Clallam Master Gardeners to present ‘Preserving the Harvest’

Extending the lifespan of food is topic of Green Thumb Series presentation

By Sequim Gazette staff • September 17, 2025 1:30 am

Food grown by gardeners and farmers during the summer can last them through the winter months if they have the skills, materials and space for preserving food.

Washington State University Extension Program Coordinator Danielle Carson will speak on the topic “Preserving the Harvest” for the next Green Thumb Education Series presentation scheduled for 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25 at St. Andrews Episcopal Church, 510 E. Park Ave. in Port Angeles.

In September, gardens and fruit trees are lush with fruits and vegetables. This class is an overview of the many methods and resources that can be used — from high-tech to low-tech and even no-tech — to preserve the bounty. Participants will gain knowledge about food safety and a set of guidelines for extending nearly any fresh food item’s life span from fall through to the next harvest season.

Carson will give an overview of the history of food preservation, food safety considerations for the gardener-turned-food preserver as well as preservation methods, including fermentation, canning, dehydration, pickling and more.

Carson is the Community Health program coordinator and food preservation advisor for WSU Extension Clallam County, as well as a hobby food preservationist. As a local sauerkraut maker, she specializes in wild fermentation, but advises the community on canning, dehydration, pickling, and other types of food preservation.

She has been growing and preserving food for a decade, five seasons of which she has lived and farmed on the Olympic Peninsula. Carson found her way into food preservation like many of us did: through a love for gardening and an appreciation for the seasonal abundances that Olympic Peninsula gardens, farms and nature have to offer. She is currently experimenting with beer, wine and mead-making in addition to making large batches of pickles and sauerkraut to share with the community.

The Green Thumb Education Series, sponsored by the Washington State University Clallam County Master Gardeners, is held in person on the second Thursday of each month from January through May, and September through November (unless otherwise noted).

Scheduled presentations are subject to change. Visit the WSU Extension Clallam County website calendar at https://extension.wsu.edu/clallam/master-gardener-calendar/ for the latest information on upcoming presentations. Those with questions can call 360-565-2678.

Photo by Danielle Carson/ A WSU food preservation class prepares trays of apples for dehydrating.