If evening is the best time for you, harvest before the dew forms again. Harvest the herbs with scissors and shake off any surface dirt. Then cover the cuttings with a towel as you work to protect them from shriveling in the burning sun.

Don’t bother to wash the herbs unless they are very muddy. Just begin drying them as soon as possible using one of the following techniques:

To hang-dry herbs, first lay stalks on a counter and sort by size. Bunch four or five stem ends together and fasten tightly with wet twine, rubber bands, or twist-ties. Hang the herbs out of direct sunlight in a dry area with good air circulation. You can string a clothesline in an unused room of your home and use clothespins to secure bunches of herbs to the line. If there is no available space out of direct sunlight, put the herbs in paper bags with the stem ends coming out of the top of the bag. Cut several holes in the bags to allow for air circulation, and hang them.

For screen drying, set up screens on wood blocks to provide air space. Set them out of direct sunlight. The herbs can be just touching each other, as they’ll shrink. Lay herbs in a single layer on each screen. If you don’t have a good supply of screen, you can spread out the herbs in a single layer in wicker baskets for drying.

Probably the easiest way to dry herbs is with a food dehydrator. Just follow the instructions that come with the dehydrator.

You can also dry herbs in a microwave oven. Spread a cup of herbs in a single layer between paper towels. Turn microwave on high for 30 seconds. Turn the herbs over and microwave on high for another 30 seconds. Repeat this process until the herbs feel brittle and rattle when you shake the paper towels. Total drying time is about 3 minutes. Take care not to overcook or the herbs will taste scorched.

So the best result is unchanging achieved for spodosol soils and for darkly-grey forest soils having light or medium composition. It is Important, that a depth of lie of subsoil waters was no less than 60 centimeter.

The south-west slopes, having a steepness about 2-3 degrees are the best for planting strawberry.
The process of vegetation begins before on them, the harvest of berries ripens quick. Base and reserved areas for planting of strawberry using is not recommended. If on a depth 15 – 18cm soil is the frozen to the temperature -8 degrees, – a mortal danger threatens your garden strawberry. Acidity of soil must be at the level of 5,5 – 6,5, and maintenance of humus must be at 2% and more.

The Colorado beetle – the eternal enemy of potato, does not walk around the attention a strawberry seedlings. Therefore yet before landing of strawberry, it is necessary to check soil for the presence of larvae of may-bug and wireworm. Probability of their presence in soil increases as far as approaching of territory of garden-plot to the forest bell. Critical maintenance of larvae on unit of area is 0,5 square metre. In this case you must bring ammoniac water to the soil. At the beginning of October the soil is ploughed on a depth 25 – 30 centimeter. In a winter period a wonderful measure for maintenance and multiplying humidity of soil will be retention of snow on fields. In spring the soil being harrow and before landing being cultivate on a depth 14 – 16см.

For a strawberry being fertilization depending on the results of the analysis of chemical composition of soil.

Planting and harvesting of strawberry.

Grow the best strawberries: Quality of strawberry seedlings:

In order that the harvest of strawberry gladden by plenty and quality of berries, experienced gardener recommend to use assorted and healthy preliminary seedlings, with the diameter of root neck no less 6 millimeter. The root system must be fibriled and must have a size of the sprouts of roots no less than 7 – 9 centimeter. The best sorts for planting – elite sorts or 1-th reproduction sorts. You will not make a mistake, if for planting you choose the young plants, which are dug up late in autumn and stored during all winter period at a low temperature.

The young plants of garden strawberry being planted early in spring or early autumn. It is important to be in time with the terms of planting, and conduct her so early, as far as allow possibilities of conducting of works of the fields. If to be late with the terms of the spring planting, then greater part of plants can be perished.

The autumn planting is conducted in a range from August, 10 for September, 20 – 25, after a next rain, or if there is watering possibility. A lateness of the autumn planting just as spring planting ruinously for a strawberry.

Preparation of area under a garden strawberry.
Landing of strawberry seedlings.

Before planting young plants transplants maintain in a cool place no more than 5 days. The best soil for planting – moist, but not wet. During planting you must watch, that a box with seedlings was in shade. If all is done right, a root neck must be at the same level with earth, and the root system must be located apeak. Too long roots shorten to 8 – 10 centimeter. Before this young plants must being watered. To prevent crust, right after watering, earth is mulched a humus or dry earth.

Care for strawberry after planting:
Watering strawberries must pass regularly, without the protracted interruptions. Absence of necessary humidity even during 2 weeks, can strongly reduce the productivity. It is therefore ideal to set the sprinkler system or system of drops irrigation. But at watering, as well as in everything it is needed to keep within limits. Excessive humidity negatively influences on such substantial factors, as winter stableness, stability to the morbific microorganisms.

Planting a seedlings tubers:
Spaces between rows must not overgrow weeds, and area under a strawberry must being cleared of wreckers and morbific displays. The very popular now is become by biological defence of the green planting as entomofags insects.

Harvesting strawberry
The early, medium and medium serotinous sorts of strawberry are harvested in June.

Many of today’s prescription drugs are still made from common and not-so-common herbs. Using plants as partners for beauty, comfort, and health is an ancient art now enjoying a much deserved resurgence. And we don’t need medical studies to tell us that spending time in a steaming herbal bath refreshes the body as well as the spirit.

Like all work with living things, herb crafting is an art as well as a science. Although there are standard procedures for making herbal products, you’ll find variations among the herbalists who have shared their recipes. One practitioner may like to infuse herbal oils in the sun, another may use a Crock-Pot and achieve equally good results. Similarly, most herbs have a wide range of healing properties. It’s not unusual, for example, to find dandelion leaves used as a diuretic as well as a cure for skin blemishes.

Exercise caution when trying an herbal formula, especially if it’s meant to be taken internally. If you’re pregnant, ingesting some herbs may increase the risk of miscarriage. These include comfrey, feverfew, mugwort, southernwood, tansy, and wormwood. If you’re pregnant or undergoing medical treatment, consult a physician before trying any herbal formula.

Keep Things Clean

There is one hard-and-fast rule in making herbal products for both internal and external use: Be sure that all of your equipment and ingredients are clean. Sterilize storage containers or wash them well with hot, soapy water. When a recipe calls for cookware, use glass or stainless steel pans. Aluminum can react with some herbs and with ingredients like vinegar.

Most herbalists prefer to use ceramic or glass containers to mix and store herbal products. However, it’s fine to put a monthly supply of your homemade cosmetics in plastic containers to avoid the chance of broken glass. Be sure to label your homemade herbal products, including both the date and contents.

In his home garden, John also depends on cover crops to build soil fertility. He uses a three-year rotation program, planting a cover crop the first year to build fertility, followed by a “light-feeding” vegetable crop, like peas or beans, in the second year and a :heavy-feeding” crop, like corn or tomatoes, in the third year.

“The microbes in the soil thrive on the habitat created by cover crops,” John explains. “When the cover crops are cut and tilled under, the microbes greatly increase in numbers and feed themselves on the plant residues.” In turn, the microbes generate nutrients in forms that plant roots can absorb.

Ingredients and supplies

2 pounds per 100 square feet cover crop seed (soybean, oat, and medium red clover seed)
Rotary tiller or digging fork

Directions
1. In the spring, sow 1/3 of your vegetable garden with cover crop seed, spreading the seed lightly by hand and raking it in after planting. John recommends combining 2 or even all 3 kinds of cover crops in the same planting.
2. Water the seeded plot well.
3. When the seed has germinated and the cover crop plants are 10 to 12 inches tall, till the plants into the soil. You can also cut the plants to the ground and dig them in by hand, but be forewarned – digging in a cover crop by hand can be a tough job! You may want to rent or borrow a tiller instead.
4. At the end of August or in September, reseed the plot with more cover crops as before. John says that, for the second seeding, a combination of oats and red clover is best.
5. Allow this crop to remain in place through the fall and winter. The crop will be killed by frost, but leave the dead plants in place to protect the soil from erosion during the winter.
6. The following spring, till the cover crop under. Allow 2 or 3 weeks for the crop residues to break down, and the plot will be ready to plant. You may want to work the soil lightly again just before planting.
7. Sow seeds or plant transplants of light-feeding vegetable crops
8. Tend and harvest the crops.
9. The following spring, sow seeds or plant transplants of heavy-feeding vegetable crops.
10. Tend and harvest the crops. The following spring, it’s time to start again with a year of soil-building cover crops.

The seeds, leaves, and even roots of culinary herb plants are power-packed ingredients outside the kitchen, too. Hard-working herbs can be used as natural cleansers and disinfectants. Some herbs can brighten a room with their scent. Others add natural beauty to crafts and gifts.

Part of the appeal of herbs is their intense fragrance and flavor. There are rich choices of formulas that will
help you get the most from your herb garden. But before you can use them to their best potential, you need to know how to harvest and store herbs.

Harvesting and storing fresh herbs

There’s nothing like the luxury of knowing that you have a supply of fresh herbs growing just steps away from the kitchen. Because nothing beats the flavor of just-picked herbs, the best time to harvest
herbs is when you need them! However, if it’s more convenient to plan ahead, early in
the day is the best time for harvesting. Head out to the garden with sharp scissors or clippers just after the morning dew has evaporated.

Unless it’s time to harvest the whole plant, think of harvesting as pruning the plant for continued growth. Clip off up to one-fourth of the plant by pruning the tips or cutting off whole stalks that detract from the plant’s appearance.

If you won’t be using the herbs right away, shake off any surface dirt and submerge the stalks upright in a glass of water. To store for longer than a day, place the glass in a plastic bag, tie it loosely with a twist-tie, and refrigerate. Alternately, you can wrap the cuttings in a damp paper towel and enclose the bundle in a plastic bag. Either way, most herbs will stay fresh for up to three days when refrigerated.

To prepare fresh herbs for cooking, snip the leaves from the stalk with scissors, allowing the leaves to fall onto a cutting board. Then mince the leaves with a sharp knife. You can also roll a small handful of the herb into a ball and use sharp scissors to cut the herbs into fine pieces. You can use a food processor to chop large amounts of herbs but if you try this method, take care not to over-process the herbs or you’ll end up with green mush.

You can use fresh herbs in place of dried herbs in any recipe. Simply increase the amount of dried herb that’s called for with two- to three-fold that amount of fresh herb. This takes into consideration the loss of water in dried herbs: As herbs dry, their Flavor becomes concentrated. In most recipes, it’s best to add either fresh or dried herbs in the last 15 minutes of cooking to retain the most delicate flavor.