Preserving the Harvest

Posted by Cathy England
July 29th, 2009
Filed in Fruits, Veggies and Herbs
Tags: canning, drying, Preserving, root cellaring

Now that the plants in your garden are finally producing fruits and vegetables, the sheer numbers can sometimes be overwhelming. An organic gardener generally does not want to see any food go to waste. The easiest answer for this pleasant problem, is preserving the harvest.

There are a number of ways in which large quantities of produce can be put back for the rest of the year. There really is nothing better than having fresh frozen corn at Thanksgiving dinner, or homemade blueberry jam on toast on a chilly January morning. Preserving food is more than just canning, which many people find to be a daunting task (it is not).

The first thing that the organic gardener should learn is to eat produce that is in season. Although preservation methods are great, nothing beats food that travels from your garden directly to the dinner plate.

Five Easy Ways to Preserve What You Grow

Filled jars

1. Canning-This is a method of preserving food in vacuum sealed jars.  If done properly, the food should remain edible and safe for at least one year.  There is not really any special equipment.  If you have a deep stock pot, jar tongs, jars and lids, you should be ready to go.  A great starter book for the beginning canner is “The Ball Big Book of Canning”.  The best produce for the beginning canner is any type of fruit, cucumbers, and tomatoes.  None of these items require pressure canning due to their high acid content.  Pickles, relishes, fruit sauces, jams, stewed tomatoes, and spaghetti sauce are all easy to can recipes.
2. Freezing-This is a great method many different fruits and vegetables.  Berries, for example, can be tossed into a freezer bag a few handfuls at a time, as they are harvested from your bushes.  Peppers and onions are also easy to freeze.  Prepare them in slices, dices, or chopped depending on the way that you most frequently use them.  Other vegetables need to be blanched prior to freezing.  Green beans, corn, broccoli and cauliflower all can be easily preserved in this way.  Information is available online on blanching times for each product.  Follow blanching times carefully, and allow vegetables to dry slightly before packaging.
3. Drying-Many fruits and vegetables are great for drying, and this is a wonderful way to preserve the lovely herbs that you have grown all season long.  Fruits should generally be prepared in a mixture of heated honey, water, and lemon juice before drying.  This prevents browning of the produce, and gives dried fruits good flavor.  Use a food dehydrator, a sun dryer, or hanging in order to dry produce.  Again, vegetables generally need to be blanched before drying.  Dry a few onions, green beans, and carrots, and store in an airtight container for easy addition to soups and stews later in the year.
4. Root Cellaring-If you do not have a root cellar, do not fear.  It is easy to replicate the conditions of the root cellar in other ways.  Many varieties of root vegetables, cabbages, and squashes can be easily root cellared. There are also fruits including apples and pears that will keep for four months or more stored in this manner.  This method may be replicated by finding a cool somewhat humid place in your home.  An unheated attic or garage can act as a root cellar.  More information is offered about root cellaring and other preservation methods in, “Preserving Summer’s Bounty”, a great resource on all of the preservation methods described here.
5. Wintering Over-This method requires different preparation depending on the zone in which you live.  Some vegetables become sweeter and tastier when left in the ground after the first frost.  It is important to heavily mulch around these root vegetables, so that the ground in which they are growing does not entirely freeze.  This allows the gardener to harvest these vegetables throughout the winter, and even into early spring.

Canning jars can often be obtained at farm auctions or garage sales, and can be used over and over again.  The only requirement is that new lids are used each time.  As gardening is becoming more popular during this recession, canning and preserving items are disappearing from shelves more quickly than usual.

Do not be overwhelmed at the idea of preserving what you grow.  Start with one of the methods above that appeals most to you.  Experiment, talk to friends and family, you would be surprised how many people are doing this, and can offer advice.