Posts Tagged ‘canning’
Tips to Putting up the Garden Harvest…
June 9th, 2010
If you’re new to homesteading or even a seasoned veteran – one topic that often has many many tips to it is how to preserve your harvest once the garden starts putting out food!
Below are a few options:
Canning - This is one of the most widely used forms of preserving and putting up the harvest used in (at least) America. You can CAN just about everything and many items last for several years!
Looking for canning items? CLICK HERE
Dehydrating - Dehydrating is one of the oldest forms of preserving. Beef (and other meat) jerky came from the sun drying process that is so closely related to dehydrating. If temperatures are kept low enough, this is the most reasonably close method to keeping foods at a nutritional peak for long term storage.
For many dehydrating options – CLICK HERE
Fermenting/Pickling – This is also another low heat option for storing the garden harvest. The composition of each item does change a bit and the taste may be an acquired one, but the process is more simple than one may think. Nature does most of the work and you get the extra nutritional benefits!
Harsch Miracle Fermenting Crock – CLICK HERE
Freezing - Nothing replaces a good sized deep freeze on the homestead for keeping the harvest lasting long into the winter months. One trick is to be sure items are dry and as free of air as possible when you put up the harvest for freezing.
Most homesteaders put up the harvest in a variety of ways. The biggest tip to saving your garden harvest is to try many methods for each food and find what works best that you’ll use the most!
EnJOY the journey!
Best Blessings!
The Millers
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Tags: canning, dehydrator, fermenting, food storage, freezing, garden, harvest, pickling, preserve | 
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Winter Homestead ‘To Do’ ideas
January 5th, 2009
Winter can seem like ‘down time’ on the homestead, but it certainly is not true in all homesteads.
If you have livestock of any form, you know they need just as much care, if not more, in the winter. If you have wood heat, well then you are hauling and chopping and cleaning ashes.
But the days are shorter and the weather harsher so many on the homestead keep busy inside with more projects that require staying by the fire. Here are some ideas:
- Plan and draw out the spring garden and planting schedule.
- De-seed any wildflowers from last year’s bed to re-use.
- Knit, crochet or sew.
- Cabinet, closet and drawer cleaning for that spring garage sale
- Inventory the canning supplies.
- Order your spring seeds on line.
- Keep composting and turning it into the ‘dead’ garden.
There are many more ideas of winter homestead projects that can be done indoors or out. Please feel free to leave a comment and we can expand this list for more people to see! Thank you!
Best Blessings.
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