Harvesting Herbs For The Winter To Save Money

Slowly start harvesting herbs for the winter to save money. As the herbs in your garden are growing large in size, cut them off and bring them inside your home. Wash them all up thoroughly. Then set them apart to sit on a tray and dry. It takes approximately one week for everything to dry completely.

By harvesting herbs for the winter you will gather a lot of spices and mint leaves to make yourself many hot cups of decaffeinated teas.  

These spices and mint leaves are expensive buying them from outside. A small .5 oz. (14 grams), of oregano sells for almost $4.00. Whereas at home you can grow a lot, use a lot and not spend much money at all. 

Mint is the same in price in the stores and yet grows uncontrollably wild in the backyard. You can grow so much that eventually you do not know what to do with it.

 

What Herbs Can I Harvest For the Winter?

In 2022 you can harvest oregano, rosemary, lemon balm, basil, peppermint and spearmint. Last year I grew enough basil to not have to grow any this year. There are several uses for each one of these items.

What Can I use Rosemary For?

You can make your own homemade rosemary infused oil. This oil can be applied to help with healthy shiny hair. It is also a great hair cleanser and helps promote hair growth. Rosemary can also be used as a garnish for soups and pasta dishes. Adding rosemary to your dishes make a huge improvement in the taste.

Make sure to clean everything before placing the herbs and leaves on a tray to dry.

What is Oregano good for?

Harvesting Herbs For The Winter To Save Money

Oregano can be used in many dishes. For example, you can add some oregano spice when making breads, sauces, dips, spreads, pastas, soups, salads, pizza etc. Harvesting oregano is great because you can have it throughout the colder seasons without buying it outside. You can also make oregano infused oil as well which can be applied for several purposes. 

Oregano oil has many beneficial properties to it. For instance, it is good for our hair, it is a natural antibiotic, has cancer fighting properties, helps lower cholesterol, is a powerful antioxidant, helps treat yeast infections, plus more.

When you have dried up the oregano, put it in a bag or a spice container.

What are lemon balm, spearmint and peppermint good for in the winter?

All three of these mint leaves can be dried up for the winter to make decaffeinated teas. They are a good evening beverage after dinner. Spearmint and peppermint can also be used in your frozen smoothies.

If you wish to make some spearmint or peppermint tea, it is better to add in dry leaves. You can also make a powerful strong and natural peppermint and spearmint oil for yourself. Both of these mints have several beneficial properties to them, including lemon balm.

Spearmint oil helps to provide relief from headaches, nausea, vomiting and issues related to the lungs and breathing.

Peppermint oil is good for killing germs, reducing muscle spasms, prevent or reduce vomiting and nausea, helps stop itching and more.

For all the herbs you grow, make an infused oil out of them. It is expensive to buy a small bottle of any one of these items.

For the oil use either all natural coconut oil, grapeseed oil or traditional cold pressed olive oil. These are the best carriers to make your infused oils using herbs.

How Much Money Can I save?

Can Harvesting Herbs Save You Money?

For this winter I have collected a lot of mint and herbs to use for these various purposes.

Growing your own spices in the backyard goes a long way and is well worth investing in. One large ziploc bag of dried mint is equivalent to making at least 50 cups of herbal tea, which will cost $3.00 average/cup.

 

One large bag is valued at $150.00 worth of decaffeinated teas. The pictures do not include the rosemary I collected. I used it to make some rosemary oil and put it in a small mason jar. The size however, is much larger than what I can buy at a store. Additionally, this is less than $5.00. The quantity is enough to buy 4-5 small jars of rosemary oil for $12.00 or more, saving me almost $60.00.

I also collected a lot of peppermint from the backyard garden as well. It is also enough to make at least one full bag of dried peppermint leaves.

Harvesting herbs for the winter to save money is worth it. This is the first portion of growing 16 vegetables, herbs and fruit in the city. More to come soon.

September 15, 2022