Thanks everyone for giving me your ideas. I don't know what kind of clay I have. I only know it's gray, compacted and when we are really dry it literally turns into a cement like material. We bought a shed recently and needed to install those trailer ties to anchor it down. We were trying to dig the holes during a drought. My husband managed to get down about 3 or 4 inches with the post hole digger (remember he was digging these holes right up next to the building so there was no "getting his muscles into it") After getting that far he got a large screw driver and a hammer and tried chiseling with little success. Finally I got the bright idea to put water in the holes. That helped out a lot. Yes Karen, I will probably purchase a wildflower mix suited for my area from a reputable source. Since I am the one doing the bulk of the work on this one, I think I will give the leaves a shot. Hauling sand is just more work than this old bod can handle especially since I have 10 cubic yards of mulch to move. Ugh. Thanks again for all the wonderful suggestions.

I find that one Nesco dehydrator tray full of jerky can fit into one quart sized ziplock bag. I store those bags in the freezer, moving one bag at a time to the fridge when I want some; I'll usually eat the stuff in the fridge in a few days. Doing it this way I've never had any go bad. I don't use nitrites or nitrates. You didn't ask, but here's my favorite formula for jerky: Guinness Beef Jerky Marinade (This amount of marinade is sufficient for about 5 to 6 pounds of beef, which I find fill my Nesco dehydrator's eight trays fairly full) 5 to 6 lbs lean beef, sliced thinly--see Note 1 2 bottles (12-14 oz each) Guinness Stout 2 tablespoons kosher salt OR 3 to 4 tablespoons soy sauce--see Note 2 2 tablespoons garlic powder 2-4 tablespoons hot stuff --see Note 3 optional: liquid smoke, 1 to 2 tbsp In a large bowl pour stout and add salt, whisking to dissolve salt and decarbonate the stout. Add the garlic powder and hot stuff and mix well. Put the beef strips in the marinade by handfuls, swirling around to make sure all surfaces have come in contact with the marinade. Place the beef in a nonreactive container (a stainless stockpot works fine), pour the remaining marinade over the beef, mix well and refrigerate for at least an hour (more is better--overnight is fine). If you have time, mix up the beef strips every so often in the marinade. Place the strips flat on the trays and dry to your desired amount of dryness. I prefer crisp to leathery, but do it however you want. Note 1: Before slicing the beef, trim all extra fat off the surface of the meat. I like to use round roast because it's very lean; whenever possible, slice the strips across the grain. Slicing it with the grain results in a stringy final product. Eye of round costs a little more, but is very lean and also is very easy to slice across the grain, and that yields a less stringy product. Don't use a fatty cut of meat because it won't dry as thoroughly and won't have the storage properties of a leaner cut. (The fat can turn rancid.) Note 2: I have found mushroom flavored soy sauce at an Asian market. It works great in this recipe. Note 3: For the hot stuff, cayenne works well; you have to judge for yourself how hot your particular cayenne pepper is. (Mass market cayenne from brands like McCormick is relatively mild; powdered chili peppers from a Mexican or Indian market will be much hotter.) If you’re unsure, go easy with the hot stuff. You can always sprinkle a little more hot stuff on the finished product if you wish. I have used chipotle powder with good results; 4 tablespoons in this recipe makes a quite hot product, and 2 tbsp makes a pleasantly zingy one. If you want something quite mild, use sweet Hungarian paprika which would make a product not at all hot but would still have a good flavor. You can also use smoked Spanish paprika (‘pimenton’) which comes in three degrees of hotness (sweet, bittersweet & hot). If you use that, though, or chipotle powder, don’t use any additional smoke flavor. --Don't use a hot sauce that's vinegar based (like Tabasco or Sriracha)--the vinegar taste will be concentrated in the finished product.

I haven't made it in a long time since I preferred bison burger for the task, and I just can't fit it into my food budget anymore for a "snack food" these days. The reason I like bison burger is because it's very lean - which is essential for this project. I use a NESCO American Harvest Dehydrator and the American Harvest Jerky Gun. The gun extrudes the ground meat into flat ribbons and round sticks (two different diameters), and I'd suggest using this gadget to make the task easier. If you have a pastry bag you could probably use it to form the jerkey using a wide tip or round tip. I liked to make the "ribbons" in bite-size pieces so they dehydrated much quicker and as an additional food-safety precaution. Be sure to read the information from the National Center for Home Food Preservation - Jerky - at the link below for the food safety tips. For seasonings, I used the seasoning and cure packets that came with the Jerky Works Kit because I received a lot of them as a gift. These packets are available in most places where they sell American Harvest Dehydrators or on-line, and come in a number of different flavors. You can find any number of recipes for ground beef jerky on-line that will work just as well. 1. Only use EXTRA lean ground beef, game or poultry. If you are grinding your own meat be sure to remove every bit of visible fat. If you are using poultry, don't use the skin. That's where the highest concentrations of bacteria are located. 2. Dry the jerky at 155-degrees F. After the first hour turn each piece over and blot the oil from the surface with a paper towel. Do this periodically throughout the drying process. Depending on the thickness and length of the jerky pieces, it will take from 4-15 hours to dry. Dry until jerky is hard and leathery. 3. As with all jerky you need to heat treat it to eliminate the potential for bacteria growth. You do that using this method for ground meat jerky. Heat the dried jerky in a 275-degree F oven for 10-minutes after the dehydration process. The other method is used for meat that is marinated. You heat the meat in the marinade prior to drying by bringing the temperature of the marinade with the meat in it up to 160-degrees F. 4. Store it in the refrigerator, or in the freezer for longer storage time. Even lean meat has enough fat remaining in it to quickly go rancid if stored at room temperature. 5. One-pound of ground meat will yield approximately 1/2 pound of jerky after dehydration. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation - Jerky

The Tri Tip roast is referred to by other names in different areas of the country. I found a website that lists a bunch of the steak names...scroll down to #4, Sirloin. Providing your butcher with that information might help. I have also heard a Tri Tip referred to as a Triangle Roast. It's not as though cattle in other States don't have the same muscles, lol, so it's simply a matter of getting the butcher to understand what it is you're looking for. I don't know about pricing in other areas, but here I can generally get them for under $3 per pound, untrimmed...sometimes as low as $2.50. I prefer them untrimmed because it is a lean cut, and why lard/oil/baste if I can get it with it's own layer of fat to do the work for me!! Some recipes on the web claim that the cut gets tough if cooked to med or well, but I have had it many times both ways (even if I prefer my beef mooing) and that is not the case. The only time I have had Tri Tip really tough is when it has been carved by someone who didn't know what he was doing. It is absolutely essential that it be sliced across the grain, and thin slices are better than thick. As I said, it isn't as tender as a Filet Mignon or Prime Rib, but it certainly isn't "tough" as long as it is carved properly. Another Central Valley staple is the bbq Tri Tip sandwich. Thinly sliced Tri Tip (freshly cooked or leftover) slathered with your favorite smoky barbecue sauce in a bun. Mmmmmmmm. Here is a link that might be useful: Tri Tip names