And it begins...the first day of spring is upon us and that means my food preservation challenge has begun! To start things off I decided to spend a few hours today building some herb drying screens. I often run out of room to hang herbs in the kitchen, so stacking screens were really worth making this year. Plus I can let these babies sit on the deck and let fresh air speed up the drying process on warm, dry days.
The idea came from something I found online, but I made some changes that worked better for me. Here are the details in case you're interested in making your own:
Materials:
Miter cut the 2x2 boards into 24" lengths (16 total). Use one 1 1/4" screw per corner to put the frames together. Then add the brackets with screws to the inside of each corner. Lay a 24" square piece of screen on each frame, fold each edge of screen inward 1/2", and staple down. Miter cut the furring strips into 23" lengths (16 total). Nail the furring strips over the folded screen edges - this covers your screen edges and becomes the bottom of your drying screen. Layer herbs or flowers between each screen (approx. 2" of space exists between each). Stack them, and you're ready to dry!
Image credit: Cale Ruiz
The idea came from something I found online, but I made some changes that worked better for me. Here are the details in case you're interested in making your own:
Materials:
- 2 16ft 2x2 pine boards
- 2 16ft furring strips
- 4 pieces of 24" square window screening
- 1 1/4" screws (16 total)
- 16 small 90 degree metal brackets with screws
- 48 finishing nails
- miter saw, drill, staple gun, staples, hammer
Miter cut the 2x2 boards into 24" lengths (16 total). Use one 1 1/4" screw per corner to put the frames together. Then add the brackets with screws to the inside of each corner. Lay a 24" square piece of screen on each frame, fold each edge of screen inward 1/2", and staple down. Miter cut the furring strips into 23" lengths (16 total). Nail the furring strips over the folded screen edges - this covers your screen edges and becomes the bottom of your drying screen. Layer herbs or flowers between each screen (approx. 2" of space exists between each). Stack them, and you're ready to dry!
Image credit: Cale Ruiz