Preserving Your Garden Harvest

Preserving Your Garden Harvest

Farmer Greg Peterson of the Urban Farm and Kari Spencer cover the different methods for preserving your own garden harvest. Tune-in below to hear the discussion on the following information! 

Method 1 | Canning

Canning is not what it used to be. "Today, we have the benefit of using techniques developed by scientific research and are able to keep up-to-date on the latest USDA recommendations..." says Kari Spencer, author of City Farming: How-to Guide to Growing Food and Raising Livestock in Urban Spaces. 

Kari discusses canning in great detail in her blog: How To Can & Preserve Tomatoes & Sauces | Peeling Tomatoes In A Snap | My Favorite Heritage Chili Sauce Recipe. 

• 2 Types - What to can in each one
  • Pressure
  • Water Bath
• The Simple Process of canning
• Current USDA Guideline - Nation Center for Home Food Preservation
• What are we canning right now - what in season
• Making jams, relish

Method 2 | Pickling & Fermenting

• 2 Types - We can pickle many things
  • Vinegar Refrigerated
  • Fermented - Probiotics
• Fermenting is easy - Everything needs to be clean from the start - to attract lactobacillus
• Pickles can be canned - Vinegar pickles and relishes

Method 3 | Dehydrating

• Types of Dehydrators
  • Electric - Caballas
  • Oven
  • Easy - in the shade in the summer
  • DIY - build it your own
• Benefits - preserves all of the food value in a small space with no refrigeration
• Stone Fruit
• Apples
• Kale - Chips & Powder
• Honeydew melon chips & fruit leather

Method 4 | Freezing

• Freezing
  • Prep it on a tray then bag or jar it
  • Downsides to freezing
    • Power Outages
    • Freezer burns
    • Vacuum bags help
• Finding produce if you are not growing

Home Maintenance To Do | #PreservingYourHarvest

Podcast

The Urban Farm's Farmer Greg and Micro Farm Project's Kari Spencer gives you inspiration to preserve food. From canning to fermentation, pickling and freezing. Two types of canning, health benefits of fermentation, dehydrating for tasty snacks and the methods to get it done!

More Podcast Information

__________

Farmer Greg and Kari Spenser discuss preserving food: The process of canning what's in season to make jams and relish, ideas for pickling and fermenting, benefits of dehydrating fruits, and freezing techniques to enjoy your favorite foods!

###

Photo Credit

• Shutterstock