I have live trap and a pellet rifle that work well as a squirrel and crow repellent. I try to keep the population at a level where the squirrels take only their fair share. I have persimmons, cherries, peaches, figs, pears, and berries. The crows were taking more than their allotment, so I shot a couple. The others gathered about and I beieve I understood what they were crowing about. Probably saying something like, "Look! What happened to Ed? Oh my God! Look, Harry is flopping about!" And then they all flew away from my yard. After that they avoided my yard for a couple of months. Probably have to renew the warning this spring. Squirrels are a different matter. I negotiated a deal with the squirrels to only take their fair share of my fruit. At first they kept their promise and life was good; I ate persimmons, peaches, tomatoes, cherries, strawberries and pears. Then they got greedy and broke their agreement, taking most of the fruit. I told my wife, "I'll show these squirrels who is boss here." She smirked! I bought a live trap and caught and relocated 13 squirrels in one year. The squirrels snitched on me and the local police told me it was unlawful to relocate squirrels even to a new beautiful woods. My wife smirked! I caught 7 more and drowned them in a garbage can; I smirked at the ones that got away. The squirrels obviously negotiated a deal with the crows and ground squirrels because they started taking more fruit. I bought a pellet rifle. I told my wife, "I'll show these squirrels who is the smarter!" My wife said, "That ship has sailed." What did she mean by that? This post was edited by CharlieBoring on Mon, Jan 26, 15 at 8:56

Thanks, Wertach! That looks a lot like the original process I followed. David, I don't know if you'll read this thread again, but the salt did decrease the drying time a lot. But one little hitch I had was realizing that I didn't know what size food processor you used... There's a tad difference in using a tablespoon of salt per 3/4 of a 6 cup model versus 3/4 of an 8 cup model. I made my garlic too salty. But it's ok, it's blended in with the other batches that had no salt. So the basic process has become: peel several heads of garlic, pulse in a food processor with a still to be determine amount of salt until the chunks are fairly uniform, dehydrate on sheets in dehydrator, take a fork and loosen and turn the chunks once or twice during the drying (they are a bit sticky and will be hard to remove if you let them dry with out moving them at least once, also it helps them dry faster), then once dry (brittle) pulse in the coffee grinder until powdered. It really is much better than store bought, which I never really liked the taste of.

I put in info that maybe someone can use. It is not only what I like. It is what many others like or I would not be using it. Many of the recipes I see here do not appeal to me but that is just my tastes. I would not discourage anyone from using them. It has always been my goal to keep about 90 % of the people happy. The other 10% may have their own personal tastes. I really do not like someone telling me my Sauce is inferior, because I use Powdered Garlic. It is not the only ingredient in a Pasta Sauce. In fact I do not like being critisized continually, when I am trying to help someone, especially when it is unfounded. ************************************ This Post was supposed to be about Powdered Or Granulated Garlic and to keep it from getting hard. I posted the best Garlic Powder that I have found to date. Since there are recipes Posted, I should really Post my Spaghetti Sauce recipe again. Just in case someone has missed it, in the past. ***************************************************** LOU-S SPAGHETTI SAUCE ( GRAVY ) Canned Tomatoes: I use one of the following brands Contadina, Red Pack, Hunts, All Red, Tutto Russo , Chento. When using fresh Tomatoes, I Pulse them in a Blender but leave some small pieces of Tomatoes and add one small can of Tomato Paste. Ingredients: 1 Large 29 ounce can of Crushed Tomatoes 1 Large 29 ounce can of Puree 1 small can of Tomato Paste Or 65 ounces of fresh Tomatoes ( Pulsed in the Blender ) 1 small can of Tomato Paste Put all the Tomatoes in a Pot large enough to hold the meat too. Start to simmer while adding the other ingredients. 2 teaspoons of Powdered Garlic ( add more later to taste ( OR ) Use 4, fresh Garlic Cloves, chopped small and Sauteed. one half of an Onion , Chopped Small or 2 teaspoons Onion Powder 3 Bay Leaves 1 teaspoon of salt ( or to taste ) 3 teaspoons of Sugar ( add more later if Sauce is too Acidic ) An Italian pinch of powdered Cloves or 3 Whole Cloves three Quarters teaspoon of Oregano One and one half teaspoons of Parsley one half teaspoon of Basil one quater teaspoon of Black pepper one half teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning 1 teaspoon of Chicken flavored Soup Base Add a Large handful of Parmesan or Romano cheese, when Sauce is done. For Meat. I add a Chicken Thigh, Meat balls and Sausage. Simmer one and a half to 2 hours. Take the Chicken out when it is tender.. For a Meat Sauce, Sautee some Sausage and Grind Meat Chopped small and add after an hour of simmering. LOU

For years my mom and I bought bulk herbs and spices from Penzey's - I still do now. I also buy from Pendrey's in Texas and shop in the bulk sections when I'm in Amish country in Lancaster PA. I put the spices in zip top freezer bags - labeled and dated - then put those bags in larger zip freezer bags to store in the freezer or in the pantry away from heat and light. This method has always done well for me. Teresa