In this video, I share 4 ways to maximize your garden’s harvest so you stop food waste and save money! Every year, gardeners ask me, “What do you do with all that food?” It may surprise you, but I use almost all the food my garden produces! If you follow these tips, you’ll not only harvest more efficiently, but you’ll save money on groceries, eat better tasting food and probably be healthier, too!
If you find yourself with more food than you know what to do with after harvesting fruits and vegetables in your garden, this video may change your life. By changing grocery shopping habits, learning how to can food, and storing food and preserving food your garden produces, you’ll be shocked by how much food you’ll eat from your garden, how much money you’ll save on grocery bills and how easy it is to stop waste. With the excess food from your garden harvest, you may even be able to make money on the side, too!
Canning Food Using Water Bath Processing: https://youtu.be/0xewBoTmQ90?si=Y0e1YnwZRT2PeQlP
DIY Trash Can Composter: https://youtu.be/PA-b1rQ42vU?si=nJhYvjNqOwbB2VJ4
The following products* were featured in this video and used to grow and store food in my garden:
Water Bath Canning Kit: https://amzn.to/3YPPiBr
Mason Jars (16 oz): https://amzn.to/3YIVvyM
Mason Jars (32 oz): https://amzn.to/4dFOKC1
Mason Jars (64 oz): https://amzn.to/3SNVSEA
Canning Lids & Bands (Regular): https://amzn.to/4fHXOIx
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Canning Lids (Wide Mouth): https://amzn.to/3yEfhko
Canning Bands (Reg & Wide): https://amzn.to/4dLB4Wr
Grow Bags (Many Sizes): https://amzn.to/3x4bJXO
Shade Cloth (Many Sizes): https://amzn.to/4bLbv72
Weed Barrier (Many Sizes): https://amzn.to/4dUWVeC
Jobe’s Organic Vegetable Fertilizer (4lbs): https://amzn.to/45YHmh2
Jobe’s Organic Fruit & Nut (4lbs): https://amzn.to/4cWfOgy
Espoma PlantTone All Purpose Fertilizer (36lb): https://amzn.to/4dgECQ9
Espoma Bone Meal (10lb): https://amzn.to/3X9s88a
Alaska Fish Fertilizer (Gallon): https://amzn.to/3XP5EHU
Jack’s All Purpose 20-20-20 (1.5lb): https://amzn.to/3MQ4I2A
Jack’s Blossom Booster 10-30-20 (1.5lb): https://amzn.to/3KyPTzg
Grow More All Purpose 20-20-20 (25lb): https://amzn.to/4dj0Gtg
Full Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/shop/themillennialgardener
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:35 Tip #1: Grocery Shopping
4:10 Tip #2: Food Storage
7:28 Tip #3: Sharing Food
8:44 Tip #4: Composting
10:47 Typical Meal Using My Garden Harvest
13:17 Seasonal Eating Benefits
14:53 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to stop wasting food in your garden and minimize food waste, want to know about the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, are looking for more gardening tips and tricks and garden hacks, have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, or want to share some DIY and “how to” garden tips and gardening hacks of your own, please ask in the Comments below!
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ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
34.1°N Latitude
Zone 8B
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© The Millennial Gardener
#gardening #garden #gardeningtips #harvest #foodstorage
37 Comments
If you enjoyed this video, please "Like" it and share it to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 🙂TIMESTAMPS for convenience:
0:00 Introduction
0:35 Tip #1: Grocery Shopping
4:10 Tip #2: Food Storage
7:28 Tip #3: Sharing Food
8:44 Tip #4: Composting
10:47 Typical Meal Using My Garden Harvest
13:17 Seasonal Eating Benefits
14:53 Adventures With Dale
Dude, great call on the basil Vinegarette salad!
I can't believe I found this! Subscribed, and I'm already loving it! – "Challenges are opportunities for personal development."
Ample Harvest is a US non-profit org that helps gardeners and farmers donate extra produce to local food pantries that are equipped to distribute perishables. You can check out their website for local drop off locations for your extra garden harvest, or where you can get supplementary food if you're in need. Be sure to call them ahead of time to find out their schedule and ensure they have refrigeration space.
In North Carolina selling cottage canned goods is against the law 🙁
We grow very few plants, we eat everything we produce (tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers).
1/2 gallon jars are NOT considered to be good for canning. Safe/approved canning times are NOT available for this size jar.
I've learned a lot by helping out at a local food pantry that also has a large vegetable garden. It is amazing how much food can be grown on a small plot, with knowledge. I am in central NC. They also take donations of larger amounts of fresh vegetables from some gardeners. I need to increase my knowledge of preservation coming up, since I'm having more success following your advice here. Thank you
We started doing this over COVID. We figured we saved $1,100 after seed/organic fertilizer/water cost last year for a family of two.
Poor Dale! My Golden hates storms/fireworks/gun shots too. ❤ to Dale from Iowa.
So many benefits from gardening! Health in every way, exercise, food, fresh air and sunshine, stress release. Not a great year this summer 🤷🏼♀️ having trouble getting into fall 🤦🏼♀️ this week a must or I can forget it 🥲 then I’ll be kicking myself this winter 😡 Thank you for all you do for us!
At harvest time, I spend a couple of weeks mass cooking meals and freeze drying them. No wasted food. I grow what I need for my recipes 🙂 No worrying about spoilage, at least for 20 years and no refrigeration needed. Highly recommend a freeze dryer for anyone growing a lot.
Just FYI – you cant can anything but juice in half gallon sized jars safely. Please refer people to the NCFHP or Ball for safe recipes.
Great reminders especially to eat seasonally. It is much better for our health and environment. I have noticed craving better food since making the switch. Also, glad Dale is able to chill now the storms pushed out.
I know you have mentioned it it previous videos but I do not see anything in your storefront. What do you use in terms of a weather station?
I agree with you! However, I will buy a few things that I don't grow, or grow much of, such as fruit, carrots and collards. If I need lettuce in January, I buy it, since my Fall crop has probably frozen😉. Out of season tomatoes are a HARD "no"😣.
I agree with you you are a good gardener
Have a question on the land scape fabric you have in your garden i can see you don't have anything covering it can i ask why and how long will it last like that ?
I will say awesome video. Also helpful tip in zone 6b we have to have a license to sell are canned foods. Defiantly call your local health department before selling canned goods. Learned the hard way lol
I see nothing boring on those plates!
I was able to pickle my red ripened jalapenos and freeze my habanero peppers from my patio garden (zone 8b TX). Really hoping my sweet potatoes turn out good so I can make sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving!
Would oak leaves make good mulch and for adding to compost.. I am concerned about the tannin.
We give extras away to the local bartenders and neighbors.
I love the Dale content at the end of your videos. ❤
This question is not related to your video but do you recommend putting wood chips around cabbage and such for the cooler winter months
Questions for those that sell garden abundance online-
Have you had trouble selling fresh vegetables or canned items online? (Due to not having a food license.)
Do you sell on marketplace, or Craigslist?
Yum. That salad and meat at the end looked soooo good. I never thought about slicing up a peach into a salad. I usually toss some pealed sun flower seeds in my salad too. But that looks amazing. The tenderloin looked perfect.
Yum. That salad and meat at the end looked soooo good. I never thought about slicing up a peach into a salad. I usually toss some pealed sun flower seeds in my salad too. But that looks amazing. The pork meat looked perfect.
I'd love to see you do a video on ways to preserve figs. I also have a large harvest and would enjoy learning your hot pepper fig jam recipe. Other fig recipes would be great too!
Warning about selling. Every state has it's own rules about who can and cannot sell and many times, you have to have not only a license to sell, but pay for inspections of the facility in which you process, not to mention having a food handlers license.
That is such a good video. I have been growing more food every year. I'm getting better and with that I have also froze lots of peppers, tomatoes from last season's harvest. But here is the key I refused to buy peppers at the super market knowing I had peppers in my freezer. This mindset has saved us money and also thought us to be more mindful of seasons. I think if you are going to spend the time and a whole lot of effort to grow food you should eat all you have grown if possible.
What do you eat for vegetables in the winter
I made strawberry hot pepper jam…it’s delicious
Hey have you considered using the Jadam fertilizer recipe, like throwing the rotting fruit in a bucket with water and letting it all decompose, it'll stink for a while, then after about 9 months it'll stop smelling so bad and will be useable for the garden as a water-soluble liquid fertilizer, I like making different batches for different stages of plant growth, like main weeds and excess green material for the vegetative stage, then during fruiting using well fruits, for example rotting figs, mulberries, blueberries strawberries, tomatoes.
Eggs are one of the easiest things to eliminate from the grocery store list. I haven't yet, but next year for sure, just a few hens. If you're in an apartment, it might not be possible, but for everybody else, very doable, even if there are ordinances or HOA restrictions.
This is the first year my garden has yielded a decent harvest. I still need to master cabbage, onions, and carrots. I shared okra, peppers and tomatoes with family. I am the favorite fam
member now!
You don't have to challenge me, I have to eat more out of my garden anyway because foods are becoming too expensive. There's no choice but to store the harvest. I'm freezing my peaches. Canning my tomatoes. Freezing and pickling my peppers. Making hot sauce from my chili. Storing my potatoes in the basement. Going to be blanching and freezing my leafy greens too. I try to save more of the grocery budget for meat.
My yard has previously old coal and slag throughout from decades of coal heating waste being tossed outside. The soil isn't safe to eat food from. Container garden works but can get more expensive than buying from markets.