It’s now mid-August, a time in the vegetable garden when everything is really BIG and I have to step carefully between towering tomato plants, giant zucchini and a teepee covered with dangling pole beans. Grandpa Ott morning glories climb every available structure with blooms of deep purple velvet. Yellow marigolds add a touch of sunshine while sprawling “Milk Maid” nasturtiums soften the garden edges. Every day there are more vegetables to pick, the bounty coming in faster and faster.
In a couple of weeks I’ll be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of fresh produce pouring into my kitchen, but right now I’m savoring every delicious bite! It’s a bittersweet time when all our gardening labors come to fruition just as autumn lies in wait to end it all too soon. However, in spite of our short growing season, we can carry some of our harvest into the coming months and enjoy our homegrown veggies and fruits all winter.
Garden produce can be pickled, frozen, dried or canned. There’s nothing like opening a jar of homegrown tomatoes in January and experiencing the flavor of summer all over again. Small cherry tomatoes dry well and the “chips” can be added to winter stews and soups. The drying process actually concentrates the sweet flavor! Fruits and berries can also be preserved this way, or how about homemade jam? Peas, corn and green beans can be easily blanched and frozen. Many vegetables such as carrots, beets, potatoes and winter squash can be simply stored in a consistently cold room. Not too long ago most homes had a “root cellar” just for this purpose.
Putting food by, or preserving it for the future, is something that we should teach every school age child. Once a part of everyday life, our ancestors had to insure there was food put away for the lean times or perish. Today we’ve become so dependent on our huge grocery stores that we’ve lost touch with how food should be grown, prepared and stored. If you already garden, food preservation is simply the next step. By taking the time to do so we extend our gardening season well into the winter months AND get to enjoy our own produce that was picked at the peak of perfection and taste!
Before you run down to the local hardware store and purchase a box of Ball canning jars, get a good handbook on the subject to make sure you’re preserving food safely and correctly. I’ve included a few links below to help get you started and encourage you to try the art of putting food by!
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