Hivemind, how do I dry herbs?
My balcony caved in last week. I had to remove my entire garden and all the furniture. Put all the plants in the backyard.
Now all my flowers and herbs and veggies are infested with ants. I can't bring them back up like this. I have to harvest what I can, and maybe I can put some of the flowers in the front yard. I'm broken about the whole thing.
I have sweet basil, italian parsley, regular parsley, garlic, green onions, sage, chives, and oregano. I'm unsure how to properly dry the herbs.
The flowers I'm losing: Petunias, impatiens, begonia, red riding hoods, pansies. I think I can put them out in the front yard.
I'm going to miss my garden. I can't afford to replace everything. Just angry.
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For herb drying. If you have a closet that's cool and dry (and has a bit of space) you can tie the stalk with a bit of twine, and hang upside down till they dry. Most herbs are dried top-down.
I'm sorry your balcony died; that's crazy. I hope they replace it soon.
Thanks, Erin! It's been repaired, but they're painting it and then sealing it, so it will be the weekend before I can put the furniture back.
Tim sent over the contractor who has been working on his home renovations to take a look at the damage so Kristen and I would know what we were dealing with before the landlord sent someone over.
It was termites (long dead) and the wood beams were like paper. It just had to cave eventually. I thought I was going to go right through it. Terribly scary.
And in strange-things-I-learn-at-work news, did you know that, in New York State, pumpkins sold for decorating/carving purposes are not considered to be for consumption and therefore must be taxed? My question is how do they know that you're not buying a pumpkin to eat the innards after you carve the exterior?
They don't know, but at the store I worked at the "Jack O'Lanterns" were very different looking from the pie/eating pumpkins. Nowadays they scan, but we had to remember to hit "tax modify" and produce. The other differentiation is that the Jack-O'Lantern's would not be able to be purchased with food stamps.
If you think that is crazy, at the time that I worked mini-marshmallows were considered a baking item, and were non-taxable and regular marshmallows were "pop/candy" and were taxable. Also books are taxable and magazines not. Except that Harlequin Romances were sold by the month, and considered a periodical.
It was termites (long dead) and the wood beams were like paper. It just had to cave eventually. I thought I was going to go right through it. Terribly scary.
Yikes! Glad there were no injuries.
Dang, Allyson - I feel the loss of your garden, but I'm so very glad it wasn't people that fell through!
I blame Colin. Whenever anything breaks I blame Colin. It's very satisfying. Whenever Eureka is on I can shake my fist at the screen.
Allyson, the new spinosad insecticides and baits will kill the ants without harming anything except other insects. It's based on a bacteria and has no real effect on birds and mammals.
Wow- I somehow missed the garden thing-- that is awful!
