Drying Fesh Sage Leaves and Bringing the Plants Indoors for the Winter.

Dry Sage Leaves

Yes, Old man winter is just around the corner and it is time for me to get past this horrible upper respiratory infection and save the plants from freezing!  Nothing less than the threat of loosing something I love would probably pry my lump of a sickly miserable body out from under my cozy warm comforting blanket!  So here I go stomping, tromping with floppy shoes over dropping socks outdoors to drag in the big and heavy pots and find them lodgings for the winter season. 

There are also pots of herbs to move up by the house where they will winter for the season.  As the holiday season is near it is a good day to pluck the last of the lovely sage leaves and dry them for the making of delicious dressing or stuffing for the turkey I see in the future and with roasted pork if only to name a few things I love them in!

There are not too many left and I think I will just dry them in the oven instead of dragging out the dehydrator.  Last year the sisters at theiowahousewife.blogspot.com did them in the oven using the pilot light if I remember correctly.  Since it is "pizza" night here and Brian will bring home one for me to bake in our oven I think just turning off the oven after baking the pizza and placing in the leaves between layers of paper towels should do the trick.

I have left them in the unopened oven overnight after turning off the oven and they are lovely.  I did trim off the stems before I started and rinse the well with tap water.  After shaking off the water I placed them not touching between 2 layers of paper toweling and left them to dry.  Leaving them whole to store I plan to crumble them as I use them.  I love the look if the velvety leaves and their weathered hue.

I look to have the corner on the aloe plants and the Christmas cactus concessions in southern Indiana!







With six pots of cactus and four pots of aloe all brimming with new plants that need to be re-potted....all for another day!

 I have placed most of them downstairs where I work and where it stays cooler.

Then there is the other tropical dug from my parents Florida home and the ferns and herbs I bring indoors to winter.  I am thinking of trying to save a big begonia from the front to although I have not have much success in those attempts!





Many are in hanging pots which is another space savings!  These cacti will bear huge fuchsia blossoms about 3-4" in length in the dead of winter which brightens my days!

Note:  I do spray all of these plants well with a home and garden bug spray before bringing them inside.

So glad this chore is done.  Until tomorrow then.