Alice_utk
Newly Registered
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 3:25 pm
Location: Knoxville, TN

What should I do with an excess of Lemon Balm?

We have had Lemon Balm in the backyard now for about 6-7 years and now there is simply too much and I am not sure what to do with it all.

I want to do something crafty/culinary with it.

Anyone know what I can do with a bunch of clippings from all my bushes of this herb?
I tried drying some for oil purposes, but it didn't seem to hold its delicious smell.

Any ideas would be great!

Thanks :)

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

I just made a batch of lemon balm jelly:

https://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1923,14 ... 03,00.html

but use at least 2 packed cups of lemon balm leaves for the infusion. If you leave out the pectin and just simmer it until it is reduced, you have lemon balm syrup.

I put the leaves in fruit salads and green salads and add lemon balm sprigs to summer drinks, maybe with mint.
Chop it in to salad dressing or in to cream cheese. Use it instead of lemon rind/ zest in recipes. Mince it in to muffin recipes, especially with blueberry muffins. And of course dry the leaves to use in herbal tea blends:

Lemon balm, lavender and chamomile make a lovely soothing tea. Lemon balm, peppermint, and fennel seed made a tea that is good for calming upset stomach. And lemon balm, chamomile, fennel seed, coriander, and bits of dried apricot make a delicious fruity tea. I posted some herbal tea recipes here:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=40087

Mix it with baby oil to make your own homemade lemon furniture polish:

https://theherbgardener.blogspot.com/200 ... olish.html

None the less it is in the mint family and it does spread like crazy. I do sometimes end up just composting some, because it is starting to turn into a pest in my yard.

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Did you like any of those ideas? :?:

If you are still looking for more, you can put it in herbed vinegar or use it in herbed butter:

Lemon Herb Butter

2 tablespoons lemon balm, chopped fine
2 tablespoons thyme, chopped fine
1 cup butter, softened

mix the herbs in the butter and chill for at least three hours.

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Lemon balm is usually used for tea.

Lemon balm is supposed to go crazy, but I guess where it is in the garden, is not ideal, it struggles with being either too wet or too dry and I have a false oregano that is really aggressive and tries to take over all of the time.

User avatar
applestar
Mod
Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

We made lemon grass and lemon verbena soap. Maybe you could use lemon balm.

I steeped some of the dried herbs in warm extra virgin olive oil, then used the strained scented oil to grease the soap mold, then stirred the oil and some pulverized dried herbs into melted clear glycerin soap base. I think we used yellow food coloring for these because we decided to use star-shaped mold... Either that or we found we didn't need to add the coloring because it came out yellow green from the olive oil and the herbs... Hm... Can't recall.

Alice_utk
Newly Registered
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 3:25 pm
Location: Knoxville, TN

These are all fantastic ideas. I really want to try the herb-infused butter, tea and jelly.
Thanks everyone! :D

Susan W
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1858
Joined: Mon Jul 06, 2009 2:46 pm
Location: Memphis, TN

Lemon balm can be very happy and then some! Many do use it for tea and tub soaks. Now for good lemony taste, try lemon verbena! I have in containers and ground, wintered fine here. It may be a bit late to find starts at garden centers now.



Return to “Herb Gardening Forum”