[Herbalist] Digging for information (longish)

Tara Sersen tsersen at nni.com
Wed Jun 6 12:18:35 PDT 2001


> With four cats, you'll have to dry it in the car or some other place they can't get into.
> (Cars are harder for cats to get into than ovens... all that thumb manipulation.)
> I recommend doing it on a day you don't have to use the car, as the smell is very strong.
> Lay the leaves/stems out in a single layer on a tray or hang it up in a bunch. In summer
> conditions with a non-leaky car, they should be crispy dry in 1-3 days. Put the
> crisply-dried plant material in a catproof container, such as a tin with a tight top, and
> hide it. ;)

You could also dry it in the attic with the door closed, or in a garden
shed.  As for storage, I recommend wrapping that tin in the stuff they
use to make bullet proof vests, and then store it in a cabinet equipt
like Fort Knox...  At least based on my cats!  :)

An oven, while not neccisarily requiring opposible thumbs, is quite
cat-proof.  The door is pretty darned heavy.  I prefer not to use an
oven, though, because of the huge amount of power it takes.  A dehydator
is tricky with cats, because you have to put it somewhere where they
can't get it.  You can't put it in a cabinet because it'll damage the
cabinet.  If you're going to put it in the attic... you might as well
just hang it all and let it dry naturally.

Have fun!

-Magdalena vander Brugghe



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