There's something deeply satisfying about growing herbs yourself. In the past, however, I never used to dry them or preserve them so once late fall or winter fell, I didn’t have access to fresh herbs.
Once I discovered how easy it is to dry and preserve herbs using a dehydrator it made growing hers even more fun.
In this post / video I’ll walk through exactly how I harvest, dry, and stored sage from my garden — the same simple method I use to keep it flavorful for months.
This was my first harvest of the season, and the good news is you don't need much to do it: a dehydrator helps, but I'll cover the no-dehydrator option too.
Harvesting: Take the big leaves, leave the plant growing
The key to harvesting sage is getting a good amount now without killing your chances of a second harvest later.
Here's what I look for:
Pinch off the top section where the leaves are already large. Sage shrinks a lot when it dries, so you want mature, full-sized leaves.
Avoid the young growth. If you pinch too low, where two little leaves are just starting, they'll rip right off and the plant won't regrow well there. Pinch a bit higher so the plant keeps producing.
Don't overthink it. You don't have to be perfect — sage is forgiving and grows back. Just work your way around, grabbing the larger leaves and leaving the plant healthy enough for a second round.
Prep: Rinse and spin out the moisture
Fresh garden leaves usually have a little dirt on them, so I give them a quick rinse. Yes, you're about to dry them — getting them wet feels counterproductive — but I'd rather have clean sage than bits of soil or the odd insect.
The trick to not adding hours of dry time: a salad spinner. A few spins pulls off a surprising amount of water (you can see it pooled in the bottom of the bowl in the video).
No spinner? Lay the leaves between two paper towels and gently press to soak up the excess.
Drying: Low and slow in the dehydrator
I lay the leaves out on my dehydrator racks — nothing overlapping — and this batch filled four trays. I'm using a Cosori dehydrator (it holds up to six trays).
My settings:
Temperature: 100°F. You can go a little higher or lower, but low and slow preserves the flavor.
Time: about 20 hours total. I started with 4 hours, then added 8, then another 8, keeping an eye on it until the leaves were fully dry and crisp.
No dehydrator? Bundle the leaves by their stems, tie them with twine, and hang them upside down in a warm, dry spot — a sunroom or a dry, hot corner of the house works great.
Storing: Jars, silica gel, and a color-changing hack
Once they're bone dry (and noticeably shrunken), it's jar time. From here you've got options: run them through a mill for ground sage, or store the whole leaves so you can grind later or use them for tea. I keep mine whole for flexibility.
I store the sage in a sterilized, sealable jar and drop in a couple of food-safe silica gel packets to guarantee it stays dry. Here's the cool part: these packets have indicator beads that start orange and turn green once they've absorbed too much moisture — so a quick glance tells you when it's time to recharge them (pop them in the oven around 200°F, or the microwave only if the packet says it's microwave-safe).
For proof it works: I've got Moroccan spearmint from two years ago stored the same way, and the silica beads are still orange — meaning it's stayed perfectly dry that whole time.
One last tip: label your jars
Do yourself a favor and label every jar with the herb and the harvest date. Future-you will thank present-you when you're staring at three near-identical jars of green leaves trying to remember which is which and how old they are.
And that's the whole process — garden to jar. Grow it, dry it, store it right, and you'll have your own sage on hand for months. Got questions? Drop them in the comments and I'll help you out.
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