Clik here to view.
Blanching Vegetables Before Freezing
Blanch just harvested, fresh vegetables to set their color and seal nutrients and flavor. Blanching is a method of partially cooking vegetables in boiling water or steam—usually for a few minutes; it’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Freezing Blueberries and Other Berries
Frozen Blueberries Freeze just harvested blueberries and also raspberries, elderberries, currants, huckleberries, blackberries, boysenberries, loganberries, mulberries, and strawberries for thawing and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Beginner’s Guide to Canning Peppers
Can sweet bell peppers and chile peppers—which can be sweet or hot–to preserve your summer harvest. Can peppers after deciding if you want to preserve sweet or heat or a combination of the two. Sweet...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Canning Sweet Pickle Relish
Sweet pickle relish topping Sweet pickle relish combines cucumbers, green or red bell peppers, and onions from the summer garden. This is the classic relish to enjoy on hot dogs and hamburgers. Half...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Make Dill Pickles for Beginners
Dill pickles from cucumbers and dill sprigs You can turn cucumbers into pickles in about 40 minutes. It’s not difficult. My favorite pickling cucumbers are County Fair, National Pickling, Pickle Bush,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Canning Peaches for Beginners
Canning peaches is simple. You will need just ripe peaches that are not soft or mushy, and you will need about 45 minutes of preparation time and about 25 minutes of processing time. Peaches are easily...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Can Pasta Sauce for Beginners
A tomato-rich sauce for pasta is a variation on a theme. You know your favorite pasta sauce and when the tomato harvest comes in summer, you have the opportunity to can your favorite tomato-based...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Can Green Beans for Beginners
Cut green beans into short pieces for canning. Green beans are easy to can. You pick them, quickly snap or cut them in half or short pieces, simmer them for four minutes or less, pack them in jars, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Make Plum Jam for Beginners
Plum jam Plums jam is easy to make; all you need is fresh, ripe plums, sugar and a bit of lemon juice. From start to finish, you will have plum jam in less than an hour. Plums are a diverse lot; they...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Corn: Harvest and Storage Tips
Corn is the second most cultivated food plant in the world, after wheat. Corn is ready for harvest about 17 to 24 days after the first fine strands of silk appear at the top of the ears. Corn may ripen...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Store Winter Squash
Winter squash curing on rack Winter squash refers to squash planted in spring, grown in summer, harvested in fall, and stored for winter use. Winter squash requires more days to reach maturity than...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Harvest and Store Cucumbers
Harvest slicing cucumbers when bright, green, and firm and 6 to 8 inches (15-20 cm) long. Harvest pickling cucumbers when 2 to 4 inches long–6 to 7 inches long for big pickles. Harvest lemon cucumbers...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Harvest and Store Peppers
Mild peppers and hot peppers can be harvested when they reach full size and are fully colored, or they can be harvested as soon as they reach a usable size. Peppers can be eaten at just about any stage...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Harvest and Store Eggplants
Harvest eggplants when they are firm and glossy and big enough to eat—about one-third their maximum size. To test eggplant fruit for maturity, press the fruit with your thumb; if the flesh springs back...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Harvest and Store Snap Beans
Harvest snap beans when they are young and tender for the best flavor—and nutritional value. Pick snap beans (also known as green or string beans) before the seeds swell in the pods when they are no...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Harvest and Store Summer Squash
Harvest zucchini, crookneck, and yellow summer squash when they are 6 to 8 inches long. Harvest scalloped varieties when they are 3 to 6 inches in diameter. Pick summer squash when the skin is glossy...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Harvest and Store Melons
Harvest smooth-skinned muskmelons—which include honeydew, Crenshaw, and casaba–when they turn cream colored. The blossom end will give slightly when pressed, and the fruit will readily separate from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Harvest and Store Tomatoes
Harvest tomatoes when they are slightly firm, shiny, and uniformly colored for best flavor. As a tomato ripens it will turn from a vibrant medium-green to a lighter shade, with faint pink or yellow...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Harvest and Store Onions
Harvest green onions when they are big enough to use—commonly when the stems are ½ to 1 inch in diameter. Green onions mature about 7 to 8 weeks after sowing but can be used much sooner. Harvest...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How to Home Can Tomatoes for Beginners
Canning is the best way to enjoy fresh, flavorful garden-grown tomatoes long after harvest time. Canned tomatoes are ideal for use in soups, stews, and casseroles. You will need 22 pounds of fresh...
View Article