every season is different, some years certain things do poorly, next season grow like gang busters. you never really
know how things will turn out. so get out there and plant..plant..plant...

Now now, no need to get crazy. Just change over to growing things that can dehydrate into long shelf lives. Corn is good, peppers, maybe grow some pumpkins (not that you dehydrate a pumpkin, but they'll last many, many months).

Sounds like a good plan to me. More is not always better. Many times 'less' is more. :)

Dave

Actually, I have dehydrated winter squash, and its great -- you can reconstitute with minimal water to make a thick mashed squash dish, use in soup, or even to color and flavor bread and pasta. Of course, the better the quality of the squash, the better the final outcome, so I wouldn't bother with something like a field pumpkin or probably even a pie pumpkin. The really rich, high quality types like buttercups, butternuts are the best.

How do you dehydrate them?

You can do them raw or cooked, but I prefer cooked -- the cooking process removes a tremendous amount of the liquid by itself. I cut in half, scoop out seeds and strings, then bake in the oven until fully cooked. When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out and put it in a sieve or colander over a bowl, and let it sit until it has completely stopped dripping out clear liquid, which can take 3-4 hours.

Then, spread the squash flesh out about half to 3/4 inch thick on your dehydrator trays, using either the liners designed for making fruit leathers, or by lining the trays with saran wrap. Dehydrate at medium temp until fully dry, crispy, and semi-brittle -- it has enough natural sugar that is will never get fully brittle. Store it EXTREMELY well wrapped, because it will pick up moisture from the air and spoil if not sealed against humidity.

I can't really say how long it will take to dry, because dehydrators vary so much. Mine is from Sausage Makers in Buffalo, NY, and it takes about 14-16 hours to fully dry. I do flip the sheets over about 3/4ths of the way through the process to allow the bottom side to dry thoroughly as well.

You could also dry in the oven on a cookie sheet or tray at a very low temp, about 170 degrees, but it would take a lot longer.

One of the things that simplify our life are the new USDA hardiness zones. I am now firmly in Zone 6. That helps. Less fussing about protection, more choices. I am even buying a pair of Goldrush apple trees this spring and I might replant melons.

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

Other than that, same as Dennis. If anyone needs 30 varieties of tomatoes let me know. I am going with one ultra early, one early, two main, one cherry, and three paste. More plants for each type of paste, though.

I about snorted a beverage out my nose when I read that "cutting back" meant ONLY 8-10 kinds of tomato! Thanks for making me laugh. I get accused of overdoing it when I have 4 different types going! And that's just 1 cherry, 1 paste, and 2 slicers to compare against each other. Den and Glib, I salute you!

I know a 60 year young gentleman, who plants 8 kinds of tomatoes. About 30 plants every year for over 20 years.
He gave the tomatoes away, that he could not use.
He just like to grow them.
One year I grew 6 kinds of radishes & 4 kinds of greens.

I have to have raised beds due to a gopher problem, and the DH will only build/repair 1 per year, so that limits me. That's probably a good thing! I have 4 4x8s, 2 3x6s and 2 3x3s right now.
I try to limit myself to about 6 plants. Glib, I like your choices) That seems to be enough for the 2 of us for most of the winter (freezing and dehydrating, then foodsaver).
I'd LOVE to grow bunches more, but, having to do the raised beds with gopher wire is time consuming and rather expensive. Nancy

I just counted my tomato seed collection. I have 18 different tomatoes that I plan to plant this year. I carry around a list so I don't duplicate my seed purchases. I know it's a little crazy, but fun! Last year I had 50 tomato plants but they did not produce well.
I usually take tomatoes to my coffee club meeting each week but was not able to do it last year.
The plant hardiness website is nice. It looks as if I am in zone 6a. We still can get frost as late as May 30th. I'm sure that hasn't changed. Can't wait to start seeds soon, around March 15th, sooner for brocolli, etc.

Just an idea for all you seed addicts (like me). Last year, three of us got together in our church to "trade" seeds. Among us we had more than fifty varieties of tomatoes alone! So, instead we started all of them we could and had a plant giveaway right at planting time. We gave away more than 300 tomato, pepper, and eggplant seedlings in about two hours. It was wonderful. We had little old ladies crying and thanking us, young adults asking us every newbie question imaginable, and an entire Harley Davidson motorcycle club pulled in and cleaned us out at the end. We had so much fun that we saved tomato seeds (and bought more) so we can do it again this year!
That's one way to simplify!

"I can shoot straight, if I don't have to shoot too far." -- Scarlett O'Hara, Gone with the Wind

Lots of great quotes from that movie. :)

For me cutting down on the complexity means dividing tasks into smaller blocks so that the work is spread out a bit more. Trying to get everything done in a day or weekend calls for a lot of planning and more precise execution.

Due to popular demand, this is the last year that I grow three paste toms. This year one of Ernie's Plump, San Marzano, and Opalka will die (I think it's Ernie). Sorry, I can not do without the ultra-early, the early, the cherry, and two good main season ones. Does 7 varieties look better?