You can herb before or after but keep in mind the heat can affect the herb flavoring by either washing it out or making it too strong - varies depending on the herbs used. eg. cilantro loses all flavor but basil gets bitter. Fresh oregano - use very sparingly.

Freezer storage keeps the longest by far, essentially a year. Shelf stored will mold eventually since it is almost impossible to get them below 15-20% moisture levels.

Dave

Thanks so much digdirt. The dehydrator is a bit intimidating to me for some reason so I want to make sure to use it properly. The advice is very much appreciated!!

db6040, I only have one season's experience with a dehydrator. Tomatoes were my favorite things to dehydrate. Thicker fleshed tomatoes like Romas are what I prefer and I would let them dehydrate only to a point where they were like raisins so had to be stored in the freezer. I could chop them up from the frozen state to add to breakfast eggs. Thinner fleshed tomatoes dry more quickly and I could easily get them to the crispy point. I thought these were good as a flavoring agent whereas pieces of Romas were like an ingredient. If your cherry tomatoes are small, you might want to consider oven roasting them and storing in the freezer. The roasting intensifies the flavor.

Thanks defrost. Very good pointers. I am saving all these suggestions and will put them to use!!

If you dry them until they're crispy, they should keep for a long time (I've heard years) in an air tight container. If you have freezer space, that is great too. I've been blending the dried tomatoes into powder to use as tomato sauce/paste. Takes up so much less space than jars of sauce.

I bought my dehydrator 2 months ago to use for a surplus of apricots, and figured I'd dry apples too. That thing has seen more tomatoes than anything. It has tomatoes in it now, in fact. I've also dried the over abundance of fruit from my sister's peach and pear tree (dried pears taste like candy), and the plums are next. After that will be apples. I've gotten so much more use out of this thing than I thought I would.