Sweet Annie...PART TWO!

I've had many emails asking about preserving sweet annie as well as making the walnut ink.
  I do have ALOT of sweet annie in the varying stages of preserving. 

Cut your sweet annie.  Mix hot water with glycerine.  I do 1/2 cup glycerine to 1-1/2 cups water + 1/4 teaspoon of green food coloring. Mix WELL, this is important.   Cut your sweet annie and put the stems in the solution - be sure to use a glass container.  I just used old canning jars.  You will want to be sure not to pack alot of stems in the jar, you need the air to be able to circulate around the stems and branches.  Allow the stems to stay in the solution until it is absorbed into the plants.  Usually 3 days, you can tell because the color of the sweet annie turns a darker green color.  I then spread the stems out on paper to dry.  Then I bundle the stems with elastics and hang them upside down to further dry, about a week or so depending on humidity.

I purchased my Glycerine from a local pharmacy.  Walmart does have it but it is a little bottle and more pricey than my local supplier (Go Figure!)
You could buy it online but the shipping would kill you for sure!
It looks like we may have frost this weekend so I REALLY have to step up my harvest to get it all in.


Walnut Ink:  Go to this link and scroll down for the directions to make walnut ink, OR just do a search using google, yahoo, etc:  http://www.phancypages.com/newsletter/ZNewsletter538.htm


I hope this helps. 
I plan to dry apple and orange slices in the next few days so I shall report back on my results with pictures....if all goes well!