Update Mesh drying rack

The drying mesh baggie thing I ordered is very light weight, it will blow around in a slight breeze outside.  The mesh will keep out bees and flies but not small gnats or other small flying critters ( I used crushed pineapple for the test).

It would be great in an enclosed porch or summer kitchen (screened).

In use now in the basement to dry brussels sprouts, using the dehumidifier before using the dehydrator.

My next experiment will be a wattage meter to check which one uses the most electricity.

Peace

Thanks for sharing your adventures with your new drying rack.

Is it possible to post a picture of this drying rack?

Your description remind me of something I just bought to organize my closet.

Anne,  sorry no camera nor cell phone, almost no knowledge of how to post a pic, and little patience.

Amazon listed it as a hanging drying mesh dehydrator.  It is 24 inches in dia and 31 inches high with four shelves having zipper openings.  I think it will work well for air drying herbs with stems such as basil, catnip, bee balm, etc.

You Tube may have a few vids of the thingy in action.

Peace

I see this on Amazon. Is this it? I like this idea, as I was going to build a tray system this year, and this is also workable if I don't get that done...

Tamara, That is not the one I ordered, but it looks to be larger and easier to open to put the veggies in.  I use the dehydrator trays in the dryer, then right into the base unit to finish.

Peace

Tamara Carroll wrote:I see this on Amazon. Is this it? I like this idea, as I was going to build a tray system this year, and this is also workable if I don't get that done...

That is the kind I looked at several years ago. I would like to get one (or make one) at some point.

When I was a kid, we often dried peaches on the roof. We'd put them in large flat pans, if I remember correctly (I was a little kid, so I may be off on that), and leave them up there until they were dried. We lived in southern Utah, where it was hot and dry, and I guess it was a tradition to dry fruit that way, but I'd prefer something that would keep flying things from getting to the fruit.


Deanne, thanks for your posts. It's nice to know that the mesh doesn't keep out gnats and other tiny critters. I had not known that.

The dehumidifier experiment may have worked.  Brussel sprouts were dry at 6 am, run time of about 8 hours in dehydrator.

Need more experiments.  Need white lab coat.  

Need to apply for grant money!!!  Anyone know how to write grant requests???  Feel free to use this pre-drying thingy.  Is grant money taxable???

May need a nap!!!



Peace

Tamara Carroll wrote:I see this on Amazon. Is this it? I like this idea, as I was going to build a tray system this year, and this is also workable if I don't get that done...

I have something very similar, but square instead of rectangle and 5 shelves. I don't use it as much as I thought I would - primarily for herbs that I can't hang in bundles. Anything more substantial, and the humidity here is just too high - everything molds.

This is what mine looks like.
From Amazon.

I've done elderberries in it too.

I bought one of those fabric mesh zipper dehydrators. Mine was round. It didn't work well enough to dry my sorghum grain, hanging near my woodstove. The grain grew white fuzzy mold. Very frustrating after all the effort involved in sowing, growing, fighting off rabbits, and harvesting the grain! It was a total loss.

I ended up disposing of the dehydrator because even folded up, it took up valuable space in my tiny cabin. So, i am still searching for a better drying method. It is a very humid climate in this hardwood forest.

I bought one like what Joylynn posted. I live in the high desert so it worked well for me. Because it would blow around in the wind if kept outside, I often keep it hanging inside a south-facing window instead. If the things to dry are likely to sick to the mesh or are very small and powdery, I put them on trays inside the mesh hanging dryer. I sometimes put a fan blowing toward it if I think the weather is damp or the air movement might not be enough. It works great in my conditions.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:This is what mine looks like.
From Amazon.

I've done elderberries in it too.

I'm in love!  😍 🥰

Meli Mot wrote:I bought one of those fabric mesh zipper dehydrators. Mine was round. It didn't work well enough to dry my sorghum grain, hanging near my woodstove. The grain grew white fuzzy mold. Very frustrating after all the effort involved in sowing, growing, fighting off rabbits, and harvesting the grain! It was a total loss.

I ended up disposing of the dehydrator because even folded up, it took up valuable space in my tiny cabin. So, i am still searching for a better drying method. It is a very humid climate in this hardwood forest.

That is so sad this happened to you! ☹