I own one of the Ronco dehydrators. We originally bought it for drying a few things for backpacking trips. It does OK for small trips for two people, but it has been seriously underpowered keeping up with the garden production of what we had wanted to dry in order to preserve food. That happened last year with tomatoes, and this year with figs. We went around the problem learning how to can (last year) and learning to make fig/fruit wine (this year). You can figure that the freezer space was shrinking rapidly with full summer garden production, so freezing was not an option. Nothing against canning, and certainly nothing against wine, but I would have preferred to have a larger capacity dryer. I love drying tomatoes and then grinding them up into a tomato powder that can reconstitute into a sauce out in the woods in a backpacking trip. It is also great to have at home, easier than canning and you can actually store them without refrigeration. I love their taste too! For figs, I use dried figs in breads, muffins, energy bars I make myself (mixed with nuts and other things). Lately I have also found out that zucchini slices dry very nicely, and so do green beans. I also have peach and nectarine trees, they ripen with the figs, so yes, more space in a dehydrator! We are considering making one of the solar ones, but out of nice materials that we already have (not cardboard). The main model plan that is going around the internet has a tilted black air duct, it should work just by the principle that hot air rises. Also, it is very sunny and very dry where I live, so solar should be good for us, save energy and avoid heating the room in the summer. The food is confined so critters should not be a big problem. Has anyone had any experience with the solar types? any advice?

Lisapat - I hear what you're saying and am glad you said. It prompted me to go read the NCHFP site to see what they say about drying fruit leathers: "Fruit leathers can be poured into a single large sheet (13" X 15") or into several smaller sizes. Spread puree evenly, about 1/8-inch thick, onto drying tray. Avoid pouring puree too close to the edge of the cookie sheet. The larger fruit leathers take longer to dry. Approximate drying times are 6 to 8 hours in a dehydrator" I'm glad I saw that. I think I'll start out spreading them smaller to see how that works. Maybe they will dry faster and not stick to the sheets. I have to REALLY try and make the sheets work since I spent money on them. :-) For someone who started out only thinking about doing herbs, I've already got this LONG list of stuff I'm going to try when it gets here. Val

In the States you can sign up at BB&B in stores or on line for coupons and special sales info. The coupons, which arrive regularly by mail and email, are good for 20% off any single item (with a few exceptions, which sometimes the store will ignore. I bought my Breville oven there, using a coupon, although Breville items were listed as excluded on the coupon.) When I am interested in something, such as the dehydrators, I check both BB&B and Amazon on line. Then I visit a BB&B. BB&B stores will order an item that is listed in the on-line inventory if they do not have it in stock. I pay at the store, using a coupon, and the item will be shipped directly to me from some central warehouse. As I said, they will usually forego shipping charges. (I have to negotiate this, and a manager has to clear it.) This makes them competitive with Amazon Prime, and the BB&B customer service and return policy is absolutely super. Hope this is clear. Don't know if Canada BB&Bs offer coupons. (We have driven through Alberta, but in the southern part--as far north as Edmonton, where a good friend used to live. I loved the towns and people. But snow 8 months of the year? BRRRRR.)

Hi Jennie. I also did the minimal amount because of my knee. I really bit off more than I could chew this year. It would have been overwhelming even without an injury. My neighbor and I were noticing the in-ground shaded plants are fine, but everything in a container has been suffering in the heat. Well, I've been out in the garden this morning. And although I didn't necessarily set out to do this, I'm in the middle of pulling all the tomatoes in the south garden. I tried to keep some going by cleaning up the bad branches, but in some cases there was nothing left on the plant but the fruit! So, I just picked all the large tomatoes green, and decided to just let them ripen indoors rather than sit outside getting sunscald on the rotting vines. I'm going away for a week, leaving my neighbor to water, so I'm trying to do some garden cleanup before I go. No sense in putting effort into these plants or making my neighbor wonder if they need attention. The east garden - the SunGold and Suncherry might be salvagable -- we'll get to that later. I do have a dehydrator, it's a Nesco, and it has adjustable temperature. It is the round kind and it's fairly inexpensive. It was a gift but I think it was purchased around town. It works well enough, but if I was super serious, I would get this: http://smile.amazon.com/Excalibur-3926TB-Food-Dehydrator-Black/dp/B008OV4FD0/ref=sr_1_1?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1439678075&sr=1-1 and this accessory http://smile.amazon.com/Set-Excalibur-ParaFlexx-Re-usable-Non-stick/dp/B00RM1QSWE/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1439678193&sr=1-7 The cool thing about the box dehydrators is you can remove the trays and use them to make yogurt or kiefer in your own jars, or use them as a proofing oven, or to sprout grains. If you're into any of that stuff :) Have you made anything with your tomatoes Jennie? I did make tomato jam yesterday and it's delicious. Sauce still needs to be cooked down more. The OXO food mill I bought worked great! Jenn