I agree with eahamel that properly dried fruits can be stored for months and months in just a jar if kept dry and out of the heat. The only issue is mold developing because they weren't dried fully. Or yes you can vacuum seal in jars or pouches. Freezing gives them even longer storage life and they taste just great when thawed. The clue to long storage is in the drying process used more so than the storage method. Dave PS: oven drying is one thing but the so-called oven canning should be avoided.

Maple seeds do not store well. They are best sown fresh, but if old ones are sown, give them a long time to germinate just in case some will. It seems a good idea, keeping them in the fridge. In fact, I wonder if freezing some would work. I'd be tempted to try that.

Hi Writersblock - I grow a lot of onions and I use a lot of onions, I start using them as a green onions and later one as bulbs. It seems to me that I use them as fast as I can, when I have a lot of extras I air dry them in bins on the porch, when dry bring them in and use them quick, otherwise if still left with a lot of onions I chop them and freeze them in individual serving bags to use later in recipes. When is colder outside, I use my garage to store like the bananas that I harvested few weeks ago, they kept better there because it was colder than the house. I did the same thing, use them as green, when stared to get yellow I used them in recipes and the rest dried them and put them in the freezer. Silvia

Hi old_house_owner, I faced a somewhat similar situation a couple of years ago when I moved to Africa for a year and put all my stuff in storage. The first thing I noticed in looking at your pictures is that your garage is most definitely not rodent proof, nor cockroach proof, and the gaps may be wide enough that other critters could get in with a little effort--raccoons, for example. Rodents and roaches in particular love nothing more than paper and fabric. I would suggest that you both eliminate any way for rodents to get in AND make sure every box is air-tight, waterproof, and impossible to chew through, which, of course, eliminates cardboard as an option. Additionally, I would suggest that anything important to you that is in boxes, of whatever material, be wrapped really well in air-tight and waterproof bags or other containers. This should also help keep that SF fog and other moisture away from your valuables. And if, heaven forbid, a pipe bursts, or heavy rains bring flash flooding, your things are protected. No boxes directly on the floor. Invest in some shelving. It doesn't have to be expensive, it just has to hold your boxes. Wrap everything. Your garage will get dusty while you're gone. Dust on/in electronics, including TVs, can ruin them. Use heavy plastic and try to make everything as air-tight and waterproof as possible. Wrap any furniture in heavy, thick plastic, like people did back in the day when they didn't want their furniture to get dirty. I would also suggest that you scan all important paperwork into your computer and store it in the cloud or somewhere on the www, so if everything got ruined by fire or water while you're gone, you will still have access to all the documents. Make sure your homeowner's insurance will cover everything while it's in storage on your property. When you do the actual moving of your things, take a photo or video of the contents of every box and of everything else, so if something goes wrong and you have to file an insurance claim, you will have proof of what was in there. Obviously, store the pictures or video off-site, preferably in the cloud. If, for some reason, your homeowner's insurance won't cover your things while they're in storage, consider an inexpensive renter's insurance policy to cover it. I've found Geico to be particularly good in these types of situations. I'll leave the suggestions for the renovation of the garage itself to others with more expertise. Due to your location and condition of your garage, I see potential threats to your property in this order: 1. Moisture (Depending where you are in the Bay Area, you could add flood to this list.) 2. Pest infestation 3. Dust/dirt 4. Theft 5. Fire (I suggest installing a fire alarm/smoke detector that is connected to the fire department or a private security company, and having a security system/burglar alarm also connected to a private security company.) 6. Earthquake (Arrange boxes, etc., with this in mind to help mitigate any earthquake damage.) One final suggestion. When you get home, you will be eager and so happy to see your stuff! LABEL EVERYTHING!! No matter what you think now, you will NOT remember what's where. :-) I hope Europe is wonderful! With a little care now, you can rest easy in Europe, knowing your possessions are safe back home. :-) Sincerely, Debbie