Gifting functional gifts is the best way to go
This is a repost blog.
Original posts by u/welptheregoesmyacc on subreddit r/ZeroWaste on Reddit
(Click through for pictures of catnip)
From the comments:
I am drying the leaves in a dehydrator @100F (they haven’t finished drying yet, so I can’t give you a time stamp) and then I will store them in a spare glass jar to gift to my sister. I will also experiment with air drying catnip to see if the effects, pheromones, and/or scent of the catnip differ between drying methods.
I plan to create another post in time when I can reach something of a conclusion to this experiment! :-)
30 Dec 2022: Dried Catnip Update!
Hi there, Zero Waste community! A few weeks ago, I posted that I purchased, grew, and harvested organic catnip as a Christmas present for my sisters’ cats. Some people were concerned about the effectiveness of the catnip when dried on low heat in a dehydrator, as opposed to air drying naturally. I had to conduct an experiment!
The dehydrated catnip took about 8 hours, which is longer than what I’ve read online. I think this is because my dehydrator is old, and the catnip leaves are quite thick (and were a bit moist from morning dew) so I dehydrated them at 100-105F rather than 90F; thin-leaved herbs like parsley have no trouble dehydrating at 90F for me. The naturally dried catnip was strung with compostable twine in my garage for 3 weeks. The cool, dry winter air helped speed up the process, especially since I’m in Florida; I should note that this catnip was stored in a different jar as the two shown. The jars shown are from the dehydrated batch, not the natural air dried batch. I found no difference between the two dried catnips, though it seemed the cats preferred to smell and roll around the catnip that was grounded into a powder (I just put it in a blender).
I don’t recall where I got the jars. They have been collecting dust in a closet for some time now. The vinyl stickers I made on the jars are not really zero waste, but you could achieve this with a simple sharpie or white glass marker. I draw, design, and print my own vinyl stickers mainly for decorating purposes in my room; I enjoy creating my own things to remind me of my favorite shows, games, and memories, so creating vinyl stickers are one of my zero waste “exemptions.”
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