First it was a single plant. But then she seeded herself. Now the catnip is rampant in the garden. Now it's time to prune the perennial and dry the best parts of the plant!
Why dry at all?
Catnip tastes best when fresh and its smell is most intense in this form thanks to the essential oils it contains. However, in dried form it has a longer shelf life. This saves you the stress of thinking about what you can do with the plant in a short period of time.
Dry catnip - Here's how!
All above-ground parts of the catnip plant are suitable for drying. It is best to harvest catnip just before or during the flowering period. Cut the stems to just above the ground. Then clean the stems (e.g. shake off dried mud). Important: Do not rinse with water. As a result, some of the essential oils are lost.
Now the stems can be tied into a bouquet and hung with twine, for example, in the attic. The leaves can also be plucked off and spread out on a baking sheet or newspaper and dried.
Things to note about drying:
- Where: in an air-dry, warm and shaded room
- spread out on a shady balcony if necessary
- not in the kitchen or in the basement (often high humidity)
- Faster drying variant: in the dehydrator or oven at max. 50 °C
- rather let it dry longer than too short (danger of mold)
- Store dried catnip in dark, sealed containers
And what do you do with the dried catnip?
The dried catnip is edible and can be used:
- to please cats
- for tea
- for cold infusions
- to smoke
- for smoking
- for seasoning
- for external applications such as poultices
tips and tricks
It is extremely important that the catnip is not exposed to direct sunlight and high heat when drying. Light and heat destroy most of the essential oils it contains - the ones that make catnip so valuable.
KKF
The garden journal freshness ABC
How can fruit and vegetables be stored correctly so that they stay fresh for as long as possible?
The garden journal freshness ABC as a poster:
- as a free PDF file to print out yourself