diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 2811dd743..8a016d7a7 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -2033,9 +2033,9 @@ checksum = "9a3a5bfb195931eeb336b2a7b4d761daec841b97f947d34394601737a7bba5e4"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "humantime-serde"
-version = "1.0.1"
+version = "1.1.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "ac34a56cfd4acddb469cc7fff187ed5ac36f498ba085caf8bbc725e3ff474058"
+checksum = "57a3db5ea5923d99402c94e9feb261dc5ee9b4efa158b0315f788cf549cc200c"
 dependencies = [
  "humantime",
  "serde",
@@ -6245,6 +6245,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "chrono",
  "futures",
  "hex",
+ "humantime-serde",
  "lazy_static",
  "metrics",
  "ordered-map",
@@ -6405,6 +6406,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "futures",
  "gumdrop",
  "hex",
+ "humantime-serde",
  "hyper",
  "indexmap",
  "inferno",
diff --git a/zebra-network/Cargo.toml b/zebra-network/Cargo.toml
index ed85d41c9..c98d9dc73 100644
--- a/zebra-network/Cargo.toml
+++ b/zebra-network/Cargo.toml
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ byteorder = "1.4.3"
 bytes = "1.1.0"
 chrono = "0.4.19"
 hex = "0.4.3"
+humantime-serde = "1.1.1"
 lazy_static = "1.4.0"
 ordered-map = "0.4.2"
 pin-project = "1.0.10"
diff --git a/zebra-network/src/config.rs b/zebra-network/src/config.rs
index ec1a4562a..cb993059f 100644
--- a/zebra-network/src/config.rs
+++ b/zebra-network/src/config.rs
@@ -77,9 +77,7 @@ pub struct Config {
     /// - regularly, every time `crawl_new_peer_interval` elapses, and
     /// - if the peer set is busy, and there aren't any peer addresses for the
     ///   next connection attempt.
-    //
-    // Note: Durations become a TOML table, so they must be the final item in the config
-    //       We'll replace them with a more user-friendly format in #2847
+    #[serde(with = "humantime_serde")]
     pub crawl_new_peer_interval: Duration,
 }
 
@@ -301,7 +299,7 @@ impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for Config {
             initial_mainnet_peers: HashSet<String>,
             initial_testnet_peers: HashSet<String>,
             peerset_initial_target_size: usize,
-            #[serde(alias = "new_peer_interval")]
+            #[serde(alias = "new_peer_interval", with = "humantime_serde")]
             crawl_new_peer_interval: Duration,
         }
 
diff --git a/zebrad/Cargo.toml b/zebrad/Cargo.toml
index 7e5b1e813..cb2437073 100644
--- a/zebrad/Cargo.toml
+++ b/zebrad/Cargo.toml
@@ -59,6 +59,7 @@ zebra-state = { path = "../zebra-state" }
 abscissa_core = "0.5"
 gumdrop = "0.7"
 chrono = "0.4.19"
+humantime-serde = "1.1.1"
 indexmap = "1.8.2"
 lazy_static = "1.4.0"
 serde = { version = "1.0.137", features = ["serde_derive"] }
diff --git a/zebrad/src/components/mempool/config.rs b/zebrad/src/components/mempool/config.rs
index c1afa2805..01708680a 100644
--- a/zebrad/src/components/mempool/config.rs
+++ b/zebrad/src/components/mempool/config.rs
@@ -8,17 +8,6 @@ use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Deserialize, Serialize)]
 #[serde(deny_unknown_fields, default)]
 pub struct Config {
-    /// If the state's best chain tip has reached this height, always enable the mempool,
-    /// regardless of Zebra's sync status.
-    ///
-    /// Set to `None` by default: Zebra always checks the sync status before enabling the mempool.
-    //
-    // TODO:
-    // - allow the mempool to be enabled before the genesis block is committed?
-    //   we could replace `Option` with an enum that has an `AlwaysEnable` variant
-    // - move debug configs last (needs #2847)
-    pub debug_enable_at_height: Option<u32>,
-
     /// The mempool transaction cost limit.
     ///
     /// This limits the total serialized byte size of all transactions in the mempool.
@@ -39,10 +28,18 @@ pub struct Config {
     ///
     /// This corresponds to `mempoolevictionmemoryminutes` from
     /// [ZIP-401](https://zips.z.cash/zip-0401#specification).
-    ///
-    // Note: Durations become a TOML table, so they must be the final item in the config
-    //       We'll replace them with a more user-friendly format in #2847
+    #[serde(with = "humantime_serde")]
     pub eviction_memory_time: Duration,
+
+    /// If the state's best chain tip has reached this height, always enable the mempool,
+    /// regardless of Zebra's sync status.
+    ///
+    /// Set to `None` by default: Zebra always checks the sync status before enabling the mempool.
+    //
+    // TODO:
+    // - allow the mempool to be enabled before the genesis block is committed?
+    //   we could replace `Option` with an enum that has an `AlwaysEnable` variant
+    pub debug_enable_at_height: Option<u32>,
 }
 
 impl Default for Config {