You’ve been waiting and waiting for that garden to grow. You planted and fertilized and watered and now you are finally seeing the results of your hard work. Slowly the produce starts to ripen and you are enjoying the “fruits of your labor” But then something happens. The fruits and vegetables start to ripen more rapidly and all at once you have a massive amount of produce to handle. How do you cope with this abundance without becoming overwhelmed?
First, take a deep breath. This is a great problem to have. You are a rock star gardener and that’s a good thing. But we still have to deal with all that produce. Here are some of my favorite tips for handling a glut of fruits and vegetables. These 5 tips can help you get started preserving your garden produce.
5 Tips for preserving garden produce…
Work in batches
My husband is notorious for going out to the garden and just picking everything all at once. I find this totally overwhelming. The kitchen is filled with buckets, baskets and boxes of produce that never end. There is no room to even work when this happens. I find that I do better when I have a defined amount of produce in a relatively clean kitchen. So pick a specific amount of produce that you can handle and work in batches. One bucket, box or bowl of tomatoes at a time. One container of apricots or raspberries. Harvest one rhubarb plant instead of 6. As you work in batches you will become more efficient and less stressed by the overwhelming job.
Do one form of processing at a time
If you are preparing green beans for freezing, just do that. Don’t also be making marinated green beans. Or just make apricot jam. Don’t be making jam and apricot pies at the same time. You want to be able to streamline your process so that you become efficient at it. So just do one thing at a time. That way you will have all of your equipment out and ready. So if you are canning, be prepared to can all of your produce that day. If you are blanching and freezing do all of your produce in that technique. If you are drying in the oven or using a dehydrator, just work on that.
Share the work with a friend
It’s always more enjoyable to have someone to share the workload with. When you have a massive amount of produce to deal with make a date with a friend. She could help you to freeze your peaches or can your salsa. With 2 people doing the job, the work will get done faster and you will have some fun company to laugh and share with. Before you know it the job will be done and then you can take time to relax together. Don’t forget to reciprocate with your friend. She might need some help decluttering, cleaning her garage or making jam.
Organize before you start
Make sure that you have everything that you need before you begin. When you’re going to be processing produce get everything out in advance. Here is a short list of some of the supplies you might need.
- Canner
- Jars in varying sizes
- Tongs
- Pectin
- Salt and sugar
- Freezer bags, quart and gallon size
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Permanent marker or labels
Other things to do to get organized would be to make sure that you have room in the kitchen to work. Wash the dishes, empty the dishwasher, make room in the refrigerator and have a clean freezer before you begin a produce marathon.
Consider trying something new
I used to can regularly but over time I found that I could freeze produce more quickly. With fewer supplies and less mess. But sometimes it’s nice to try some other options. Spend some time on Pinterest or talking to friends and family about what they do. You might find some recipe ideas that you would like to try. For example, instead of plain canned tomatoes your family might enjoy homemade canned salsa. Try a new jam recipe. There are so many flavor combinations out there. This step however, is something that you might do before you are faced with a mountain of produce.
Donate some of your excess to your local food bank
When you have canned your last tomato and frozen your last bag of green beans then maybe it’s time to share your bounty. Your family, friends and neighbors certainly would appreciate some of your harvest but even they have a limit to how many zucchini they can eat. So consider donating some of your excess to your local food bank or take some of your extra produce to work or church to share with those who don’t have a garden.
When your garden begins to flourish and harvesting is coming fast and furious this is a wonderful problem to have. Preserve some of that excess so you can enjoy the bounty all year long. Instead of being overwhelmed look at this as a blessing. Yes, one that brings some work but isn’t that why we grow a garden. To be able to eat our own fresh, organically grown food. Cheaper and more nutritious, it’s a wonderful opportunity to supply food for your family.