The nature hike went well this morning in Georgia...  NW Georgia this time of year is really close to perfection...

Before the group at large arrived, the Princess and I noted a large amount of plantain (Plantago major) growing at the site...  She quickly got to work picking as much as she could of this wonderful weed...

Now, you could use it fresh, but I prefer my plantain dried.... so how do I dry my herbs?

I am generally a lazy-kind of girl... but there is an upside to this... I would like to think that it adds to my creativity as I want the biggest bang for the time I have to put into something....  This is the way that I have found works for me... and the HOA (Home Owners Association) hasn't complained yet!

General principles.... you can dry herbs outside, but it defeats the purpose if it rains on them.... check the weather.

Don't dry them in the direct sunlight....

An attic is a good dry, dark place..... it is often recommended to hang herbs in bundles in this setting.

You can use a dehydrator or low heat oven.... but this again takes watching and I don't have a dehydrator.

What I do:

I have these really big windows on the back of my breakfast area....  They are about 6 feet by 3 feet each.

I take the screens off of 2 of the windows.

I generally like to keep the windows open, but don't with the 2 that I use.

I then take what ever herb I have for the day.... today it was plantain.  I wash the herb first (just in case a dog found it before me... to quote Debi Pearl) 

I then lay it out in a single layer on the screen....

I put the screen on my front porch... it is shaded here from direct sun  (the porch is east facing)...

I then put the other screen on top and put rocks on the sides to keep it steady...

With thin, flat herbs it only takes 1-3 days to dry depending upon the temperature...   Some pods and roots can take a bit longer... your main goal is to get all of the water out of the herbs so that they are preserved...

I then store the herbs in glass mason jars until I need them.  They should be good for a year or so depending upon how well you dry them....

I have found that I can't pick enough plantain it seems... so I haven't had to worry about keeping it for more than a year...

You can use dried herbs just as you would fresh.... in teas, salves, or tinctures.... the only thing you can't do is extract juice...