We got more rain yesterday, and this morning, there are more rain clouds looming. I have all the windows open, taking advantage of the early morning cool breeze, to bring in some fresh air.
As I said, most of our garden(s) flooded, and we lost almost all of our 60-ish tomato plants. Will we replant? Not sure. It is iffy on the weather, and also on the fact we'll have to buy plants, and it's getting late for that in our area.
Am in tears over our struggles this year? Yes, but we've had a no-tomato year before, and it's all part of gardening. You just never know.
Now about my dehydrator. . .
My very first dehydrator was purchased for $50 off of ebay, but it did not last very long. I then upgraded to a larger Excalibur back in 2015.
In the midst of all things going on here, my Excalibur 9 tray dehydrator quit working. I literally just put together a new door for it (had to buy it to replace the last broken one). I only used it a few times since I invested in the new door.
Of course my model is no longer made. It lasted 8 years. I went looking for reviews. It came down to a different brand, with smaller trays, or another Excalibor.
At any rate. I purchased another Excalibur, but I am not thrilled that it is digital. The two things I do like, is that it has two hinged doors vs. a lift off door (no more accidently knocking it off), and it has handles on the sides for moving it. It arrived in two days.
The trays are the same size, but when I was taking my old one outside to move to the scrap pile, I noticed the holes in the trays, in the new dehydrator are larger.
Another good note on this new one, is it came with a bottom removable crumb tray and a mesh piece to lay on top of a wire rack for smaller items.
The nice part about broken down dehydrators, is that I kept all of my plastic trays from my very first one, so I plan to utilize those for smaller items as well, while dehydrating all at once. I am keeping my old wire trays for now. They are much heavier and have a support bar across the middle. The new ones are lighter, and have no support bar across the center tray.
I will be washing up the trays and such, and giving it a whirl, so I can make sure it is in working order. I want to make sure I check to make sure everything is working before the 30-day return slot is over.
I can say, after opening the box, and setting it all up on the counter, we both feel the next one will be a smaller dehydrator.
8 comments:
We gave up our community garden plot a couple of years ago so our gardening space does not permit a ton of tomatoes. You can always do what I now do: buy cartons of seconds at the farmers market. Last year a big box cost me $25. We will have to see what this year brings price wise.
I have to say that canning tomato chunks has become more economical. Have you seen the grocery prices for a large can of tomatoes?!
Take care, Katie C.
Katie C, I will look into that. Thanks. Some times other people in the area have extra in their garden too. Some do well, others don't some years. I have not purchsed canned tomatoes yet, so I will have to check on that. But yes, I would rather can my own. It is a gardening battle for sure. We used to plant about 100 plants.
I'm having a rough time with my garden this year, too. We've had a lot of rain and the ground is so wet. Some of my tomatoes drowned out the ones that are left are turning yellow. I did manage to get the rest of my seed planted last week (corn, green beans, pumpkin, and squash) and everything is up. If we can get a few dry days in a row I think everything will be okay, but, who knows if or when that will happen! I hope your new dehydrator proves to be a blessing! Have a great rest of the week!
Never used a dehydrator, Tim does to make his beef jerky but me never.
Sorry about your tomato plants:(
Rebecca, thanks, we are hoping for a turn around on the garden soon. Praying for a bountiful harvest. I too hope the dehydrator is worth the purchase. I'm already regretting not downsizing it, but I will use it for sure.
Jo-Anne's Ramblings, I have made dog treats, yogurt, fruit leather, dehydrated many other foods, and even used it to rise bread dough. I do feel we will downsize on the next one.
Thanks Far Side of Fifty, we are hoping to replant. Crossing our fingers and praying.
Post a Comment