Solar Herb Dryer
[ This article is from: Solar Energy Solutions , Michelle Kaufmann's Eco Ideas , Eco Eats , Easy Ways to Go Green , Crafty Recycling ]

Fill your herb dryer with leaves and place it in a window.

Use eyes hooks to fasten the screen into the frame.
By Michelle Kaufmann
The average American meal is often made with ingredients that have traveled at least 1,500 miles to get to our kitchens. Why not grow a few things at home to cut down on your food’s travel time?
Herbs are easy to grow at home and add so much fantastic flavor to a meal. Many are also natural pest deterrents that help maintain and even improve the health of your garden without the use of artificial pesticides. But sometimes you end up with a bounty of herbs that are more than you could possibly need at one time. Drying your herbs is the perfect solution for keeping surplus from going to waste and provides you with home-grown herbs year-round.
Start drying your herbs in a stylish, compact solar herb drier, made from materials you might already have at home or can be picked up at art or hardware store: an old picture frame, a few corks and some screen. Plus, this drier lets you take advantage of one of our planet’s best sources of renewable energy, our bright, shining sun, to either hang or flat-dry your herbs. It works just as well indoors as out, so you won’t have to worry about the rain getting in the way.
VIDEO: See how to make your own solar herb dryer >>
What you need:Old picture frame4 wine corksScreen materialSuction-cup hooksEye screwsGlueScissors
Steps:1. Take an old picture frame that you won’t mind putting permanently out of commission and remove everything from it (glass, backing, etc.) until you’re left with just the frame. An old wooden frame will give your herb dryer a hint of vintage style.
2. Carefully measure the inside of your frame and then cut out two pieces of screen to fit into the opening (if you’re using screen mesh from an old window or door screen, wash it well before you do anything else with it).You will need two pieces of screen so that your herbs can be sandwiched between them and held in place if you choose to hang your dryer in a window.
3. Attach the lower screen to the back of the frame by simply gluing the edges down. The second screen, however, must be removable. If your frame already has built-in metal clips, you can use these for fastening the screen into the frame. If not, then twist in some eye screws parallel to and just above the lower screen. The number of screws will vary based on the size of your frame. The screws can be turned eye up in order to slip the upper screen in and out and then sideways to secure the second screen once you have your herbs in place.
4. On the back of your herb dryer, attach a cork to each corner so when it’s horizontal it forms a little table. This will allow air to circulate freely above and below flat-dried herbs, which is necessary for drying them properly. The corks will also help protect your window if you want to hang-dry your herbs.
5. To equip the frame for hang-drying in a window, you will need two more eye screws and two safety suction cups with hooks attached. Fasten the eye screws into one side of your frame, just inside of the corks. Attach your suction cups onto a sunny window so they’re spaced at the same interval as the two eye screws and then just hang your dryer.
6. Place your dryer on a sunny table or hang in the window and let your fresh herbs dry. Download a pdf of these directions from Michelle Kaufmann's blog >>