How to Dry Catnip
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Shirley Honey volunteers to quality check the latest fresh catnip batch. (Charlotte Ekker Wiggins phtoto)
How to Dry Catnip
It seems early to think about Christmas but if you make gifts for cats, this is the time to get that homegrown catnip dried.
Catnip is a perennial herb that, when dried, most cats love. Catnip also makes a nice winter tea.
To pick the catnip at the best time, you want it before it starts generating flowers, that’s when the catnip will be strongest.
It’s time to dry catnip for winter tea and handmade cat gifts. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
You can dry just the catnip leaves or leave the stems on to dry.
I also leave a separate patch of catnip to flower since bees love it. See the tiny flower heads on the top?
Cut catnip before it blooms to retain its strongest flavor. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
How to Dry Catnip
Cut the catnip stalks about 4 inches from the bottom. Catnip stalks, like most mints, will have square hollow stalks.
Carefully remove leaves. Only use leaves from plants that haven’t been treated with pesticides or other chemicals.
Place catnip leaves in an open weave basket lined with a paper towel or a cotton napkin. You want a container where air can travel through it. Glass and porcelain containers retain moisture.
If you have saved those little silica gel packets that come with shoes and other items, this is the time to use them. Tuck them under the paper towel to help speed up the catnip drying process.
Silica gel packets will help speed up the catnip-drying time. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
You want the catnip leaves sitting on top of the paper towels. The paper towels will help absorb moisture as the leaves dry out.
Place the basket in a warm spot. I place my drying baskets on top of my refrigerator.
Turn them every day or so until they are dry.
You can wait to remove plant stalks until after they are dry. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
If you use cotton napkins, those also make good reusable drying surfaces for catnip.
You can also dry catnip on cloth napkins placed over silica gel packs. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
Once dry, you can easily remove the dried stalks.
Store in an airtight container for later use.
I also sprinkle cat toy storage containers with the freshly dried catnip to refresh catnip toys.
And those catnip-infused baskets?
I let my cats enjoy playing in them, that helps me to ensure the quality of the dried catnip.
Boo Boo Bartholomew, left, trying to curl up in a small catnip-infused basket. (Photo by Charlotte Ekker Wiggins)
You can also buy dried catnip for homemade toys. Over the years, though, friends and family have told me their cats didn’t like catnip until they tried my toys. I am convinced it is because my toys are made with homegrown fresh catnip.
Christmas is only three months away!
