Drying and using lavender leaves?

[nsmar4211]

Poked around in the search but didn't find this one...

I have a lavender plant that reminds me how good it smells everytime I bump into it. I'd like to dry some of the leaves and use them in CP (or HP if that decides to work better). I know they'll turn brown, and I know they'll be scratchy so it'll be scrub soap.

Question is, has anyone tried drying herbs in the refridgerator? It's really high humidity here and drying things on the counter tends to mold (and no dehydrator).

My other option would be silicone cat litter, which I've used to dry flowers before but I'm not sure if plants dried with silicone would hang on to anything that would affect the soap......

And I'm trying to find out usage rates...everything else seems to be 1 tsp/pound or 1 tbls / pound...curious what anyone's tried.

 

[shunt2011]

You can dry them on low in the oven. I don't think they would ever dry in the fridge.

 

[Susie]

I have used the oven on low to dry herbs more than once. They will do fine.

However, don't expect the scent to come through in soap. Its just not going to happen. Sorry. But you could make a lovely sachet for your closet.

 

[nsmar4211]

How low is low and how long do you do it? I'm in florida so the less heat in the house the better .

I know the scent won't come through (I wish) but it'd be fun to say "I grew the additive" LOL :razz:

 

[mymy]

Cold burn won't make the herbs crunchy but wilt.

 

[galaxyMLP]

Try drying things out in the sun on a warm day. I'm in florida too and I can't dry things indoors for the life of me. But, on warm days in a spot with a lot of sun, you can get things to dry out pretty quickly!

One question though, what type of lavender are you growing? Most lavender isn't suited for this hot warm climate. It sounds like yours is doing pretty well!

 

[Susie]

I put my oven on 150 F (the lowest "warm" setting I have), and bake on a cooling rack placed over a sheet pan. It took about 30-ish minutes for lavender to dry all the way through for me. Just be sure they are crunchy dry, not just leathery dry.

You may be able to find a dehydrator cheap at a thrift shop. The one I went to in Louisiana had them on a regular basis for $2-3. I have not looked here yet.

 

[nsmar4211]

GalaxyMP, errrrmmm not sure I have the variety label anymore. It came from a local nursery, it's not the big showy flowery one that everyone seems to want. Only gets a few flower stalks but since those aren't the smell source I don't care. It's in a container, 18 gallon rubbermaid. I was told to let it dry out almost completely between waterings so I put it with the desert succulent area of the "garden" and it gets drenched when they do. I don't water the leaves because I noticed they got brown and bleh if they got wet too much.... It's in full sun from 9am onwwards.

Maybe I'll stick some branches between two pieces of screen and lay them on a bench...hrm....free drying....

I've been checking the thrift stores for molds, crockpots, and dehydrators but no luck in months!