For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."
best ways to store your homegrown produce over winter
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As I'm writing this, I've got a bunch of pumpkins that have survived deer all month on the porch 😆, a bucket full of winter squash that I need to spread out on a shelf, and a big tub of freshly cleaned garlic bulbs stored in the garage. (I harvested the garlic in mid July but with how busy I was in the garden this summer, I just got around to removing the dead stems last week. It was a job I put my kiddo on in front of the TV, and to her dismay, she did so well that I'm making it her job every year now. 😬 Apparently, cleaning garlic is not as fun as harvesting it.) These are just a few of the things I need to store over winter, and under ideal conditions, they'll last the entire winter and even into spring. I also store carrots for the long term and they stay fresh and crisp for around six months, simply by mimicking a root cellar. No actual root cellar, sand, or peat moss needed. Proper food storage feels even more important these days with prices the way they are at the grocery store. So if you're making the effort to grow good, healthy, organic food at home, knowing how to store it well is also an important skill you should learn. Here's everything you need to know about storing your homegrown vegetables over winter. If you can get your hands on some good organic lemons, my limoncello recipe (linked above) makes a delicious batch that you can divvy up for homemade gifts this season. You can use the same technique for making orangecello, grapefruitcello, or any type of citrus liqueur as well. I mention it now because you'll need several weeks for the zest to infuse and the liqueur to age a bit before you bottle it up. A fun project to try if you've never made your own 'cello before! P.S. Don't let good food go to waste. Learn how to store all the vegetables you've grown so they last through winter and spring. P.P.S. Speaking of garlic up there, if your soil isn't frozen yet, you still have time to plant garlic. (I'm in zone 5 and was able to plant garlic in December one year! This year, I'm hoping to get around to planting tomorrow or Monday.) |
Garden Betty
For people who want to grow more food with less work. 🌱 This is my weekly newsletter loved by 38,000+ subscribers—here's what one of them had to say: "These are not the regular run-of-the-mill garden-based emails. You actually touch on more unusual tidbits that encourage me to keep growing and learning."