Thank you everyone for all your great information. I've learned so much from this site and its wonderful to be around like-minded people. I broke down and bought a dehydrator at the local outlet mall. Its a Ronco and similar to the American Harvester. The top cover and trays are clear so you can watch the drying process without opening the cover. I think its a convection because there is absolutely no noise from a fan. So far, I've done carrots but didn't realize I should have blanched them first. The have a list of additional products in the back of the booklet to order but I was wondering... Can you go to the local hardware store, pick up some nylon window screen, cut it to fit the round trays and use that to keep small items from falling to the bottom of the dehydrator?

 Toni B. ~  Instead of wire mesh(lots of moisture, hard to clean)I use teulle, the fish net material you buy from the material store.  Works great and can be washed and sterilized.  It is cut to fit, but can be difficult to get the food items off when dried as it "forms" to the foods.  I have found that if I dont cut anything smaller than 3/8" of an inch when fresh, it dries pretty well without falling thru.  Although I cant seem to ever keep dried peas ont he trays!  lol

Brianschef Michelle 

 I have American Harvest dehydrators, & always use one of the fruit leather trays on a bottom shelf that is left "empty" for the purpose of catching what falls thru whenever I am drying something small, or something very juicey, like previously canned fruit (which by the way, tastes like the expensive glazed fruit when it is done!).  It also works great for herbsm like parsley, etc, which always seem to fall through the trays no matter what you do.