2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
So that the time spent on the preparation of medicinal herbs is not wasted, it is necessary to make a little more effort for their high-quality "conservation". Correct and timely drying of the collected herbs will allow you to use their healing properties in full in the future
The collection of herbs is carried out in the first half of the day, so that the second half of the day can be used for processing, cutting and arranging them in places where they will get rid of excess moisture, becoming dry and suitable for long-term storage.
Methods for drying medicinal herbs
It is possible to dry medicinal herbs in natural conditions, without using any special dryers. When there are no suitable conditions for this, or the weather is not favorable for business, you can use the technique.
Natural drying
The best place for drying medicinal herbs will be one where direct sunlight does not penetrate, but shade and fresh wind reigns. Such a place can be a special shed, or a shed for storing garden equipment, equipped with special shelves for drying plants.
Grasses, tied in loose bunches, can be hung on a rope stretched out on the veranda or terrace of a country house. To save living space, you can use tumble dryers, on which housewives dry the washed laundry. Hanging bunches of herbs should not be too close to each other, so that the breeze can blow them off more conveniently, not allowing mold to settle on our blanks..
Lofts are a great place to dry if you're not hoarding trash by clogging up attic spaces. There, the grasses will not cling to your heads, and in complete rest they will dry in an arranged draft, reliably protected from direct sunlight.
But the juicy roots and fruits, before the long drying process, require that they be dried for some time under the rays of the hot sun.
For more successful drying, finely chopped herbs are laid out in a very thin layer (no more than two centimeters thick). Strong paper is suitable as a bedding for grasses; fine mesh mesh; non-synthetic fabric (canvas); sieve. In the first days of drying, it is necessary to turn the raw material several times a day.
When drying a small amount of raw materials, you can use a simple and effective method proposed by "asientochka", Tatiana Veklenko. Place a thin layer of raw materials laid out on a plastic pallet on the refrigerator, pushing the pallet tightly against the wall opposite which the refrigeration unit is located. A stream of warm air constantly flows from the unit, rising upward according to the laws of physics. It will help to quickly and efficiently dry the natural medicine.
Artificial drying
In rainy and humid weather, various techniques can be used to dry medicinal herbs. These can be ovens, electric or gas ovens, special dryers with fans.
When using technology, it is important not to overdo it with temperature, so as not to cook or burn precious raw materials. The temperature, as a rule, should not be higher than 50 degrees when drying herbs that do not contain essential oils. For the latter. do not bring the temperature above 35 degrees.
Storage
Medicinal herbs prepared in accordance with all the rules should be stored in cool and dry rooms. Strong paper bags are suitable as storage containers; wooden or tin boxes; glass containers made of dark glass; dense linen bags.
For ease of use, the container should have a label that resembles a herbarium label. It should indicate the name of the herb, the type of plant part and the date of manufacture.
Storage periods
Leaves, flowers, grass, fruits retain healing properties for an average of no more than two years. After two years, they can be used to mulch plants, and start collecting fresh herbs.
Seeds, bark and roots are more stable and retain their valuable qualities for two to three, and sometimes four years. If you did not manage to use them during this time, then it is also more expedient to send them for mulch.
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