Workshop Module 6: Home and Community Gardens 169If many vegetables are picked at once or can’t be sold or eaten there are methods to use
and store the vegetables for later. A solar drier can be used to dry vegetables. There are
many different types. The type that is made and used depends on the materials, time,
and money available. They can also be used for drying fish, meat, and fruit.
Solar driers are good because:
- They provide protection against insects.
- Food dries much faster. Fish that takes 1 week to dry only takes 2 days to dry in
a solar drier. Much more produce can be dried in the same amount of time. - Less food goes rotten. Any food that can’t be sold or eaten can be dried and
saved for later use. - The nutrients in the food stay in the food.
Vegetables and fruit can be preserved as sauces, pastes, pickles, and jams.
Some examples:
- Sauces: tomato, chilli, tamarind.
- Paste: peanut, candlenut, cashew.
- Pickles: cucumber, onions, capsicum, cabbage, mango, limes, bamboo.
- Jams: All fruit except watermelon.
Some vegetables can be dried and stored in oil for later use: for example eggplant,
capsicum, chilli, and tomato.