June 24, 2008

How To Dry Catnip

My Plant got a little "haircut" yesterday!


Yesterday Mommy took some of my catnip plant to dry out. That way, we will have fun, fun, fun throughout the cold months! Do you want to know how she did it? Here are the instructuions -(Thanks to wikihow)
Wait until the plant is at least five inches tall. Then, taking scissors, gently cut the plant at the base so you have long stalks of catnip. Be aware that you will want to cut more than you think you need, because the plant is going to dry up and it will turn out to be less than it was originally. Once you have all the stalks you need, secure the catnip together with either yarn or heavy thread.
Find a dark area (the linen closet is always the best, but any closet will do). Keep in mind that the plant must be hanging upside down and the door must be closed most of the time for the herbs to dry properly. (And remember to make sure it is secure from prying little kitty paws!)
Stick a tack to the inside of the door, and tie your catnip around it. Keep it closed and let the drying begin!
Within four to eight weeks (or more depending on how dry your house is, how little sunlight you expose the herbs to etc.) you will have completely dry catnip! Enjoy the smell and watch your cats go wild for the favorite treat!
Mommy is going to put the dried catnip in baggies and keep it in the freezer.
She's such a child of the 70's...

36 comments:

TabbyNormal said...

Dear Parker,
You have a very creative and industrious mom. Good! Because there are some things humans must "just say yes" to, and one of them is nip for cats!
Purrs,
Abby Normal

Anonymous said...

That sounds like a lot more trouble and a lot less nip than buying it. We think we'll make Mom keep going to the store!

The Taylor CatSSSSS said...

Wow, your Mommy is so nice to go to so much trouble! Our mommy can't grow anything!

The Meezers or Billy said...

wow that's a lot of work. we just eat the plant while it's still in the pot

Jake and Bathsheba said...

That sounds great, but because the catnip was within my reach, I ate the fresh stuff almost down to the nubs!

Thanks for your concern when I was sick. I'm much better now.

~Jake

Deana said...

Nothing wrong with being a child of the 70s...thanks for the tips. Mine isn't looking as good as your plant. This was my first year trying to grow it and I wish I had put it in a patio pot with my other herbs. I keep losing track of mine in the flower garden.

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

We needs a catnip plant....

Purrssss
Abby

MOM go find us a catnip plant....

pllllleeeeezzzeeeeee

Dma said...

i just pull leaves off the plant and give those to the boyz.

shows you what i know.

Sweet Purrfections said...

Wow! What a neat mommie you have. I have never had fresh or "fresh-dried" catnip.

Tybalt said...

Parker, your mommy is the BEST! Just think! You'll have lots of catnip all year long!

Zippy, Sadie, Speedy and M'Gee said...

Mom does ours in dis big box, it's taller den daddy, in da garage...she just brawt some fresh in for us and we enjoyed it soooo much dat we trashed da house enjoying it.

The Furry Kids said...

Momma was just wondering what to do with the nip plants she bought a couple of weeks ago. Now she knows. hee hee

jenianddean said...

Thanks for the pointer because we are growing catnip and it would be good to dry some. And now we know how!
--Jasper

Mr. Hendrix said...

ah yes, nummy nip all winter. i hope you enjoy yours as much as i do mine!
just remember, if the fuzz comes, say you thought it was oregano...

Goldie, Shade and Banshee said...

Thanks so much for sharing those tips. The PM had just looked at our catnip plants and thought about giving them a trim as they were a little long in the tooth. She was just going to snip some leaves, good thing she read this fisrt!


Thanks again!

purrs, Shade

Ana said...

Your Mom is putting them in the freezer after drying?

Forty Paws said...

Wowee! Maw mite haf to do dat wit owr plants too!

Luf, Us

Cat Street Boyz said...

Mommy bought some catnip seeds so now she will know how to save some for later...THANKS!=^Y^=Ty

Daisy said...

I like the dried up kind better than the green, fresh kind anyway. But my Mommie is too lazy, so she just buys it already made.

Tenny said...

I gotta find out why we dont haff catnip in the herb gardin yet.

Thanks for the tips!

Willow said...

Wow, what a beautiful catnip plant you have there! Your mommy is a better plant grower than mine! I eat mine until it's gone and then sometimes I get surprised with a new one. Maybe my mom could dry some before she forgets to water it and it drys out that way!

Purrrrrrs, Willow

catsynth said...

Thanks for sharing how you care for your catnip plant. We have one out on the patio, and one of us has been pretty inept at taking care of it.

Besides the fact that it seems to need a lot more water than any of the other plants we have, it also seems to be a magnet for ants (which are huge problem in our area anyway).

Sunny's Mommy said...

Hahahahahaha!!!

Shilgiah the Cat said...

Oh man! My brother Tommy loves fresh catnip and I love dried catnip. I need to tell mom to plant catnip like you have. Thanks for the idea.

Mark's Mews (Marley, Lori, Loki, and Binq) said...

That's a great idee Parker! The Big Thing does that wif his own herbies sometimes. And garlic plants (pee-uuu).

He brings in a live plant fer the Winter, but it occurs ta us "what if it dies"! We would haf no Nip!

So he is gonna dry some "jus in case" in the Fall...

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Our mum has been saying she will grow us some nip furr ages and she still hasn't done it. She's got no excuse now she knows what to do. Mum laffed about the child of the 70's bit and we asked her what it meant, but she said we don't need to know. Why Not??

The Island Cats said...

Hey, Parker. We're going to tell our Mom to try this so we have catnip all year long! Thanks for the instructions!

Wally, Ernie & Zoey
The Island Cats

Mickey's Musings said...

I bet your Mom is popular with all the cats!!!!!!!!!! Yum!!!!!
Purrs Mickey

Just Ducky said...

First we have to get our plants to grow big enough to harvest! They are still furry tiny.

Chrissie said...

Now, we've got this ginormous garden, that I'm not allowed to go into anymore..and there's not even one catnip plant for me!

Mooooom!

Your mom is cool, Parker!

KC and the Giggleman Kitties said...

Wow, what a beautiful plant. Your mommy must be so smart. I would like to try both some fresh and some dried.
Purrs,
Missy Blue Eyes

Motor Home Cats said...

Mom killed our nip plant, but that is okay because we can take or leave nip for the most part. We are not very good cats in some ways. She said she would try to plant another one for us and try to keep this one alive.

Tiki, Tavi, Cody and Camie

admin said...

wow, thx for the inspiration.....we never have catnip plants, we'll surely ask mommy about it to grow them for us!

see our masseur kitties, Fatum & Brutum and when WE all become Significant Other to our beloved human

Karen Jo said...

You have a very nice catnip plant. The instructions are great. I love the "child of the 70's" bit. I planted some catnip seeds in our garden, but nothing at all came up. I may try it again some time.

MISS PEACH ~(^.^)~ said...

I like my fresh dry nip right out of my coffee can. You are lucky to have yours so fresh too!
We have a grandboy bean name Parker...we love that name!

Dragonheart, Merlin, Devi, and Chloe said...

Parker, you are so lucky that your humans grow catnip for you! Both our humans have black thumbs, so they end up killing anything they try to grow.