In May, we dreamed of bountiful harvests in July and August. Now we are harvesting and can begin preserving and storing produce, or risk letting the fruits of your labors die on the vine. It all starts with a set up for success.
Be realistic and consider time, finances, and space. If you will need help, share your plans with family and friends, maybe even host gardening parties.
No matter what you harvest, get everything in place ahead of time before you begin drying herbs, pickling vegetables, and canning food for the future.
Freezing
Warming bags of frozen vegetables like peas, carrots, and beans saves time. It takes about an hour to blanch your harvest and put it in freezer bags for later. Pick a convenient day of the week and make an appointment with yourself so that things don’t slip through the cracks.
Diane Reinhold, a University of Illinois Nutrition and Wellness Educator, recommends exposure of vegetables to boiling water or steam for a brief period of time then cooling rapidly in ice water to prevent it from cooking further.
Herb butter is my favorite. Simply add herbs to butter and freeze it in rolls like cookie dough for the fall-winter holidays. Learn more at extension.illinois.edu/food-preservation/freezing
Air-drying
Do you drink tea or use dried herbs? Air drying is an inexpensive method requiring just butcher’s string, tags for labeling, and a nearby sunny window location. Hang herbs from a pot rack or clothesline in the kitchen.
Create a decorative display space with small glass or plastic containers for your herbs and teas. There are many methods for drying at extension.illinois.edu/food-preservation/drying.
Pickling
Pickling has both short-term refrigerated and long-term canning methods. You can pickle many types of vegetables.
Jenna Smith at University of Illinois suggests four types of pickled products: brined/fermented, fresh pack pickles, fruit pickles and relish.
Refrigerator pickles last weeks. You need a large pot, pickling salt, distilled water, vinegar, and your favorite spices and seasonings.
Buy or reuse jars and pop your pickled peppers in the refrigerator. You can even organize your favorite supplies and store them together to encourage quicker, easier pickling of cucumbers.
Get guidelines and more information at extension.illinois.edu/food-preservation/pickling.
Storing
Baskets and paper bags make it easy to move from harvest to storage. Store potatoes and root vegetables in paper bags in a cool, dark area.
Pumpkins and sweet potatoes need drying and curing time before you store them in baskets. For curing, windowsills for pumpkins and hot humid rooms for sweet potatoes will work just fine.
Garlic should be tied and hung up to cure in a dry area for at least six weeks to ensure you have garlic that lasts all winter long. (Don’t forget to save a few cloves to replant in late October!)
Remember: Follow all of the directions and steps of tested, safe recipes, and keep food safety in mind as you plan and preserve your harvest.
Evonne Waters is a University of Illinois Extension Master Gardener serving Kane County. Water’s primary areas of expertise are deconstructed square foot gardening, winter sowing methods, and chaos gardening.
To learn more about preserving your summer harvest visit https://extension.illinois.edu/food-preservation.
https://extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/how_to_harvest_and_store_garden_vegetables.pdf
https://extension.illinois.edu/blogs/flowers-fruits-and-frass/2022-07-22-extend-garden-vegetable-shelf-life-proper-harvest-and
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