Post 9: Garden Food Year Round

My family eats food from our gardens all year long. There is nothing more satisfying than eating “fresh” green beans in the middle of February.

Or being able to make Salsa in May with all home-grown ingredients.

Or having a fresh salad from our cold frames for New Years Eve.

I use a lot of methods to make this happen but these methods fall into two main categories:
Season Extenders
Preservation

Season Extenders include cold frames, cold hardy plants, and shade/insect cloths.

My Cold frames have lettuces, spinach, arugula, and carrots. I am harvesting the greens up until early January. The carrots, I will harvest all throughout the winter.

Cold Hardy plants include broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and certain perennial herbs.

This morning I harvested rosemary and thyme from a bed in the far back part of my yard. They are completely unprotected but they were amazingly fresh.

I also was gifted a hydroponic garden system for Christmas this year. I grow 6 types of herbs and I’ve harvested 4-5 times since I started on New Years Eve.

I use a wide variety of Preservation techniques that include canning, freezing, dehydrating, and curing.

I am canning all summer long. Jams and Jellies. Tomato Sauce. And of course, Pickles.

I’m also prepping all kinds of fruits and veggies for the freezing process. The foods I typically freeze are:
Tomatoes (peeled and sliced)
Hot Peppers (Whole)
Bell Peppers (Sliced)
Green Beans (In individual baggies)
Broccoli (If I get any…)
Snap Peas
Strawberries
Jalapeno Poppers
Stuffed Peppers

I cure my garlic and use it up until I’m able to harvest more.

I dehydrate peppers and herbs to add to my spice shelf.

I use all of these foods on a near-daily basis.

This weekend was no exception. I made a crockpot dinner with tomato sauce, garlic, and herbs.

I made bread with fresh rosemary and thyme from my backyard.

I made salsa using my tomatoes, garlic, peppers, and cilantro.

I cut up carrots as a snack from my cold frame.

We ate pickles as a snack.

Of course, I’m going to try and expand this year and do even more. But today is February, 6th and we’ve eaten so much from our garden, more than I ever expected. I call that a big win.