I went to the store last week and was shocked by the price of a tiny bottle of dried organic tarragon. $10! Some specialty stores do have a bulk spice aisle where you can stock up on dried herbs for much less, but I’ve got an even cheaper source: my own garden.

Throughout the summer, I prune and preserve a few of my favorite herbs to dry and store for the next year. (It’s a great way to use those trimmings that would otherwise go in the compost.)

Drying retains all their flavor and aroma, and while you might think it requires a dehydrator to lock in all that freshness, you can get the same results simply from air drying.

Sure, it might take a little longer this way, but air drying is gentler on herbs and doesn’t become a whole production if you only have a few stems.

The secret to maximizing flavor is timing. Yes, there’s a better time to harvest herbs if you want to keep all their amazing oils intact.

Seasonal tips

How to Freeze Parsley, Cilantro, Chives and Other Herbs Read more

How to Dry Oregano and Other Herbs Fast—Use the Oven! Read more

How to Cover Crop with Fava Beans (Bell Beans) to Make Free Fertilizer Read more

How to Cover Crop with Austrian Winter Peas: A Cold-Hardy Nitrogen Fixer Read more

How to Harvest, Cure and Store Pumpkins for Maximum Shelf Life Read more

3 Quick Ways to Ripen Tomatoes Indoors Read more

Visible Qs

I got a lot of questions a few days ago when I talked about Visible in my last email, so I wanted to answer some of them here if you're looking to switch:

• Yes, Visible is owned by Verizon Wireless and uses the same cell towers. But Visible is ridiculously cheaper for the exact same service! Their unlimited talk/text/data plans start at $25/month. (Uhhhh, I was paying more than 3x that at Verizon. 😲)
• Reception is comparable to what I had before and the mobile hotspot is fast. I get service all over Oregon, including rural neighborhoods and national forest areas—the same as Verizon's coverage.
• Your phone does have to be unlocked to switch. My phone was still on a Verizon payment plan, so I had to pay it off before I could transfer my number. Once I paid online, my phone was instantly unlocked.
• Activating new service was super simple. I opted for an eSIM and the whole process only took a few minutes. Zero downtime that I could tell.
• They do offer family plans but not in the traditional sense. Visible calls it an "Inner Circle" and when I added my husband, it allowed me to pay for him and take advantage of "group" discounts.
• They're still running the SAVE6 promotion but only for another day or so. Using that promo code saves you $6/month on a monthly plan!
• Stack the promo with my referral code 69NW9QJ and you'll get $20 off a service payment too! Or just click my referral link here to have the special offer applied.

Someone told me they used my referral link but didn't get the special offer. I'm guessing that if you leave the site and come back later to sign up, you'll need to use my referral link again. (Or just add my referral code 69NW9QJ at checkout.) Visible applies the $20 credit to your second month's service payment.

I still can't believe how much money we've saved with something so simple. Always audit your subscriptions and services at least once a year, there's cash hiding in plain sight!

P.S. Enjoy your fresh garden herbs all year long by drying and storing them (no dehydrator needed).