skip to main content

dried rosemary turned brown...

15 years ago

OK.... what did I do wrong. A few pieces is nice and green but mostly brown. I cut the sprigs early in the morning, laid them to dry and when they dried most turned brown. I've seen dried rosemary in herb stores to be a nice pretty green. Please help.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

fatamorgana2121
15 years ago
I can't speak specifically to rosemary since it doesn't over-winter here and so I really don't have surplus to dry. But I've harvested and dried lots of different types of herbs and can say that different herbs require different drying methods for best color and flavor. Usually when the herbs go brown for me during the drying process one of two things happened - 1.) they didn't dry fast enough or 2.) the heat during drying was too high (only applicable to food dehydrators, etc.). Experiment with drying small amounts and find what works best.

Of note, laying them to dry only works on screens or very absorbent materials. If you laid them on something not one of these, they would not dry very fast and would probably brown.

FataMorgana
ksrogers
15 years ago
Drying hrebs by just leaving them open to air is quite slow. For rosemary, I removed the leaves from the stems and pkace in a dehydrator, which wil dry te thourogly within a day to two days. Usually the faster an herb is dried, the more flavor and color it retains. If left to air dry, that may be too long a time. Basil is one that will turn brown if left to dry slowly in air. Mine is leaves plucked off the plants, and run through a dehydratr. This gives me deep green basil, which I crumble and store in a large caning jar under vacuum.
Related Discussions
Do dried greens become browns, and other newbie questions
Q
Comments (4)
Here is a link to a recent discussion, It contains a link to some earlier discussions. I will quote from the part about greens becoming browns. Quote:I believe that 2 mechanisms are mineralization and denitrification- although they are normally described in soils or water. In the first- N forms (simple anions, or from proteins) are transformed into NH4+, and NH3 is lost because it is volatile. Normal thermal/ light induced degradation and bacterial action can cause this to happen (going on memory here). In denitrification NO3- is directly converted to N2 as part of the nitrogen cycle. You may remember basic fishtank chemistry where NH4+ --> NO2- --> NO3- . I guess this is the opposite of that. Going on memory there. However- green leaves turning brown, fresh cut green grass drying out and turning brown- both are accompanied by loss of N as a volatile. I'm sure that autocatalytic breakdown of the proteins in the greens would cause loss of a variety of N bearing compounds. Manures and urine often contain urea, which has a very simple pathway to NH3 conversion.
...See More
Rosemary: Turning Brown -- what's wrong
Q
Comments (2)
I'm in the subtropics, and believe me, in normal years we get incredible amounts of rain and humidity, and there's nothing wrong with my rosemary, lavender etc. It's the drainage that's important, more than the amount of moisture it gets. Rosemary simply will not tolerate having its feet constantly wet, and I strongly suspect that with the extra rain you've been having, on top of the soaker hose, you've finally managed to drown it. Take some cuttings and start again, because it's unlikely to survive once the root system has begun to rot from being soaked so much. You might just save it if you got rid of that soaker hose and allowed the soil to dry out again - lower down, I mean, not just on the surface. When you replant, mound up your soil to make a hill, and put your rosemary on top of the hill - that will give you better drainage.
...See More
rosemary leaves are turning black - hot weather - too much water
Q
Comments (8)
I have a very nice rosemary plant that I've been growing indoors for a while now and it's doing well...probably 8" to 10" tall and branching nicely...almost bonsai-like. I have been heeding the advice here....not overwatering. But I am also careful not to let it dry out. The tag for the care of the plant that came with it said that rosemary won't recover once completely dried out. When I have access to my desktop computer, I'll post a pic of it on photobucket. I also have had good success indoors with lettuce leaf basil, greek basil, lime mint and pineapple sage. I've plans to start some Kentucky Colonel mint indoors and some sweet basil. The lime mint and pineapple sage was just planted as an experiment. I had some cut and indoors in vase and they both developed very nice looking roots in the water, so I transferred them to a soil medium, and they did well. All my indoor plants are in clay pots like the one used by the original poster of this thread.
...See More
Rosemary plant turning blackish
Q
Comments (8)
Thank you! bardamu_gw - I thought of watering it more because the soil drains really fast. I was hesitant because I didn't know if the darkened leaves were from over watering..(fungus or mold). And I didn't know how wet the soil was at the bottom half of the pot. I have the pot elevated off the ground.. or balcony with 3 tiny blocks of wood just so there's no chance of sitting in water. floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK - No it isn't furry.. If it was, I guess that would indicate mold? When I feel the darkened leaves, they feel normal and still give off a nice aroma. I also try to rotate the plant every month or so. Here's another shot I just took this time macro in focus. If there is a problem, it looks worse close-up.
...See More
granite
15 years ago
If you dried it in direct light it will brown.

I hang mine in my front bedroom, which is nicely hot during the day but no direct light onto my herb drying rack.
girlgroupgirl
15 years ago
I actually put mine in the microwave and they dry and stay green! Just for one or two minutes and they are done!

GGG
ksrogers
15 years ago
The microwave can get damaged if the herbs are being attempted to dry in there. Because of the very small mass of herbs and low moisture level, the magetron tube, that is the microwave source, can get bombarded by the waves bouncing back in a nearly empty oven. Yes, herbs do 'wilt' very fast, and I only 'wilt' in a microwave for about 10-15 seconds maximum, then move them to a dehydrator for drying. The microwave can be useful to quicky reduce the leaves firmness, which allows more to be put into each tray of a dehydrator.
Micah Melder Griffin
2 years ago
If the dehydrator heat was too high and the rosemary dried and turned brown, does it lose its flavor? Still good to use? Or need to throw out?
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
2 years ago
Crush a bit. How does it smell? Then chew a bit. It won‘t hurt you and only you can decide how it tastes.

Related Stories

Dry Your Garden Herbs for Casual Fall Decor

By Tiffany Carboni

Snip some sage and round up the rosemary. Dried herbs are just as great for autumnal arrangements as they are for cooking

GREAT HOME PROJECTS Turn That Spare Room Into a Walk-in Closet

New project for a new year: Get the closet you’ve always wanted, starting with all the info here

LANDSCAPE DESIGN How to Turn an Ugly Wall Into a Feature

By Falon Mihalic

There are plenty of ways, from planting to paneling, to improve your garden view

TROPICAL STYLE Easy Decorating: Turn Over a New, Tropical Leaf

By creative jewish mom.com

Toss a palm frond in a vase or gather a whole bouquet — fresh or preserved tropical leaves bring on the exotic with almost no effort

GARDENING GUIDES Herb Garden Essentials: Grow Your Own Rosemary

By Marianne Lipanovich

With its invigorating scent, easygoing nature and ability to make dishes sing with flavor, rosemary may become your new best garden friend

LANDSCAPE DESIGN How and What to Plant in Dry, Sunny Spots

By Falon Mihalic

Save water and improve your site’s look with these design tips and help from a pro

INSPIRING GARDENS Houzz TV: Curves and Surprises Transform a Dry Backyard

By Margot Hartford Photography

A landscape architect’s decision to build a detached studio leads to a whole new backyard full of low-water plants and salvaged treasures

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Native Ground Covers for Tough, Dry Spots

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Sun beating down on your sandy gravel? Thick shade darkening your clay soil? There’s a ground cover here for you

HOUSEPLANTS Outsmart Winter — Make Houseplants of Your Garden Growers

By creative jewish mom.com

No need to watch Jack Frost play Wreck the Rosemary. Bring your garden inside for the winter, using containers and these guidelines

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Easy Herbs for Every Space

By Marianne Lipanovich

Resilient and forgiving, herbs like mint, thyme and rosemary are simple to grow and look great in both containers and landscape designs

Sponsored

More Discussions

list the problems with my pineapple sage

6

Mystery herb / plant

14

Cistus Incanus and Hormones

0

Herb Marigold 'Dropshot', a nice texture in the landscape.

21

Perennial Rosemary in zone 7a?

10