
Comparison of 4 common techniques for drying herbs.
You can dry herbs indoors or outdoors. No matter which method you use, the two most important keys for success are: low humidity and no direct sun exposure.

Technique 1: Drying herbs in the oven.

Technique 2: Drying herbs in the microwave.
To be honest, this is my least favorite method. Pros: It is super easy, just microwave the herbs on high for 2 to 3 minutes.
Cons: The main reason I personally don’t use this method is that it is hard to say whether the herbs are “cooked” or “dried”. You know how when you microwave food, sometimes the food towards the outer edges get super cooked while the center part is still barely warm? I prefer natural low heat drying , which retains the most flavors and nutrients in herbs.
Technique 3: Drying herbs in the dehydrator.
Keep the food dehydrator temperature between 95 °F and 105 °F. Place the herbs in a single layer on the dehydrator trays. It can take from one to four hours to dry the herbs depending on the variety.
Pros: This method is what professionals use to dry large quantities of herbs. It is a very reliable way to produce high-quality dried herbs.
Cons: Need to buy a food dehydrator. It also uses more energy than air drying.
If you are into food preservation, and have room for a bigger food dehydrator, here‘s one of the best designed DIY solar food dehydrator building tutorials. Exposing fruits and vegetables to direct light can cause vitamin loss. This design uses solar-heated air without any electric fans to dry food. All the food ( and herbs) are kept out of direct sun.
Technique 4: Air drying herbs ( my favorite!)
There are many variations of air drying methods. Always dry herbs out of direct sun to maximize the flavors and nutritional benefits. If it’s humid outdoors, you can dry herbs indoors in a room or even in a closet.
Herbs such as bay, rosemary, or lavender do not fall off easily when dried, you can simply hang the herb bundle upside down in a dark and not so humid place to dry.
But many herbs and flowers, such as thyme, or leafy herbs like mint, basil, lemon verbena, etc, become very brittle when dried, and could easily end up all over the floor if they are simply tied in a bundle to dry.
There are many wonderful herb drying rack you can get for under $20 on Amazon. You can also make a DIY version using embroidery hoops or hula hoops, and mesh fabric. ( Source: Herb drying racks 1 | 2 | 3 | DIY tutorial )
Now, are you ready for our simple and easy herb drying hacks for $1?
Use a paper bag, or our magical secret: ballerina tutu fabric, aka, nylon tulle. Both will work in very similar ways. The tulle fabric allows more air circulation, and lets you see the progress easily!





More ways to celebrate the garden abundance-
Make a gorgeous herb or flower wreath super fast- a dollar store hack!

Sandy Dobbs
I have never dried herbs and would like to. Thanks for the information and great photos!
Cynthia @craftoflaughter
Wow, I’ve never seen herbs dried that way! I will have to share it with my daughter!
Meagan
This is wonderful! I’ve never dried herbs before, but would love to. We are buying a house soon so I can’t wait to grow some flowers and plant a garden so I can try some of these ideas out. Love it!
Chamoise
Je découvre votre site et je l’aime beaucoup…Et là ces belles petites pochettes de tulle pour sécher les herbes cueillies c’est une très belle et bonne idée…
Merci et belle nuit…
A bientôt…
ananda
Merci beaucoup Chamoise!! =)
Miranda @ Miranda Writes Blog
I just got my herb garden going so this is perfect for me! I definitely won’t be able to use up everything. I wonder is the same thing would work for something like cheesecloth?
ananda
hi miranda! cheese cloth won’t hold its shape like these tulles so the air circulation won’t be as effective! =)
Carol
Great idea! My herb garden always produces more than I need. I will try this! Sharing. thanks,
Chamoise
Je découvre votre site et j’aime cette belle idée de faire sécher les herbes aromatiques dans des petits tulles colorés… Merci…
Philip Waters
Love the idea of using tutu fabric. The only problem you might encounter is insects vacating the herbs will be trapped in the netting. One of the reasons for drying herbs naturally is for the insects to vacate once they know the plant is no longer viable. I might suggest hanging herbs for 1-2 days first, to allow bugs to escape, then place into netting for final drying and to catch seeds dropping 🙂
ananda
very good point philip! i will add a note to the article! thank you! =)
LZ Cathcart@ The Summery Umbrella
I absolutely ADORE this idea!! I just started getting into growing my own herbs so I can’t wait to try this out! P.S. Do you recommend any herbs for chickens? As in… keeping away the bugs or in their nesting areas?
ananda
hi lz! such a great question! =) i will for sure experiment more in future with plants that are great for chickens =) i would start with fragrant herb plants like lavender, basil, mint, lemon balm, oregano, scented geraniums, etc, they would repel bugs and won’t be damaged too much by chckies! =)
LZ Cathcart@ The Summery Umbrella
Great suggestions! I just so happen to have mint and basil readily available. So psyched to try this out 🙂
Tiffan
Chickens love chamile in their nest its relaxing n helps egg production. Plus it makes there smell like flowers.
ananda
that sounds wonderful! we love chickens! 🙂 thank you so much Tiffan for sharing this great tip!
Deebi27
What a fabulous idea…basil and oregano are ready…wish I had know this before I lost my lavender!
Courtney Cooper
I BELIEVE IN FAIRIES! Haha awesome job, Ananda! It’s simple, it’s adorable and I totally løve it!
Rachael
I have lots of roses I need to start cutting and drying for rose oil and the thouught of how many pans I was gonna need to dry them all was overwelming! This is such a great idea. I’m so excited to try I half a mind to tear into my daughters huge tutu I made for her as a child. LOL I won’t it’s to beautiful but I thought about it….
ananda
rose oil sound amazing! at least the tutu fabrics can be used over and over again! =)
Jessie @ This Country Home
I live in a really dry dusty area & so I used the paper bag trick this year (no point in using the oven & wasting propane when there is practically no humidity!), but I hadn’t thought of using tulle, thank you for a wonderful idea!