Air Drying
Hanging herbs in bundles is the simplest drying method. Gather together three to six sprigs and secure the stems with string, yarn, or a rubber band. Hang the bundles upside down in a dry, dark place (sunlight will diminish color, fragrance, and flavor). A well-ventilated attic or basement works well. Your herbs should be fully dry within about a week (probably less). For cooking herbs, make sure the plants are brittle, then remove the leaves and store them in airtight jars or bags. For crafts projects and other creative endeavors, you may have better results with herbs that are still a bit moist.
Microwave Drying
If you want to work with your herbs the day you harvest them, dry them in the microwave. Place herbs in a single layer between two paper towels; microwave 1 minute, testing for dryness every 20 seconds. Once the herbs are dry, remove the stems. This is the speediest way to dry herbs for cooking or other projects, but it only works with some types of herbs. While some herbs can hold up in the microwave, delicate herbs will wither and turn brown. So save the microwave for woody herbs like rosemary, thyme, and oregano rather than more delicate herbs like basil and parsley.
Dehydrating
If you have a dehydrator, you can use it to dry out your herbs faster than hanging them to dry. To prep herbs for the dehydrator, pull the leaves of small-leaf herbs—like oregano, thyme, and rosemary—off their stems. For broad-leaf herbs like basil and sage, strip the leaves from the stems and cut them in half (you can also leave them whole, but cutting them will decrease the dehydrating time). Cut chives into ¼- to ½-inch pieces.
Place prepared herbs on the dehydrator tray. If the herb leaves are small, line your dehydrator with a mesh or leather dehydrator sheet. Dehydrate at 95°F until the leaves are crisp enough to crumble. If the leaves are blowing around during the dehydrating process, place another dehydrator sheet on top of the herbs to hold them in place. Cool the dehydrated herbs before storing them. See the list below for the approximate length of time each herb needs to spend in the dehydrator to be dry enough to crumble.
Desiccant Drying
Moisture-absorbing substances speed the process of drying herbs, and they preserve the colors and shapes of your prettiest sprigs. Sand, borax, and cornmeal are traditional drying agents (but don’t use sand, borax or silica gel to dry any herbs you want to use for cooking). To desiccant-dry flowers—such as the pink, spherical blooms of chives—put them in a container and cover them with clean, dry sand or a mixture of one part borax to three parts cornmeal. Leave the container open to allow for evaporation. The blooms should be dry in three to five days. Silica gel, available at crafts stores, has lighter granules that are less likely to damage petals. For most uses, pour about an inch of gel into a moisture-tight plastic, metal, or glass container; add herbs; then cover them with more gel. Drying time will vary from about two to 10 days. Use a small paintbrush to remove crystals between the petals.
Using a Dehydrator – Advantages
Dehydrators allow you to quickly and gently dry your herbs. Here are the biggest advantages to using a dehydrator to preserve your herbs:
- Temperature control. In general, the lower the temperature for drying herbs, the better the color, aroma, and medicinal value.
- Faster drying time. Using a dehydrator, most herbs can be dried in hours instead of days.
- Drying herbs in a dehydrator requires less space than hanging herbs or laying them out on racks and screens.
Drying herbs in a dehydrator is really quite easy. Follow these tips for the best success.
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The ECO Farm dryer gives you the perfect environment to dry your medicinal plants every time. Using advanced technology, ECO Farm provides you with a ideal temperature that has been tested exclusively for drying medicinal plants.
Multi-directional airflow, along with open-weave trays ensures each bud is dried consistently. This also means you do not need to rotate or touch the buds during the drying process.
ECO Farm provides all of this in a captured environment, meaning you get high-quality, consistent drying in a small, enclosed space. Take back all of the space you’ve needed for hang drying because ECO Farm only needs one square foot to give you consistent drying every time.
Save Time, Money, and Space
How long does it take to dry medicinal plants? Typically it can take a week or more until it’s fully dried. Not to mention, drying medicinal plants takes up a lot of valuable space. Space that could be used to expand your grow.
Why not save time, space, and ultimately money when you’re drying your medicinal plants? ECO Farm takes up a little over one square foot and can dry at least 6 ounces in that small space.
The ECO Farm dryer provides a controlled drying environment, meaning your medicinal plants is perfectly dried in less time than it takes to hang dry. All while retaining potency, terpenes, and flavor.
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HOW TO USE IT?
- Fill tray, leaving no space between buds for maximum capacity.
- Repeat with up to 5 trays per dryer unit.
- Place lid on top.
- Turn on unit.
- Use the lowest Temp for about 72 Hours. (Please kindly note that the temperature and time for each plants are different, so we highly recommend you to have a test firstly.)