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By Abbagail - Sage & Shepherd Ranch
Growing a garden is so much fun, and even more fun when you can preserve the fruits of your labor to enjoy all year long. While you may not plan on growing enough to last you all year, it is a good idea to be prepared for when you grow more than you can eat at the moment. Trust me, you will have way more tomatoes and zucchini than you can possibly use!
Preserving food doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. There are so many different ways to do it, so pick a method that works best for you! Here are five of the best ways to preserve your garden harvest.
1. Freezing
This is probably the easiest and most cost-effective way to preserve your garden harvest - if you have a freezer. I recommend buying good quality freezer bags, and always label what you put in there and the date! If properly sealed, frozen fruits and veggies can last for about a year. You can freeze things like beans, peas, zucchini, whole tomatoes, carrots, kale, etc.
2. Dehydrating
Another easy and cost-effective way to preserve a variety of things! You can buy a dehydrator for under two hundred euros, but you can also use your oven. At its lowest temperature, around 65 degrees, you can dehydrate things like tomatoes, herbs, peppers, potatoes, broccoli, etc.
3. Canning
This method is attractive to many because canning jars have stolen the hearts of many country women - including myself. It might be a little more expensive, depending on whether you can in a water bath or under pressure, plus the canning jars. But the best thing about canning is that it frees up space in the freezer and your supply for the winter grows. You can can things like sauces, soups, jams, pickles, etc. in a water bath or under pressure.
4. Freeze Drying
A mix of freezing and drying, thanks to which products last up to 25 years (!)!!! However, the cost of a freeze dryer is a bit higher. But the investment is worth it if you want to prepare your own meals for travel. You can freeze-dry anything!
5. Fun Extras
The last way to preserve food is to incorporate it into fun things or use it for immediate consumption. For example, you can make fruit wine from fresh fruit, infuse vinegar, or make compound butter or herb salts from herbs. You can also make pesto, kale, or tomato soup for immediate consumption.
As you can see, there are many ways to preserve your harvest, and they are all great in their own way! Not every vegetable is suitable for a particular type of storage, but it depends on what you want to do with it, how you store it, and how much money you have.
Thanks for reading! I would love for you to try one of these methods and share your experiences in the comments below.
Abbagail
About Sage & Shepherd Ranch
SS&S Ranch is run by husband and wife Abbagail and Mackenzie. We started with a few chickens just for ourselves. Then, we just found so much joy in knowing where our food comes from, and also in farming itself. We raise our animals regeneratively, meaning we sequester carbon, build topsoil, rotationally graze the animals holistically, and mimic nature as much as possible.
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