This month, my family got ambitious with our project. It was exciting to make our own solar fruit dryer, and great to see the kids (ages 4 and 7) having fun working on this project while learning valuable skills toward self-sufficiency. It was also exceedingly rewarding to be able to make use of this year’s bumper crop of fruit (beyond the usual applesauce, pies and crisps), which might otherwise go to waste (or to our resident moose).

This is basically a tall rectangular box covered with clear plastic with an angled black piece at the base to absorb heat, which rises and dries your bits.

To get started making your own solar dryer, you’ll need the following items: pallets or other wood source, a 2’ by 2’ wooden square for the base, 15 to 20 screws or nails, about three feet of clean metal screening material, three or four feet of 3’ wide tempered glass or polycarbonate, a power saw and drill, and paint (heat-absorbing black for the inside and any colors you choose for decorating the outside). For those of you who would like a more detailed description of our materials, some photos and the project’s process, please see www.MamaCanWeMake.org

Once you have all your materials assembled, you’ll need about three to four hours total time for prep, assembly and painting. Once you’ve built and painted your box, you’re ready to slide in your screens covered with thin-sliced fruit or veggie pieces. We like to dry apples, pears, plums, cherries, kale and broccoli. You’ll want to check on your dryer’s progress about every two hours or so to make sure any moisture is escaping.November isn’t the sunniest of months here on the Palouse, but there are enough bright days to try out your solar dryer, have fun cutting up fruit and veggies with your kids, and maybe even give you a few jars of healthy sweet treats to carry your family through the winter. 

Nancy and David hope their kids will trade us some of their Halloween candy for dried fruit.