Content
- Drying plants - capturing the valuable permanently
- Wait for optimal harvest time
- Which plant parts can be dried?
- Choose immaculate plant parts
- How can plants be dried?
- Temperature and drying time
- Adjust drying to the plant
- Storage and durability
Flowers or leaves can often be dried well in the air
Drying plants - capturing the valuable permanently
There are many reasons to dry plants. There are, for example, medicinal herbs whose active ingredients are thus available all year round. Or beautiful flowers that evoke special memories. Drying gives us the desired plant, but also wants to be skillful.
Wait for optimal harvest time
For every plant species, there are times that are better for picking than others. For medicinal herbs both the season and the time of day decide on the concentration of the active ingredients. For flowers, it is important that they are neither closed buds nor half withered.
Which plant parts can be dried?
Which plant parts are dried depends on the intended use. In principle, all parts of a plant are suitable for drying: roots, stems, leaves, flowers and fruits. Of course, whole copies.
Choose immaculate plant parts
The fresh plant material should be of the best possible quality for the dry result to be convincing.
How can plants be dried?
Plants can be dried in the air, in the oven, in the microwave or in the dehydrator. If dried plants are intended for consumption, a gentle drying method should be chosen.
Temperature and drying time
The drying time depends on the size and thickness of the plant parts as well as the chosen drying method. It can therefore not be quantified exactly at this point. It should anyway be checked at regular intervals how far the plants are already dried.
For the best possible drying, the temperature should not exceed 50 degrees Celsius.
Adjust drying to the plant
The variety of plants is enormous, so it can not possibly apply all the key data of an optimal drying for all plants. To be sure that the dried plant is what you are looking for, plant-specific information is needed.
Storage and durability
Dry plants are long lasting, but should not always be kept indefinitely. Their active ingredients decompose with time and aroma as well. A cool and dry storage area offers some protection in this regard.
Dry decorations can be kept as long as you like them.