sage

The sage in my herb garden is looking great after a few rains which have occurred over the last couple of weeks. If you are ready to harvest your sage, you can either pick the leaves individually or shear the plant straight across, leaves and stems. Be careful not to cut back over 1/3 of the plant, and stop harvesting after October to leave nourishment for the winter months. My sage generally dies back in the fall, but will come back in early spring. Mulching with straw will help before the first frost, or sage can be dug up, repotted and brought into the house for an indoor winter garden. If you want to dry sage for winter use there are a number of ways to do so. If it is still hot enough (like it is here: 90's yesterday) you can put the individual leaves in a brown paper sack and dry on your dashboard, or place the bag in the trunk of your car for a few days.


You could use a dehydrator ( needs to have a low setting 90-95 degrees available), or put them in the oven at 120 degrees for a few minutes. Dried herbs should be about as crackly as corn flakes and completely dry before storing.





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