I have a catnip plant in my garden. Winter is coming and it is time to pull it out. How do I prepare it so my cat can get properly stoned out of his kitty gourd?
Don’t pull it up! Catnip is a herbaceous perennial, so if you just harvest the foliage at the end of the season it will grow again next spring.
My cat prefers Big Bambu; hefinds them easier to work with (small paws).
A friend of his wants to know–is it necessary to dry the catnip first or is that just for storage?
Drying concentrates the oils so the catnip is more potent. I usually air-dry ours. Hang it in a bag for a few weeks in a dark, dry place until it crumbles easily, then stash it in an air-tight jar in the pantry where the cats can’t get at it.
I screwed up and pulled the whole plant. I put it in a garbage bag ,but the cat is leaping across from the dresser to get at it. He is a kitty stoner.
My fat dullard is usually indifferent to catnip. Last year I grew some for someone else’s cat, picked some leaves and put them in a dish and set it on the counter (was going to come back later and dry them in the oven). Do I have to tell you the end of the story?
You could re-plant it and it might survive. Better than throwing out the roots and such. Do it now, though!
Put it in a paper bag, not plastic so the moisture can escape.