The Best Way to Dry and Store Herbs for Maximum Freshness

The Best Way to Dry and Store Herbs for Maximum Freshness
This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I may receive a commission if you make a purchase using these links, with NO additional cost to you. 
UPDATED July 11, 2024
 
Summer is the perfect time to enjoy fresh herbs, but what happens when the growing season ends? If you're like me, you want to savor those flavors all winter long. In this blog, I'll share the best way to dry herbs and keep them at their freshest to enjoy all year long.
Why Dehydrating Herbs is the Best Method
In the past, I laid my herbs out in old crates in the basement to dry. While this method worked, the herbs often lost much of their scent and flavor. Then, I decided to try dehydrating them, and the results have been fantastic. They retain their aroma and taste much better, even in the dead of winter. 
How to Dehydrate Herbs
Here's a step-by-step guide to dehydrating herbs using a dehydrator:
  1. Prepare Your Herbs:
  • Wash and pat dry your herbs.
  • For larger herbs like chives and basil, cut them into smaller pieces to ensure even drying.
  1. Set Up the Dehydrator:
  • Place the herbs on the dehydrator trays. For smaller trays, I like to add a fine mess screen and the solid tray on the very bottom tray. 
  • Set the dehydrator to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
  1. Drying Process:
  • Leave the herbs to dry for at least 12 hours.
  • Check if they're dry to the touch. If not, give them more time.
  1. Grind and Store:
  • Once dry, grind the herbs using a coffee grinder or blender.
  • If the hers seem a little damp, I’ll dry them another couple hours ground.
  • Store them in airtight glass jars to keep them fresh.
Benefits of Using a Dehydrator
  • Retains Flavor and Scent:
Dehydrating herbs helps to preserve their natural oils, ensuring they maintain their original taste and aroma.
  • Time-Saving:
The dehydrator speeds up the drying process, saving you time compared to air-drying methods.
  • Versatility:
You can dry a variety of herbs simultaneously without worrying about mixing flavors. As long as you use different dehydrators at the same time. 
Storing Dried Herbs
Proper storage is crucial to maintaining the freshness of your dried herbs. Here's how I store mine:
  • Use clean, dry glass jars with solid lids.
  • Label each jar with the herb's name and the date it was dried.
  • Store the jars in a cool, dark place to keep the herbs fresh for longer.
Dehydrating herbs is a great way to enjoy summer flavors year-round. By following these simple steps, you can ensure your herbs stay fresh and flavorful. Don't forget to experiment with different herbs and storage methods to find what works best for you.
If you need more tips or personalized advice on preserving herbs, feel free to reach out. Let's keep those flavors alive together!
 
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Planting the Garden - Cool and Warm Season Plants

Planting the Garden - Cool and Warm Season Plants

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When starting to plant your garden pay attention to the weather and soil temperature. The planting zones are good guidelines to follow, but always pay attention to the long-term forecast. Here we are on the edge of zones 5 & 6. Some years we have an early spring (like this year), some years there’s a late frost (like 2018 & 2019). 

My recommendation is to plant as early as you can, but insulate if you are able. Temporary greenhouses can be made from PVC or other sticks and clear plastic. This gives early plants a bit more humidity, protection, and heat. You can also keep old blankets on hand or buckets and cover the plants in pots or planters when a frost is predicted. 

Common garden plants that like the cooler weather: lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, and peas. These were planted in my garden in April (minus the beets and cauliflower – we don’t like to eat those, so we don’t plant them). The lettuce and spinach I reused old water tanks that were either rusted out or broken bottom (thanks to my sister’s horse). 
The broccoli, I attempted a makeshift temporary greenhouse to try and protect it a little, to give it the best chance. The seeds I planted as an experiment are coming up and very few of the plants survived. I struggled to keep the cover up and the soaker hose I was using was not watering as well as I thought it was. I am going to try for a fall crop in the rows that didn’t make it. So be looking out for that coming this fall!

For zones 5 & 6 usually by late May the weather is good and soil temperature warm enough to plant the rest of the garden plants. Ideally you would stagger planting, but by May I’m ready for everything to be in the garden and I just plant the rest of the plants within a few days. Make sure you have something to mark your rows and plants. I use metal stakes and flags that I can stick through the seed packet. For marking varieties, I have used spoons, tongue depressors, or other markers from when I started the seeds inside. However, nothing is safe from the re-labeling of a young child. 
Mapping the garden out ahead of time also helps with staggering the planting (see last week's post). You can plant the different plants in their respective spots without having to plant everything at once. 

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Planting the Garden - Map It Out

Planting the Garden - Map It Out

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If you like to have as many plants as possible it is important to plan out where you will plant everything in your garden. I have found that if I space the bigger plants, like the tomatoes, out amongst the other plants the bugs are not as bad. If I don’t map the garden out before, I found that I run out of space or forget something. 

Some plants give off a strong fragrance that bugs don’t like. Use this to your advantage to keep the bugs in the garden away. I plant marigolds all around the boarder of my garden and have seen reduction in the bug issues I had on my plants. Onions and garlic are also pest repellents. 

If you’re going to have both green sweet peppers and hot peppers, make sure they are not next to each other. They will cross pollinate and your hot peppers will not be hot.  In general, the dryer, the hotter the peppers will be. For this reason, I tend to plant my hot peppers on the edge of the garden. They catch water, but not as much as the center of the garden. I also plant the sweet peppers and hot peppers at least halfway across the garden from each other. 

Keep in mind that some plants do well together, while others work against each other. Below is a nice graph I found that has friend and foe plants. You can pair cool season with warm season as well. For example, broccoli will be done early, pair it something that likes the hot like peppers or cabbage and you have doubled your space without adding area! Another tip is to make plants that can climb, like cucumber, climb. Add a fence or old panel for heavy plants like cucumbers, squash, or pumpkins or you can purchase a trellis. I actually take the pumpkins and squash to the irrigation engines or centers and plant them there for weed control!


Friend

Foe


Friend

Foe


Friend

Foe

Beans


Corn


Onions

Beets

Garlic


Beans

Tomatoes


Beets

Beans

Broccoli

Onions


Cucumbers



Broccoli

Peas

Cabbage

Peppers


Lettuce



Cabbage

Sage

Carrots

Sunflowers


Melons



Carrots


Cauliflower



Peas



Lettuce


Eggplant



Potatoes



Peppers


Peas



Squash



Potatoes


Potatoes



Sunflowers



Spinach


Radishes






Tomatoes


Squash








Strawberries








Summer savory








Tomatoes
















Friend

Foe


Friend

Foe


Friend

Foe

Cucumbers


Peppers


Radishes

Beans

Aromatic herbs


Basil

Beans


Basil

Beans

Cabbage

Melons


Coriander

Kohlrabi


Coriander

Kohlrabi

Cauliflower

Potatoes


Onions



Onions


Corn



Spinach



Spinach


Lettuce



Tomatoes



Tomatoes


Peas








Radishes








Sunflowers
















Friend

Foe


Friend

Foe


Friend

Foe

Cabbage


Lettuce


Tomatoes

Beans

Broccoli


Asparagus

Broccoli


Asparagus

Broccoli

Celery

Cauliflower


Beets



Basil

Brussels sprouts

Cucumbers

Strawberries


Brussels sprouts



Beans

Cabbage

Dill

Tomatoes


Cabbage



Borage

Cauliflower

Kale



Carrots



Carrots

Corn

Lettuce



Corn 



Celery

Kale

Onions



Cucumbers



Dill

Potatoes

Potatoes



Eggplants



Lettuce


Sage



Onions



Melons


Spinach



Peas



Onions


Thyme



Potatoes



Parsley





Radishes



Peppers


Friend

Foe


Spinach



Radishes


Carrots


Strawberries



Spinach


Beans

Anise


Sunflowers



Thyme


Lettuce

Dill


Tomatoes





Onions

Parsley







Peas








Radishes








Rosemary








Sage








Tomatoes








 

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Hardening Off - the Part I Messed Up

Hardening Off - the Part I Messed Up

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This is the part I messed up my first year, and by messed up I mean didn't do. Guess what plants that are started inside do NOT take well to just being planted from inside to garden.  You must harden them off slowly. So, what is this? In short it is slowly adjusting the little plants to the outside.

After the seeds are going well in the pods, I move them to a bigger pot. I have a stash of plastic containers that I have purchased plants in and use those. You can also find them on Amazon if you don’t have any handy.  Save them and you can reuse them year after year, until they crack. Many of my herbs I start in these pots to begin with as they will spread anyway. 

After the plants are doing well in the larger pots, I remove the covers and let them remain in the closed greenhouse for a week. Then I open the greenhouse for a week and barricade it so no little ones can crawl in or pull the plants out.  Once the weather is nice, warm, and sunny in the afternoons (about mid-late April), I’ll take the trays of plants outside and set them in a sheltered area that is still in the sun. If you have a large porch that faces west, you could move the whole greenhouse out there and button it back up at night. 

Pay attention to the plants as you take them back in or button the greenhouse up. Are they looking healthy yet? Do some seem to be struggling a bit? If any are starting to struggle with outside, go back a step with those plants, and give them another week to grow. Eventually around the late-April, I’ll start leaving the plants out at night by the house, if the night isn’t going to be cold, or storm. I cannot remember how many times last year I woke up in the middle of the night and ran out to bring plants in because it was thundering. 

Around the first part of May I will start taking the garden plants to the tables by the garden for part of the day. Slowly building up the time they are out there until it is time to plant them. 

Each part of process is adjusted depending on when the plants need to be in the garden, and how each is handling the outside.  The cooler season plants, like broccoli and cabbage, I harden off sooner because they are planted early.  The warmer season plants, like tomatoes and peppers, I take longer with because they don’t like the cool temperature but love the sun. 

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Starting From Seed

Starting From Seed

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A few years ago, I decided to try to start my own plants.  I started with just a small greenhouse starter, that could only start 8 plants at a time. It was a huge success! I started my peppers and tomatoes that year. They did not survive the garden transplant however (more on that later). That summer I found a small greenhouse on sale at Tractor Supply. I was thinking about getting a greenhouse anyway, so…I bought it! 

I like to start my plants early, especially if it is a plant I’m trying for the first time. By early I mean January. This way if the first attempt flops, I have time to try again. The trickiest part of starting plants this early is getting enough warmth and light to the seeds. Grow lights are a must in Nebraska to have a chance at getting plants to grow this early. I found mine on Amazon (click the descriptions to follow the links). The two I have in my greenhouse are somewhat adjustable, with 2 lights and auto off. I have a different one I love that comes with a programmable on/off. I used this one in my basement, so I don’t have to remember to constantly turn it on. 

To decide when to start your plants, first decide when you can (because of frost) and want to (because of schedule), then count back. I sort my seeds by the month they will need to be started. The back of the package usually has how many weeks the plants will take to get going.  

I plan to have most of my garden planted by Mid-May, so I started the first of my herbs in January, as they go in pots around the house and can be pulled into the garage if a late freeze happens. These are also herbs that I have had difficult starting in the past, or were first time herbs. February I usually start the rest of the herbs, unless they are a direct sow like cilantro or dill. I also started my peppers in February, as I have difficulty getting them big and strong enough to survive the garden when I start them in March/April. March, I start the tomatoes (so they get bigger), broccoli and other early plant vegetables. Early April I start the cucumbers and other easy start plants.  April is also the last attempt to restart any of the plants that failed earlier.

I use these handy seed pods to start my plants and simple grow trays. Just add water over the pods and let them expand, then plant your seeds. I use saran wrap to drape loosely over the tray to keep the humidity up. As the plants grow, I’ll use straws or spoons to prop the cover up for a few weeks before taking it off. This method works well if you don’t have a green house as well, because the plastic acts much like a mini greenhouse. To increase soil temperature early, you can buy a heat mat especially for seeds. I used a heat pad on a timer to experiment with at first, and plan on purchasing a grow mat for next year.  

Iv loves to help me start all the seeds by pushing them into the little pods. As much as I like things tidy, I do believe in teaching my children as I do things, so I deal with her mess as she helps, and we also get a lesson on cleaning up at the end.

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Soil Health

Soil Health

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Healthy soil makes a healthy plant. If the soil is deficient in nutrients, especially nitrogen or phosphorus, plants will fail to grow. If the soil lacks good bacteria, the plants will be more susceptible to disease as well. 

On a nutritional note soil that is depleted in minerals, cannot give your produce minerals. This leaves your food lacking in minerals and cannot give you minerals you need.  The best way to determine what your garden has or is lacking in minerals is to take several samples of the soil and have it tested for the mineral content.  Having the soil tested is the best way to determine how much fertilizer you need as well.

For fertilizer I like to use horse manure as it is abundant and must be cleaned out of the pen anyway.  You can use about any livestock manure for fertilizer. Don’t have any? Talk to people in your community.  Anyone who has some usually has an overabundance and will probably gladly get you some of their excess.  Be mindful of the nitrogen content of the manure.  To much can burn your plants.  Using manure for fertilizer is best when applied in the fall and allowed to sit all winter breaking down.  This will also help any excess nitrogen to work into the soil and not burn your plants in the spring.  You can also water extra during the growing year if the plants are looking a little burned. 
Plants absorbs up what is in the soil, both good and bad.   They take up the minerals, and the water, and any chemicals also in the soil. Therefore, it is important to know the source of your plants, especially when using them medicinally.  When preserving herbs, some of these properties can be concentrated.  This is especially true if the plant is being made into an essential oil.  Make sure you know the essential oil company and they know the source of their plants.  Need help? I know a great company and will gladly share with you.   

Keep these in mind when tending the pests in your own garden. Using mulch for weed prevention is better than round up.  Mulch also helps preserve the moisture and encourages good bacteria growth as it breaks down the mulch and you are not tilling it to keep the weeds out.  Tilling disturbs the soil biome and dries it out.  I till once, to work the manure in just before planting and keep the tiller out after that, mulching the garden with unused or refused hay.  

You can help to keep bugs at bay, by using plants that naturally repel them. Marigolds around the edges of the garden work great for keeping pests out.  Onions and garlic also put off a strong scent that bugs tend to avoid.  Keeping larger plants, like tomatoes spaced out in the garden also helps.  I have had much less bug issues in my tomatoes since I started spacing them throughout the garden instead of all together.  


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Plants, Extracts, Salves and Essential Oils

Plants, Extracts, Salves and Essential Oils

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Saving plants to use during the winter is vital. If you are going to use them for cooking or teas, you can simply dry them down. But if you are wanting to use them for more medicinal preventative use, you need a different method of storage. 
 
Tinctures, Vinegar, Glycerite, Honey, and Oil Extracts
Liquid extracts are made using the bark, leaves, or berries of the plants and soaking them for 4-6 weeks in liquid. This pulls the active plant ingredient parts into the liquid, concentrating them. When making a liquid extract decide what the use will be and find the quality herbs that fit for that use. 

  • Tinctures are made with alcohol. This is a great way to store the plants for medicinal user, as it keeps for several years when stored in a cool dark place. The concentrated liquid is also easier to get children to take when needed. 
  • Glycerites are made with glycerin.  These only store about a year but are sweeter than a tincture.  So, children may take it easier.
  • Vinegar is great for making a oxymel, which is a probiotic.  You can take these as is or add them as a dressing to salad or seasoning to vegetables. 
  • Honey infusion is perfect for a little sweet treat that is also beneficial to your health. Raw local honey has great benefits anyway. Infuse with something like elderflower and you have an immune boosting treat!
  • Oil is the best to use when making the extract into a salve.  Olive oil is the preferred oil for most skin care salve.
Salves
Salves are excellent for wound or rash care. Let the herbs soak in oil for the desired time (varies depending on the plant), strain off the solids, warm to melt bees wax and pour into jars. I will occasionally add essential oils, if I am making the salve with a specific purpose. My personal favorite is the calendula salve. It is great for healing the skin and promoting tissue growth. Another good salve is pine, which is good at drawing infection out. 
 
Essential Oils
Essential Oils are extremely concentrated and keep for nearly forever, IF THEY ARE PURE. They are very tricky to make however as slight differences in pressure or temperature or time can make a big difference in what active ingredients are pulled out. When an essential oil is made, it also pulls from everything the plant has gathered and stored. This means if there are chemicals in or on the plant they’re coming too. When making essential oils for medicinal use the minor constituents are very important. These constituents are also dependent soil health (more on that next week). 
 
Whatever you decide to make, be sure to label what it is and what you intended to use it for if your memory is full like mine is. 

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Plant with Purpose: Home Remedies

Plant with Purpose: Home Remedies

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A recent interest I have found is using plants for home remedies. The first book I purchased that has been very helpful and remains my favorite is “Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner’s Guide” by Rosemary Gladstar. It lays out how to know the plants, grow them, and use 33 plants. What I discovered is many of the “weeds” were beneficial! All I needed was to be able to identify them and know where they were naturally growing. If I knew that area was not going to be sprayed, I could just harvest them there! Win!! I didn’t have to take care of it! The best part is most of these are easy to grow and maintain once they are established. I like to get any seeds I can from Seed Savers if I cannot find them there, the next place is Amazon.  I try to get heirloom varieties, as they seem to start from seed and grow the best. They also are great for saving seeds for next year. 

This is still a growing area of my yard. I started collecting the information and trying plants when I was pregnant with my second, not thinking about the fact that having a baby in June greatly limits my ability to take care of the new plants. So I am still working on starting that flower bed….

Here’s what I have so far:
Aloe Vera – gel from the leaves soothes burns, wounds, and skin irritations. This one lives in my house and able to survive toddlers!

Calendula – has so many uses! My favorite is for wounds. It has amazing ability to stimulate cell repair and keep infections at bay. It is also a great for yeast overgrowth, it’s astringent and antiseptic which is great for gastrointestinal problems, and great at nourishing and cleansing the lymphatic system. I love this one! Super easy to grow and re-seeds easily. I keep this on in an old tank by the house.  

Dandelion – the leaf is a mild diuretic and can be used for bladder or kidney problems and is high in potassium. The root is a liver tonic and stimulates the production of bile. It does taste very bitter though. The flower can also be eaten.   You can find dandelions everywhere but make sure, wherever you harvest them from, they have not been sprayed!

Lavender – The flower is the mainly used, but the leaf can be as well. It helps to alleviate migraines and headaches, reduce tension, stress and insomnia. This is one I got going good last year from seed and then it was killed on accident…

Lemon Balm – calms nervous and digestive systems. You can add it to chamomile for nervous exhaustion. It is also great as a spice to flavor food! Also, easy to grow and will spread. 

Peppermint – best known for its digestive aid and relieving nausea and gas. It spread to wherever it is allowed, so keep it contained.

Plantain – I didn’t know about this one, but it is everywhere! I don’t plant it because it comes up wherever there is blank dirt. It draws toxicity from the body and has properties that help check bleeding! I mix this one with calendula into a salve and use it on all cuts or rashes. 

Spearmint – milder than peppermint, but just as easy to grow. It is great alternative to peppermint for children and tends to have amphoteric properties (it moves the direction the body needs, stimulating and relaxing).

Yarrow – antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, and astringent properties. It is well known for healing wounds, bruises, and sprains. Make sure you find the wild version not a colorful hybrid. I found this one in my horse pasture!
 
Here’s the list of what I have coming:
Chamomile – anti-inflammatory and anti fever

Echinacea – aids in immune function, has antifungal and antibacterial properties

Elder – Rich in vitamin C! Great immune enhancer

Marsh  Mallow – Great from soothing inflamed and irritated tissues of the respiratory, digestive, and skin systems. 

Mullein – the leaf is antispasmodic and an expectorant (get rid of mucus). 

St. John’s Wort – strong antidepressant, antibacterial, antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties. Made into an oil, it is one of the best herbs for trauma to the skin, relieving pain and promoting tissue repair. 

Valerian – used for stress, tension, insomnia and nervous system disorders. 

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Plant with Purpose: Herbs

Plant with Purpose: Herbs

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Another way I chose which plants to start growing regularly was what do we consume the most of (excluding garden plants). HERBS!! I love to season food with home grown herbs and spices. So naturally I decided to grow them. The easiest accessible place for my herbs was right off my front door, but how to keep the dogs from destroying them? Old mineral tubs!! Or you can use any old container really. This allowed me to be able to move the plants as needed too! So what do I grow?

Basil – several varieties are available with slight differences in flavors. This is one that is an annual, BUT it does readily re-seed. In Nebraska it is difficult to get going from seed outside, but it is easy to take the seeds from the plant in the fall and start them in a pot inside then transfer outside once it is warm. Harvest the leaves as the plant grows, leaving leaves below so it will continue growth.

Parsley – This on is a biannual. IF YOU GET THE CORRECT VARIETY. Harvest from it the first year by continuing to cut leaves as they grow. The second year let the plant go and mature to seeds, as the leaves are bitter tasting. This does mean you will need 2 plants that will alternate years. I finally found the correct variety last year, so this spring I’ll let you know if it overwinters in the pot. 

Oregano – I have yet to get this one to come back in the spring, but I have it in a large pot above ground. It is however easy to get a cut going from the mature plant, for the next year. Oregano spreads very easily, so make sure it is contained. 

Sage – This does well in a pot and comes back! I was shocked honestly. It will grow to a bush size if it has the space. 

Rosemary – This one might overwinter if you have the correct variety and have it in the ground. It has also proven slightly difficult to start from seed, so I’ll get back to you on the specifics to make this one the best….

Thyme – Again so many varieties! Also still perfecting the growing of this one…. It does start fairly easy from seed but needs hot weather before it really takes off. 

Dill – Annual, but self-seeds so easy! Harvest what you what for the seeds but leave a few to drop back into the soil for the next round. I will often have 2 batches per year. 

Cilantro – Another annual that readily self-seeds. Only cut 1/3 of the plant at a time when you harvest the leaves. Leave a few seeds at the end to let them fall back to the ground. I will often have a spring and fall harvest with this one as well. 

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Plant with purpose: Pest Control

Plant with purpose: Pest Control

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Anything I plant or attempt to grow must have a purpose, other than looking pretty. As a busy mom of two, and a side of extra farm/cattle hand, I don’t have the time or space to care for things that are just pretty. A good part of homesteading is being purposeful with your resources. Your time, your space, and in some places your water, are all valuable. Make sure you are using them the best you can. 

Is that useful?
Most of my plants and herbs have come from either (a) I sure use a lot of “x” I wonder if I can grow that in Nebraska instead of buying it. Or I heard (b) could be useful for “y” I wonder if I can grow that to have on hand, so I don’t have to rely on (c) when “y” happens. I would then look to see if growing whatever it was, was possible in Nebraska and if it was annual or perennial. Remember the time part? If it can come back year after year or readily reseed itself, I’m in! If it was an annual, can I trick it by bringing it inside, or take a cut of it to start next years plant from, or are the seeds easy to collect and get started? It’s not saving me much $$ if I constantly have to buy a new plant. 

I started with two main types of plants ones my family could eat or ones that repel bugs or snakes (I hate those). We spend a lot of time outside and I disliked putting bug spray on, so what plants do mosquitoes not like. 

Here is what I found for the pests
Citronella – It is related to geraniums, but has a much stronger scent, that is given off whenever the leaves are rustled. I love the smell of it and the misquotes hate it. This is a perennial in tropical regions, but not in Nebraska. If I ever build my greenhouse, I could move the large pots in for the winter and they might overwinter. 
The good news is you can start new plants from cuts. When the plant is in active growing stage take a cut and dip in water for 24 hours then stick in the wet soil. I have not successfully accomplished this though. The batch I had going good, my 2 ½ year old helper decided to pull them all up right before the killing frost. ☹ I will be trying again this year however, as these are the best but not very cheap to buy. 

Geraniums – much softer scent, but still repels mosquitoes. These are easier to bring inside over the winter, but they need warm and plenty of sunlight. 

Cat mint – I love this on and the butterflies do to! This one is super easy to grow and will fill its space. I have mine in an old mineral tub. It can take the full sun and dry of forgetful watering (I have seen the leaves start curling, soaked it and it came back)! The best part is it over winters even in a large pot. 

Lavender – so many uses for this! I have it right by my tack room door, not only for mosquitoes, but also its calming scent for nervous riders. This one is a perennial if you get the correct variety but will not do well in a pot overwinter.

Lemon balm – can be perennial in the warmer regions or if is in the ground. Bonus is you can also cook with this one! Use the leaves for tea or seasonings. 

Lemongrass – I have this one not for mosquitoes, but for snakes! This one is also a perennial in tropical regions. You are supposed to be able to take a part of I the plant root, soak it for 24 hours the plant in soft soil, and it will restart. I did not have luck last year. A few got started with a small root, but never matured enough to plant. 

Peppermint – This one is a must if you want to keep bugs, mice, snakes away from an area. Grow it in a contained area though because it will take over. It will come back year after year or at least reseed itself, even in a large pot or old stock tank, if you can keep the dogs from digging it up or smothering it. We have snakes everywhere at our house and one pot of this and the snakes avoided the front porch. I’m adding 4 pots this year to surround the garage door openings. Plus you have peppermint tea!

Marigolds – Many bugs don’t like the smell of these and will avoid them. I plant them around my garden and have seen a decrease in some of the common garden pests but misquotes don’t seem to care. These also readily re-seed!

Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Courageous + Purposeful Mommas group! This community is for the Mommas, mommas to be, in the midst of raising, and kids grown, looking for tips on building your family up and providing for them through natural methods. Tips include: gardening, bulk buying, caning,/preserving, livestock, homesteading, and home remedies. Your family is precious, and this group is to help you gain the knowledge and tools to keep your family well and not reliant on outside professionals. Remedies and tips are easy and simple for the busy momma, time is precious after all, including pregnancy, birth, young kids, and illness. Trust your Momma gut again! This community offers the resources + community you need to help get started on your journey and prepare for whatever future you envision.

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