When it comes time to plan your garden, it is certainly important to consider the needs of your family. Think about what they will eat fresh, but also think about what you want in your pantry for the following year. Some foods dry very nicely, and there are others that would be better if they were processed differently. Keeping these things in mind, what is most important for you to grow?

A long-term project would be to plant some fruit trees if you don't already have them. If you do have trees, plan to spend some time spreading manure around them, pruning them, and otherwise caring for their needs so they can fill yours. As you try to decide what trees to plant, think about what fruits you like the most, and what you would use the most. Also find out what varieties grow in your area. It's pretty discouraging to grow a tree for years without ever getting any return on your investment.

A good start would be to plant an apple tree. Just one. Think of the apple crisps, the pies and other desserts. Then, if you are feeling adventurous, you might want to also put in a plum tree, or peaches or apricots. Have you thought about drying cherries? They make a great snack. Desserts can be made with rhubarb, and grapes would be really good. What sounds good to you? Then try it!

Now let's turn to the vegetable garden. There are so many wonderful varieties of vegetables available to us, and each has different characteristics. Be sure that you choose varieties that are listed as being good for dehydrating. Some are only good for eating fresh, and others are better if canned or frozen.

Once you know what vegetables you want to plant, and the varieties that you would like to try, think about how much you want to dry, and also how much time you have to do the work. Also, some produce needs to be processed right when it ripens, like corn, and others are more forgiving, such and onions and carrots. It's probably not a good idea to schedule a major dehydrating week the same week you plan to go on vacation, for instance.

Now think about how much you need, and how much space you have. Most people can't grow everything they want to due to space limitations, so grow what you feel is the most important. We use a fair amount of space on carrots, onions and potatoes. We dry all three of them, separately, and use them liberally in everything from stews and casseroles to stroganoff and other things. I never have enough of them, especially onions. We planted two rows of them last year, and I may put in a third this year. They are especially easy to dry - just chop and spread out on the dehydrator sheets. I feel that these three vegetables are a great start in learning to dehydrate. Go ahead and plant them, and we will discuss the proper ways to dry them when the time comes.

Green peppers are great for drying. In fact, all the peppers are. I like to let some green peppers turn red, then I mix them together after drying. They are so pretty! If you have a hard time with children that like to pick out the onions and peppers in a dish, try pureeing them in the blender before adding them to the other ingredients, using a little of the liquid in the recipe. They will never know they are there! I am guilty of doing this, and usually later I confess so that they know that they really can tolerate eating them without keeling over.

My mother-in-law dries lots of tomatoes. They are easy to blend up into a powder and then reconstitute into tomato sauce. I sometimes keep a jar of the tomato powder in my cupboard so I can add just a little to stews to give them body and flavor, but I usually don't have many tomatoes to dry because I use most of them to make spaghetti sauce and salsa. I am also guilty of doing the same thing with carrots, then adding a teaspoon to each loaf of bread that I bake, or to the pancake batter. It gives added nutrition, and they never know that it's there.

Herbs are a natural for drying. Many herbs can be grown easily in small spaces, even in the flower garden or a pot on the porch. Some are quite pretty and would fit in quite nicely. Some herbs to consider for drying would be parsley, raspberry leaves, chives, sage, basil, garlic, orange and lemon peel and others.

Also consider planting enough of these vegetables that you can have some for drying: asparagus, lima beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, corn, cucumber, mushrooms, okra, peas, peppers, radishes, soybeans, squash, spinach and other greens, and sweet potatoes.

Something that would be interesting to try would be to pulverize a variety of vegetables, then reconstitute them in water, two teaspoonfuls to a cup of water, and use them for soup bases or even baby food. What great nutrition for a minimal cost! Not only that, but drying allows us to grow food for a small cost, then use them in the winter when prices tend to be higher. It also means that the produce won't be going bad in the refrigerator when no one is looking.

So, watch those gardening catalogs! Read the descriptions of the different varieties. Then go one step further and talk to the owners of local nurseries and ask them what they recommend growing in your area. Each area of the country has its own specialties, so take advantage of that and enjoy what you can grow, especially because you know that these wonderful foods can be available to you and your family year round!