Handling homegrown herbs...

[Foodie in Friedberg]

Do you wash homegrown herbs prior to using them? I don't use any insecticides (haven't had any bugs so it hasn't been an issue) or fertilizer on mine.... is there a reason that I should still wash them?

[Foodie in Friedberg]

Thanks for the input! As I brought some basil in the other night and was washing it out of habit I began to think about the necessity... I hadn't even considered the four-legged-visitors to our yard!!

[QueenB]

I always wash them, because some darn bird always manages to hit them, if you know what I mean. That, and to get any stray dirt or bugs off.

[zataar]

We have lots of cats in our neighborhood, so we always wash our herbs well. For storage, we've found that basil keeps for days if kept in a vase with water, just like flowers. We don't even refrigerate the vase of basil. Just trim the stems and stick it in the water. We have so much basil already, I can't keep up with using it!

[AbdulSheikhMohammed]

So are you saying the cats do something dirty to the herbs?

I recently planted some basil, oregano, cilantro, chives, and catnip (for my own cats). I figured I'd just rinse them under the faucet before I use them. For the catnip, I'm going to dry it out in a paper bag before I give it to my felines.

Question... if I have excess herbs at the end of the growing season (I'm sure I'll have too much basil), can I dry it out and bottle it for later use pretty well?

[beetlebug]

I always give mine a rinse to get the dirt, tree pollen and general dust off of it. I don't use insecticides or fertilizer either.

[Candy]

Me too, and then there are little bugs ad bird droppings. I rinse them well and spin dry in my salad spinner