Not sure how to harvest and handle your herbs? Here is a quideline for harvesting and drying them:

• Most herbs have their highest concentration of oils (which produce the flavor) right before they bloom, making it the best time to harvest.
• The best time of day to harvest herbs is in the early morning, before the sun has hit the plant. The leaves have the most essential oils at this time.
• Dry your herbs as quickly as possible in a cool dry place. Don't use the oven or microwave.
• When storing, keep the leaves whole if possible. Break up the leaves only when you are ready to add them to the pot.
• People have a tendancy to view the herbs potential by it's size. Since dried herbs are shrunken and smaller, they think they need to use more of them, compared to the fresh herbs. It is actually quite the opposite. The dried herbs have concentrated their flavors, so you use less of them. When using fresh herbs, make sure you use enough of them to get the impact of flavor you would get with the dried herbs. The rule of thumb is: Use more if it's fresh, if dried, use less.

Here are some harvesting tips for some of the herbs and how they generally are used in cooking.

Angelica: Harvest this biennial in late summer of first year or in spring of second year. Cut bright green young stems to ground level. Candy young stems by boiling small peices with sugar water, then drying the pieces. Chop and add to ice creams or mousses, cut into shapes for garnish.

Basil: At the end of the growing season, before the weather turns cold, cut the entire plant to the ground. Strip off leaves and dry. Dry stems. During the growing season, you can pinch off the tips of the plants before they flower. Dry the leaves or blend them and freeze them in cubes for use in pesto, soups, sauces, stir fry,etc. The dried basil stems can be used in place of wood chips when grilling or smoking.

Fennel: Gather flowers when they turn bright yellow, before the seeds form. Dry them on a tray, then rub them between your palms. Shake through a sieve to remove larger stem pieces. Use fennel (it will be like a powder or pollen) in soups, on roast pork, fish and shellfish.

Lavender: Harvest the flower spikes when they have full color, but before the blossoms open. Hang bunches of the spikes to dry, then you can strip buds off the stems and store in a jar. You can grind the dried buds with sugar for baked goods, add buds to spice rubs, or infuse them in milk, cream or syrup for desserts. Use whole dried stems for decorating the top of cakes or puddings.

Lemon Verbena: In late summer, cut plants back by half. For earlier use cut sprigs just above a leaf joint. Hang sprigs to dry or grind the leaves with equal parts sugar and store it in the freezer. Use this sugar to sweeten drinks or desserts. Use dried leaves for infusions.

Marjoram: Gather sprigs of leaves before they flower for fresh use. Once they look like they are budding, cut whole stems to the bottom and hang to dry. Marjoram will multiply by root shoots, so saving seeds is not necessary, but if they do go to seed, harvest them for starting new plants or seed swapping. Marjoram is used in French spice blends, soups, stews, stir fry dishes, pototo dishes and blends for baking breads with herbs.

Mint: Cut spearmint or peppermint nearly to the ground, just before it flowers. Dry stems upside down in bunches, then remove and store leaves in a tightly covered jar. Dried leaves are used in teas or recipes, especially lamb recipes.

Oregano: Greek oregano is excellent dried just as the stems begin to bud. Cut about 2/3 of the stem and dry in a well ventilated place. Once dry, strip leaves from stems and store in jars. Dried oregano is used anywhere there is tomato, pizza, sauces, breads, herbal blends, salads, pasta, chicken, fish, and olives. It infuses well in salad oils and vinegars.

Rosemary: You can harvest right off the plant nearly year round, but for best flavor, cut off side shoot sprigs from a healthy full plant, dry upside down in a dark place. Rosemary will fall off the stems if disturbs, so a mesh bag over it or screen under it will help to preserve your harvest. Crumble the dried leaves into meat dishes and hearty breads. Rosemary sprigs are used fresh in BBQing to lightly flavor meats. Rosemary will also combine with some sweet dishes.

Parsley: Will grow year round in milder climates. If you need to harvest yours, cut them down to the ground and lay out on trays or screens to dry. Parsley is used everywhere, so dry plenty.

Tarragon: This herb is delightful in dishes. Tarragon chicken is an old favorite. Once your plants are full and healthy, cut 1/2 of it off the top. Don't cut more than that or it might not survive. Hang your harvested stems to dry in bunches. You can use it fresh or dried. Use tarragon to make herb butter to use with seafood, chicken, asparagus, beans, beets, carrots, and summer squashs.

Thyme: Let it flower, then cut it back. When the plant grows back again, cut down only 1/2 and preserve these stems. Don't harvest too close to autumn. Give the plant time to recover again before it gets cold, so it won't succumb to frost. Hang your sprigs in a well-ventilated place to dry, then store the leaves in a tight jar. Dried Thyme is used in herbal blends, stock, stews, soups. 1 teaspoon of dried thyme is equal to 1 tablespoon of fresh leaves.

A note about your herb plants. If you do not wish to dry your herbs for use in cooking, cut off the herb stems as noted above anyway, to ensure a lush healthy growth next year. The stems can be burned as a fire starter or composted. You can also just lay the stems on the floor of a shed or barn to repel insects.