What I´m up to right now

in #homesteading7 years ago (edited)

Right now I´m drying a lot of herbs and greens in my dehydrator, the weather hasn´t been as great this last couple of weeks so drying outside is out of the question. I love my dehydrator, I just wish I learned more before. Now I know that I can dry so many things and the plan is to keep it going for as long as I can and try many different things so we know what we like.

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I´ve dried some new spices, like lemon thyme (tasted great on roasted asparagus with some honey and olive oil) and also parsley. I usually put parsley in my freezer, but it turned out great when I dried it so that´s a keeper.

I built a solar dehydrator from a pallet collar and some netting, to dry onions against the barn wall. They dried for two days and then the rain started again so I put them in my dehydrator to be completely dry. We haven´t tried it yet, but I have a hard time thinking that it will go to waste in my kitchen.

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I also made garlic powder in my dehydrator. I did it last summer, in my owen. It didn´t make me so popular when it was drying. The house smelled of garlic for weeks. We had absolutely no issues with vampires.
Now I have a temporary kitchen set up in the barn so this year the house didn´t have to smell garlic! I made powder from eight garlics last year, mixed it with chard and chive . We have used it in almost every meal during this winter so that was a great success. So of course I had to make it for this coming winter as well. This year I made it with leaks, chive and parsley.

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Last week I also started making a big raised bed in front of the house. It doesn´t look like much yet, but it will give me a much needed growing space for next season. I don´t have a big yard, it´s about 1/3 of an acre. So I have to be picky about where I put my growing beds. I have to consider where all the snow is going in wintertime and it also has to get enough sun to grow vegetables. So this new big bed will be nice to have next summer.

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It´s time for me to get outside and finish it, I will post more pictures when I´m done.

Until next time, be well.
//S

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I want a dehydrator really bad. That looks wonderful...

Ever tried drying without? I started with my oven and then I did some solar too. I started by mixing some vegetables and salt, spread it out on parchment paper and put a wooden spoon to keep the oven door open just a bit. I think I made a powder from swede, parsnip, chives, mangold and probably parsley besides the garlic powder.

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I am starting to feel hungry ;) @arcticgarden

That´s a good sign. I´m always thinking about food... =0)

Nice post. I'm getting ready to start growing some herbs. That thyme that you have is beyond good for your health. It has stuff in it that up-regulate longevity genes. Here are links to my last two posts if you are interested.

https://steemit.com/health/@tombot/can-biohacking-double-lifespan-2-0

https://steemit.com/health/@tombot/can-biohacking-double-lifespan-3-0

I did my first real attempt last summer, I grew parsley and basil to keep us through the winter but this year I didn´t get anything to germinate. I bought some organic plants and gave them a new home. I liked the smell of lemon thyme, turned out it was nice to try something new. I will definitly head over and check it out! Sounds interesting. Thanks : )

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