lemon balm leaves

Hi! Everybody!!

Question: I have a lemon balm patch (six feet in diameter in a circle around the peach tree). What is the best way to save the leaves for tea all during the year. I get wonderful leaves most of the year but in this area where it is hot a good deal of the year, my lemon balm goes to seed pretty fast. As a matter of fact, I think I will have to prune back the flowers next week at the latest.

I think that lemon balm iced tea during the summer is GREAT. It calms me down but it doesn't make me sleepy besides cooling off. If anyone knows a way of saving the leaves, I would appreciate it. In this photo, it gives a good idea of the width of the lemon balm plants. The plant to the left is a yellow daisy (I think).

Thanks,

Chuck

I just cut it or pinch it off and let it dry then store it in containers. A friend of mine mixes it with several of her blends which are great warm or cold.
Kim

Cbernard - it sounds like you have a big patch. You have two choices. Pick the balm from the ground up - about every other stalk, and hang them upside down to dry in the attic. Or..pick selected stems - strip them in reverse (hold the tip of the plant and strip off the leaves to the base) and dry them. If your patch is crowded which happens easily with lemon balm - this is a good time to dig out every other plant and let the seeds on the remaining plants re-seed. I use a dehydrator but you can do an oven dry as well. Put the oven on warm - when it reaches "warm" turn it off. Put the leaves on parchment or paper towels on a cookie sheet and put them in the warmed oven over night. I store them in mason canning jars....and these days Home Depot or Agway has plastic screw on lids for mason jars. Make sure they are crispy before you crumple them up and jar them. Drying in the sun - especially in your zone - would remove too much volatile oils which is what you want for the taste and benefits. For a super calming tea - mix the lemon balm with lavender, chamomile and catnip. It is almost sedative. My best friend and I have been making this blend out of our gardens for years as Christmas presents and now there is a demand for it. HM

Dear HM,

What kind of lavender do you use? I have French and Spanish lavender as English lavender doesn't grow very well here. The rest of the tea, the chamomile and catnip, I have never grown before but it would be interesting to give it a try. I imagine the tea is very good. I have had chamomile tea before and lemon balm tea also but this combination sounds like a winner. Also, I will try to thin out my lemon balm patch. I just grew it from seeds from last year (where they landed and sprouted on their own). I started two years ago with six four-inch transplants and this is what it is now.

Thanks for the info,

Chuck

Chuck - sorry for the delay....I use all different kinds of lavender...and not to much of it...in the blend. The best of the flavor comes from the chamomile and lemon balm - with the lavender and catnip added for to give extra boost to the calming effect. Some lavenders get a little camphorous which competes with the pleasant taste of apple and lemon from the others. This has been a great year for both chamomile and lemon balm in New Jersey...I am harvesting chamomile blossoms every other day. I need to dry a whole bunch of lemon balm tomorrow. I ordered "press and seal" tea bags for the Christmas presents. I dry the herbs, grind them in the food processor, blend them and fill the tea bags and iron them shut. That's for winter and gifts. For me, right now, I just hack a bunch of it off and put it in the microwave in a quart pyrex measuring cup and brew up the fresh tea. HM