To those who mentioned the price of buying plants, I think you would have to decide how much you use. I know that buying one bunch of herbs from the store is about the same as buying one plant, but for me, I harvest mine all year long by bringing them in during the winter, so they have been a very good investment.

Jenel – I was referring to a plastic bag.

Great to hear the tips for harvesting, as I have been growing fresh herbs on my balcony. Unfortunately the weather has been unseasonably cold and they haven’t been doing too well. Not enough sunlight I think.

If you grow your herbs outdoors, some will reseed and come up the next year. In warmer climates (zones 9-10) rosemary, parsley, lavender and thyme grow all year. Mint and chives die back a bit in the winter but come back just fine in the spring.

If you don’t have much room, you could grow your herbs in a couple of pots outdoors.

I grow genovese basil. While it does die back in the winter, in summer it gets huge. When it goes to seed, it leaves enough seeds for the birds and for me; mine usually reseeds itself each year.

I think it’s best to harvest and dry herbs throughout the growing season. The more you harvest, the more it encourages the plant to branch and continue to grow. It also delays flowering, which keeps the flavor of the leaves more potent. Plus, by the end of summer you will have a bounty of homegrown herbs to last throughout the winter.

Do you find that more tender herbs, such as basil (my favorite!) don’t fare well with freeze drying?

When I used to buy herbs, especially basil, I never end up using all of them. So I just throw the bunch in a clear short vase with water (it was a rectangle vase with wide mouth and short) and I change the water every few days, basically whenever I see it and remember it (it sat on my counter next to the stove by the window). Well, the basil rooted!!!!!! It didn’t have roots before, but then it did! I actually had successfully planted some into dirt using that method and it become really healthy plant. But I just left them in the vase with the water and they lasted A VERY LONG TIME!

And I learned that you aren’t supposed to put the basil in the fridge due to moisture issue. I always put them in the water in the vase when I have to buy them (like in the winter in New England, herbs don’t really exactly grow outside in the snow ) and I can have them for awhile!!!

As for when to store them…I would do it throughout the season if you have really abundant plants. If you don’t, I’d just cut off your annuals at the end of the season and dry it all at once. I actually grow my herbs in pots on my windowsill in my kitchen (being in Alaska the growing season is short to say the least otherwise). I’ve managed to keep the same parsley plant growing and producing pretty well now for 4 years. I can usually get 2 years out of sage by keeping it inside. My rosemary did great for about three years and then it caught a blight and died (I’m looking into replacing it here sometime soon . And I just dry my herbs as they start to get a little old on the plant but aren’t dried out and grody yet…that way waste not want not. After they are dried I just store them in an airtight stainless steel spice container and they keep pretty darn well for at least a year (they never last that long though…I use them constantly).