Ok so I did a bit more digging around and pulled up some interesting facts: 1) Contrary to what a lot of people say, drying seeds to 0% humidity might not be bad, according to this site: http://www.seedcontainers.net/a_guide_to_long-term_seed_preservation.html 2) Certain seeds can be dried "desiccation-tolerant": http://howtosaveseeds.com/store.php Any additional comments would be appreciated!

Larger and dense veggies do need blanching. I planch peas and beans, as well as broccoli. Stuff that doesn't need a blanch are things like chopped onions, sweet peppers, and a few higher water content items. Even most fruits don't need blanching as they also are high water content. If you were to freeze broccoli with no blanching, for instance, it would break every green bud off the tops of the crowns and you end up with mostly green sawdust. Most canning books also offer freezing guidelines which are much easier to deal with compared to home canning. The blanch always requires a dip into ice water to halt any cooking. I blanch corn on the cob, then cut off the kernals and freeze. I like using the heavier bags from Food Saver. I just harvested a big bunch of onions and some shallots that were going to flower. Peeled and put through a chopper, then bagged in a FS bag and freezed them.

Check out http://www.thesweetattack.com/page/page/2380629.htm We have found their bags to be exceptionally good and quite a bit less expensive. They also sell bulk rolls to make your own. As to the ones on ebay - I have read reviews about some of the suppliers there on other boards and they get mixed reviews. A few are apparently quite good and I assume their ratings will indicate which ones are best. But I have no personal experience with any of them. Dave

I completely agree, Rusty. Everybody claimed to be so happy with the way the thing worked that I thought there must be some knack for getting it to hold a seal, and I just didn't have the touch. I'm glad to know I wasn't the only one. I've already got a regular vacuum sealer--just thought one of these would be good for small things like pieces of cheese in the fridge, with the bonus that the bags didn't have to be cut down each time you used them, and eventually thrown away like the FoodSaver bags. And the gadget itself hardly takes up any space. But it just wasn't working for me. Of course, now that the bags are a collector's item, I'll probably start hyperventilating about not having a lifetime supply. ;o)