Drying Tree Medicine
Leaves, flowers, berries and seeds can all be used when in season, but in order to have a supply all the year round, we will need to dry what we have harvested. Dried tree medicine is more concentrated than fresh, so the quantities you have to take to be effective are generally smaller. Like our own human bodies, a large part of the fresh material consists of water. Example: To make a cup of Birch leaf tea, you need a heaped teaspoon of dried leaves or 3x that amount if the leaves are fresh. Dosage, when mentioned in books on this website, usually refers to the dried material.
The best drying places are warm, dry, dark and airy, for example an airing cupboard, or an airy shed. If you do not have such a place, try wrapping your material up loosely in newspaper sheets or brown paper and hang in front of a sunny window. Basically avoid light and damp air, such as air from cooking or drying clothes in the same space. Light changes the chemistry and wet air, apart from obviously not helping in the drying process increases the chances of everything going mouldy. Dryness is more important than warmth and if you plan to dry large quantities, a domestic dehumidifier is a handy gadget to have or to borrow and makes a good quality dried product.
Different materials take of course different times to dry, so check often.
Rots have to be washed and/or scrubbed first. Large roots can be sliced lengthwise to facilitate drying. Hang in warm, dry, airy spaces or place on flat trays, not touching each other. The roots should loose about ¾ of their weight in drying. This may take about 10 days, depending on the size of the root, drying facilities and so on. Then dry the roots further until they are brittle near a source of warmth, such as central heating radiator or stove (may take another week to 10 days) or in a cool oven.
After drying chop leaves up finely before storage. Roots may be ground in a pestle and mortar or chopped to bits in a food processor.
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