8 Easy Ways To Preserve Your Harvest.

Your garden is growing great and there is an overabundance of produce. You are eating as much as you can, but there is just too much all at one time. You could just compost all the excess or give it away, but why not preserve your harvest so you can enjoy it all winter long.

Originally written August 2017. Updated March 2022 

Preserve Your Harvest.

Picture this a moment; your frozen strawberries become strawberry shortcake in October, a pumpkin from the root cellar becomes a pumpkin pie in November. Dehydrated fruit leather becomes a healthy gift in December. A can of tomatoes becomes marinara in January. Freeze-dried blueberries flavor your kombucha in February. And the sauerkraut and pickled okra are on your table all winter long. What a wonderful way to make the bounty of summer last all year. So let’s go through how to extend your home-grown fruits and veggies into breakfasts, lunches, and dinners long past the summer growing season.

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Dehydrate It! Preserve Your Garden Harvest.

One of the easiest ways to preserve your fruits and vegetables is to dehydrate them. What can you dehydrate? All kinds of things. Your herbs are easy peasy to dehydrate. If you live in a dry climate, you could just hang a bundle up to air dry. The rest of us need to use a dehydrator.

A dehydrator is also so much more versatile than just drying your herbs. You can make all kinds of fruit leathers, like this recipe for tomato leathers.

That’s reason enough to get a dehydrator. But you can also make kale or zucchini chips. If you have an abundant garlic crop, you can make your own garlic powder. Dehydrated fruit makes a wonderful snack.

The possibilities are almost endless. Dehydrated food lasts up to 4 years.

The range of prices and features of dehydrators varies widely. If you just want to use it on rare occasions and on simple things like herbs, a simple, turn it on, turn it off dehydrator is all you need. A Presto should fit the bill. Inexpensive and easy for the beginner. No learning curve or special recipes.  This is a great entry-level dehydrator.

If you are planning on doing a lot of dehydrating or you want timers, temperature controls, and other handy options, an Excalibur is the cream of the crop. This is a workhorse that will keep on going for years and years.

Can It! To Preserve Your Harvested Crops.

One of my favorite ways to preserve food is canning. I grew up as a small child going out to a u-pick, with my family, and bringing home bushels full of tomatoes. Then my mom, two sisters, and I would sit at the kitchen table and peel and can tomatoes. That night we would listen to the popping of the cans as they sealed. That was the sound of a whole year long of eating from the jars of tomatoes that we had put up. Canned food will last up to 3 years.

But do your homework. Some fruit/vegetables work well in a water bath, but most need a pressure canner. Take the time to learn the proper way to can and you will have safe, healthy, yummy meals all year long.

Make sure, if you are new to canning, that you get the book, Ball Home Preserving, It is the most respected canning book that will teach you how to stay safe.

Freeze It! To Preserve Vegetables And Fruit.

Freezing is one of the easiest ways to preserve your harvest. Freezers are very useful to preserve many fruits and vegetables. What can be better than a breakfast of hot muffins filled with the blueberries from your freezer, accompanied by scrambled eggs that are made from the eggs you froze during the abundance of the summer since your chickens and ducks are taking the dark days of winter off from laying.

Sealing them up tight can make them last longer, taste fresher, and maintain the nutrition until the next crop comes in. I absolutely my food sealer. I use it on all kinds of things. Frozen food can last up to 2 years if properly sealed.

Ferment It! To Preserve Garden Vegetables.

How about making sauerkraut and other lacto fermented vegetables. (kohlrabi is my favorite) Fermented veggies are really good for your digestion. And homemade is much better tasting than the store-bought varieties. You have so much control of the herbs and other flavorings you include. This is also one of the easiest ways to preserve your harvest. Very little to buy and you can have fresh vegetables fermenting in no time. Will last up to 1 year.

Pickle It! Preserving Your Harvest.

Pickling is preserving your vegetables in vinegar. There are both canned and refrigerator pickles.

Yes, you can pickle cucumbers, but don’t stop there. My favorite is okra. It’s so fun trying different vegetables and different flavorings. This is so easy to do, even on a small scale. If I only have one or two okra plants, I can mix up the vinegar brine and add an okra a day until my jar is full.

For the refrigerator pickles, I prefer to use plastic lids as the vinegar can corrode the metal lids. Refrigerator pickles will last 4 to 6 months in the refrigerator.

Fruit In Alcohol! Preserving Your Harvest.

Most fruit doesn’t last very long without spoiling. One decadent way to preserve your fruit is in alcohol. A sweetened brandy or rum will make your fruit last much longer and is a special treat spooned over ice cream or cake. Lasts in the refrigerator at least 3 to 4 months.

Freeze Dry It! To Preserve Your Harvest.

Freeze drying, while it produces superior food that will last longer than any of these other ways, it is not for everyone. Mainly because of the price of the machine. But if you are going to produce all your own food from your homestead, it may be worth the price. After all, it will last for years and will pay for itself in food savings. Freeze-dried food can last up to 25 years and retain 97% of its nutritional value. That’s reason enough to consider a freeze dryer!

Root Cellar It! Store Produce After Harvest.

I don’t have a lot of experience with root cellars here in south Florida, since we are right at sea level, we call basements or cellars, swimming pools. 🙂 But if you are lucky enough to have one, great! It’s a wonderful place to keep winter squash, potatoes, and apples.

I do know, however, that many pumpkins and winter squashes will last in a cool place in your house for quite a while even without a root cellar. Make sure you line the floor under your produce to collect any drips that might occur and check it once a week removing anything that starts to spoil. As the saying goes, one bad apple can spoil the whole batch. Food in a root cellar can last 3 to 12 months.

What Is The Best Method To Preserve Your Harvest?

Every method of preservation does not work equally well for all foods. But with several of these wonderful methods, I’m sure you will be preserving your harvest in no time, so you can have plenty of food all winter long. Start increasing your preserving knowledge, then when that abundance of produce presents itself, (and it always does) you will be well prepared to preserve your harvest for eating healthy food all winter long.

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