Preserving: Sun-dried tomatoes

We harvested 80 pounds of tomatoes yesterday. We gave some as a thanks to our compost collectors and have been preserving the rest. One way to make tomatoes last through the seasons is to sun-dry them.

We didn't want to use the oven (it takes about 20 hours in an oven at low heat), so we set up a station for the sun. In our cold frame we blocked up two raised screens, cut the Fargo Pear and Yellow Short tomatoes (saving the Bellstars for canning and the heirlooms for sauces and salads) in half, squeezed out some of the seeds, and laid them on the screens. We put another screen on top to keep the bugs and animals away. And now we just let them sit, baking in the sun. Sources say it should take 2-4 days.