At this point in the season there are a lot of fresh herbs and flowers to process.  Hanging them upside down in an area out of direct sunlight is one of the easiest methods to use, but it can take about a week (or more) to dry plants this way and there are some plants with a high water content that can be difficult to dry without molding.

Dehydrators speed up the process, and if you’re anything like me, you’re planning to build an electricity-free solar dehydrator as soon as you have the space.

But there’s also an easy way to dehydrate smaller batches of herbs or flowers within a few hours, and all you need is a wooden tray and a glass baking dish!

Pick enough fresh herbs/flowers to line the baking dish, but make sure to allow some breathing room between the plants.

Transfer the picked herbs to a wooden cutting board and place a glass baking dish over top (make sure to let part of the dish hang over the edge so that air can flow up and into the “dehydration chamber”).

Place the tray in direct sunlight and you’ll have fresh dried herbs within a few hours!  It’s an easy, electricity-free way to preserve the harvest using the sun as an ally.

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