*How Much Is Your Time Worth?*
By: Countrymouse
27 July 2012
As most of us know, there just doesn't ever seem to be enough time in a day to get things done. Our "To Do" lists grow even longer with each passing day... regardless of how much we cross off. And in the life of a survivalist, there is always another project waiting to be done.
We also know that dehydrated food takes up less space and weighs a lot less than canned foods of the same quantity. However, processing foods right from the garden to be dehydrated can be rather time consuming. Think about it... not only do you have to plant the seeds and tend the garden, but then you have to pick, clean, cut and blanch most foods before dehydrating them. How much is your time worth?
I've found that, by buying a couple of extra bags of frozen veggies on each trip to the store for dehydration, it is much easier and leaves the fresh garden veggies for immediate use. This also lets me process foods throughout the year and not just in a mad rush at harvest time.
A 1 lb bag of still frozen veggies can be quickly spread out on 2 trays and dehydrated in 6-8 hours (depending on humidity)... without any other preparation... and leaving me with more time to get other things done. A 2 lb bag fills 4 trays with a little left over. While you can thaw the veggies first, you don't need to.
In the picture above, you can see the thawed peas in the upper right and the dehydrated peas in the lower left. The dehydrated peas were done in 5 hours.
This is an excellent way for first time gardeners, and those new to "putting food by", to increase their food stores without much cost or risk. And, for those with medical issues, it allows you to tend a much smaller garden while still giving you something for the future.
Countrymouse
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