The garden is full of delight as warm weather continues and the plants become heavy with produce. It can be challenging to keep up with harvesting, especially if you have a garden on the larger side. It’s a perfect time to start thinking of ways to preserve the veggies you cannot eat immediately. I’m getting better at gauging how much my family consumes and what crops are more popular than others, but regardless, I still have an overflow of certain crops. Here are some things I’ve learned and others I’ve gleaned from the community gardeners. Instead of harvesting as needed, I pick everything and store the extra in Ziploc bags in the fridge. It works great for all greens, plus broccoli, cauliflower, beets, and carrots. You will find that your freshly picked produce will last for more than double the time of anything from the grocery store.
For tomatoes, I have started freezing my overflow. It’s satisfying to take them out in a few months and cook them down into a fast pizza or pasta sauce cause you can’t beat that garden tomato flavor in the middle of winter.
Other ideas are to preserve or bottle your produce. One gardener told me he keeps his canner out during the entire season and cans every few days instead of waiting for two or three giant batches. He said it was far more manageable and less daunting.
If you don’t want to get all the equipment for canning, you might try a more straightforward route with refrigerator pickling. Years ago, a community gardener introduced me to this method, and the results were surprisingly tasty. You can get creative and experiment with different mixes of veggies for your pickle jar. There are endless ways to flavor the pickles, such as using herbs and making them sweet or spicy. The internet is chock-full of recipes, with some taking as little as 10 minutes. Check it out if you’re short on time and must preserve produce quickly.
The last option is the good old-fashioned trade or giving it away. If you live in a neighborhood, try placing a basket out in your yard with a free sign and see how long it takes for produce to disappear. Well…that is unless you put out zucchini. Extras of those might just need to head straight to the compost to return as nutrients for next year’s garden.
In the end, it’s always a good problem to have more than you can use. I hope your garden is thriving and you’re enjoying all the “fruits” of your labors. If you have pictures of your garden that you’d like to share, email me to be featured in a future article. This publication is about fostering community, and it’s always nice to see what you’re growing in beautiful West County. Also, if you have missed previous articles, you’ll find a copy of them on my website under Garden News. Happy Gardening!