Saturday, May 29, 2010

Drying Rack

drying rackFarmer MacGregor should have been born in 1906.  He was meant to have been an adult in the 1930’s.  The clothes.  The music.  The movies.  The food.  The lifestyle.  Everything.  That is why he designed and built the drying rack the way he did.  I suggested/requested that it would be nice to have something so I could dry garlic and onions when the time came.  A few photos in a magazine sparked the gentle farmer to go way beyond expectations.DSC_1320_4031 Lumber was ordered and delivered from a local hardware shop.  Measurements were taken and the cutting began.  Neighbors stopped in to find out what was old MacGregor making now.  (They gave up years ago trying to keep up with his home improvement projects.)DSC_1367_4034 The cut lumber was left to dry out before construction could begin.  With plans and tools gathered, the assembly began.  There is a frame with removable drying trays.  With the trays removed, dowels strung with herbs (mostly lavender) can be inserted for drying purposes.DSC_1378_4041 The drying rack was painted and wire was attached to the trays to complete the rack.  Farmer MacGregor wanted to use this green color of paint thinking this would be the color of choice in a decades old garden.  It’s a green wash.DSC_1683_4353 See?  The garlic was harvested and is now drying.  I pulled out the center tray to show how they come out.  The garlic is delicious.

Farmer MacGregor did a fine job.

5 comments:

Ron McDonald said...

Nice rack Maybelline. I take it your pulling up your garlic now. i just started harvesting some of mine that has fallen over. I'm suprised it hasen't rotted with all the rain we have been getting.

MAYBELLINE said...

Thank you Ron.
All the garlic has been harvested.
Serrano peppers were planted in their place.

Hot and dry here today.

Maureen said...

We are SO making this rack.....you could use it as a dehydrator in the summer! (with some sort of screening to keep out the bugs?)

On the garlic - do you dry yours in the sun or shade?

MAYBELLINE said...

*Maureen -

I did have the garlic out in the open sun; but today the temperatures are just too hot. I thought I might have garlic powder so we moved the rack to where it receives mostly shade.

It would make a swell dehydrator. I need to figure out how to keep the bugs out though. If I do, I'll post it here.

Anonymous said...

Looks nice but is there a plan available somewhere with more legible dimensions?