Preserving the harvest

As the temperature dips I am aware that the end of my 2011 urban farm is near. I have harvested my last carrots, beets and cucumbers. The kale, chard and tomatoes are hanging on but I suspect there will be a few 'fried green tomatoes' in my future.
Yesterday I decided to collect what is left of my herbs and preserve them. The tarragon, oregano and sage can be dried and the remaining jumbo basil will become pesto! yum.
I cut and collected them.

I then gave each herb a good wash and spin in the salad spinner and spent some time separating the leaves from the stalks, being careful to toss any rotten or yellowing leaves.
I am fortunate enough to have a dehydrator, so I spread the leaves on separate trays and used the energy of the dehydrator to dry them fully. If there is any moisture left they will mold in storage.

The tarragon is taking longer than the sage and oregano so it's still in the dehydrator. The other two have been stored in glass jars, labelled with the date.
If you do not have a dehydrator you can dry herbs two other ways:

1. Hang them in a dry, dark cupboard for several days.
2. Place them in a paper bag for a few days until fully dry.

Basil, which is a tough herb to preserve dry can be made into pesto. If you don't eat it all immediately because it is so delicious, it can be frozen for up to 6 months.
I make a simple dairy and nut-free pesto for storage and add cheese and nuts later when I use it. This gives me more options when I'm ready to cook. Asiago, Parmesan or Romano cheese with pine nuts, walnuts or no nuts. Pesto is very versatile.

I just combine the basil leaves with a few cloves of garlic and enough olive oil to create a runny paste when processed together. You can do this in a food processor or use your hand blender. If you make a large portion you can store the pesto in ice cube trays so you have easy serving sizes in the future.
I only had a little basil left so I will freeze mine in a mason jar if I don't eat it all this week. It's already been used in an omelette over the weekend!