traditional method is to dry them and good air circu- 

 lation in a warm room is usually sufficient. You don't 

 want the place to be too warm or the essential oils will 

 dissipate and the flavor will be gone. Rodales Illustrated 

 Encyclopedia of Herbs recommends brushing dust and in- 

 sects off the herbs, bundling the stalks together with rub- 

 ber bands, and hanging them upside down in your dry- 

 ing place (temperatures under 90F are best) until they 

 are crisp — no longer than that. If you must wash them, 

 dry them well in a salad spinner or with a towel, so that 

 excess water will not dilute the oils or lengthen drying 

 time. If the drying area — a breezeway or open shed — is 

 not dust-free, put the herbs in paper bags with slits cut 

 in the sides and hang them in these. 



There are other methods — the oven with a pilot 

 light, the microwave, the electric food dehydrator, even 

 your car as it sits in the summer sun — I've dried many 

 herbs over the years in my "herbmobile." It smells won- 

 derful and makes for quick drying, but no doubt it does 

 get too warm and those nice smells mean that the oil is 

 evaporating along with the moisture, so perhaps the tra- 

 ditional method of hanging in biuiches is still the best. 



Dried tea herbs should be stored in tightly sealed 

 jars in a dark place away from all heat sources. If you 

 want to keep your blends near the stove for conve- 

 nience, keep only small amounts, so you'll use them 

 before they deteriorate. 



For a flavorful teatime, you'll also want to have on 

 hand some herbs and spices you'll need to purchase. 

 Cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, hawthorne berries and 

 rose hips, hibiscus flowers, lemon and orange peel, 

 dried lemon grass, vanilla beans, and maybe almond 

 flavoring are a few things you might enjoy. 



Here are some of our favorite herbal tea combinations: 



• Six parts peppermint, one part sage, one part rosemary 



• Equal parts chamomile and lemon balm 



• Equal parts bee balm leaves and flowers, lemon 

 balm, peppermint, and pineapple mint 



• Equal parts lemon balm and peppermint, with a 

 pinch of lemon or orange peel 



• Three parts mint, one-half part marjoram, one- 

 quarter part lavender flowers 



• Equal parts chamomile, peppermint, rose hips, 

 and a touch of lemon peel. 



So — exjseriment this winter and plant your garden next spring. 



Further Reading 



Davies, Jill. A Garden of Miracles: Herbal Drinks for Plea- 

 sure, Health, and Beauty. New York, Beaufort Books, 

 1985. (An extensive compilation of herbal tea concoc- 

 tions for both simple sipping and medicinal uses.) 



Norman, Jill. Teas and Tisanes. New York, Bantam 

 Books, 1989. 



Tanya Jackson, a well-known area herbalist, can be 

 reached at 60^-4^1-8011. 



THE GREEN SPOT 



Free Beneficials 



As this is being written (in the latter half of 

 October), Harmonia axyridis, a.k.a. multi- 

 colored Asian ladybeetles, are swarming the of- 

 fice trying to get in. They're looking for a place 

 to spend the winter. You may have noticed some 

 where you live. 



Pests? No, I don't think so. In fact, we sell 

 this same species in small quantities for use in 

 scale insect and aphid control. Our offering is a 

 laboratory-reared product which is better able to 

 perform its intended function than its wild 

 brother, but it's the same beetle. 



Now, since my timing stinks, here's some- 

 thing to think about for next year. Collect as 

 many of these wild beetles as possible and bag 

 them up in a brown paper or cotton bag and 

 stow them for a few months. Keep them in your 

 fridge or, better yet, in a cold storage room, 

 shed, or barn. (Don't keep them in your green- 

 house unless it stays cold during the day.) Be- 

 ware of frost-free refrigerators — they may be too 

 dry for the beetles. 



When you open up your greenhouse later in 

 the year and have some plant material started, 

 begin releasing a few beetles every few days — 

 say, one beetle per square yard of growing area. 

 Continue this for as long as possible. Try to de- 

 termine how many you'll need so that you can 

 collect an appropriate amount next October. 



In doing this, you'll be serving many pur- 

 poses: first of all, you'll be helping the beetles 

 secure a safe haven for the long winter season; 

 secondly, you'll be providing yourself with some 

 hungry beetles which may decide to eat that first 

 aphid which happens to show up early in the 

 season; lastly, you'll probably save yourself some 

 of the need for early pest control and hence, the 

 associated costs and hassles. 



You'll keep open ail your pest control avenues 

 doing this — and you may some money and reap 

 other benefits as well. Of course, we'd prefer 

 that you buy your beetles from us, but — there's 

 no denying it — this is worth trying. 



Mike Cheriirt is president of The Green Spot, 

 Ltd., Department of Bio-Ingenuity, 5*5 Priest 

 Road, Nottingham, NH 032^0-6204. The 

 telephone number is 6o}-p42-8p2f; the fax, 

 6o}-942-89}2. 



1998 . JANUARY 1999 



