for an ordinary gardener like me?

A: You may have heard of herb gardens, kitchen gardens or even herb gardens with plants trimmed into fancy mazes or knots; however, you don't have to do any of those gardens to receive the healthful benefits of fresh herbs.

Herbs are plants grown for flavoring in foods and beverages, as fragrances in potpourri and occasionally for medicinal qualities. Leaves are used in some and the flowers, seeds or roots utilized in others. Most are easy to grow as annuals even if they are a perennial type of plant -- they can be planted in containers or in the garden. Many have decorative qualities like colorful leaves, bright flowers or strong fragrances that make them nice additions to flower beds; some even attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Look at the plant label to learn more about its culture. Most prefer full sun, but many can grow in a few hours of shade. Almost all thrive in a soil that is damp but well drained. The size of the plant will determine where in the garden it should be planted. Some only grow a few inches tall and spread out; others can easily grow over 5 feet tall.

Herbs that are planted for their leaves can be harvested a leaf or two at a time as necessary for a recipe, while whole branches and plants can be gathered and sold as fresh herbs. During the summer, but especially in the fall as winter weather comes to kill the annual herbs, herbs can be gathered for drying just as they begin to flower. This is the time that the plant has the most oil, which is used for the flavoring or fragrance.

If the plant is a perennial that you are leaving in place for a few years, cut off only about a third of the leaves and branches at a time. Look at the harvesting task as a type of pruning. If you use a sharp pruner to maintain the plant's shape and compactness, you will probably receive several crops harvested off the same plant in a single season.

Herbs grown for seed will need to be left to bloom and produce seeds. After the flower petals fall, watch the plant to see when all the seeds fall off. Cut off the whole flower head when the seeds mature and place it into a bag -- you don't want to lose any seeds. Spread the seed heads out on a tray for drying.

Before drying seeds or leaves, it is a good idea to wash them off. There may be garden dust and dirt, or even insects and spider webs. Once they are clean, spread them out on paper towels to air-dry. If there are larger stems, tie them together and place in paper bags to dry. That way if they break apart, you still keep all the parts together. It can take a month or more to get them completely dry, and if they are still wet, they can become moldy when stored.

Herbs dried with heat may dry faster, however, if the heat is too high, the volatile oils can evaporate away, leaving a bunch of dead leaves that don't taste like much. Set them on a tray lined with a paper towel and place them in an oven set to about 150 to 180 degrees. Leave the door cracked open and check them in several hours.

After they are dried, the leaves can be crumbled off the stems or left whole. Place everything into airtight jars -- any air can allow the oils to evaporate. Sunlight also can reduce the quality of the dried seasonings so store the jars in a dark location.

As I mentioned above, some herbs like anise, dill and parsley attract butterflies. Swallowtail butterflies use them as a food source for their caterpillars. At first you might be upset to lose a whole plant as the caterpillars eat it all, but if you enjoy swallowtail butterflies it can be worth it. One way around this problem is to plant several extra plants of these caterpillar favorites. Then as you see caterpillars on the one you are saving for yourself, take off the offending little buggers and move them to the other plants.

Q: I am putting out some new cypress mulch in areas where the old has broken down. Should I remove the old before I put down the new?

A: The best thing for replenishing garden and flower bed soil is broken-down composted mulch. Leave it all and add more occasionally. This mimics the way nature has added leaves, twigs and pieces of bark to refill forest soils. Cypress takes longer to break down; it lasts longer, but there are some questions as to how many cypress trees can be harvested in a sustainable way.

Q: I was told that it would help my orchid plant if I put it outside for the summer. It seems to be doing fine where it is indoors, but it didn't bloom this spring like it did last year. I don't like moving my plants around because I always seem to get bugs when I bring them back indoors.

Is there something I can do to get it to bloom without going outside?

A: Since orchids are normally outdoor plants, many do seem to bloom better if they spend the summer on vacation outdoors. Even in a shady location outdoors, they receive a better quality of sunlight than they get through the window that blocks some of the wavelengths of light. You could try adding a grow light for some help.

They also receive a variety of daily and seasonal temperature changes, especially toward fall, which assist in setting some orchids and other plants, like Christmas cactus and azaleas, in the process of blooming. Therefore, orchids might not bloom if they are kept indoors at a steady temperature.

Plants growing outdoors receive rain and humidity changes that don't occur indoors. Unfortunately, these outdoor benefits are difficult to mimic inside.

Don't forget to fertilize them following the label directions.