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sewcrazy
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My veggie garden has been mainly a hobby for me. This year I want/need it to truly feed us.
Does anyone have good resources for growing and storing fruits and veggies? I have square foot gardening already, but need more info on storing/preserving food than this book advocates.
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LeeAnn
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Milehimama
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I got "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" from the library (it's less than $20 on Amazon) and has everything you would possibly need to know!
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sewcrazy
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Thank you very much!
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LeeAnn
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Angi
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Milehimama wrote:
| I got "The Encyclopedia of Country Living" from the library (it's less than $20 on Amazon) and has everything you would possibly need to know! |
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Thanks )
I need to read this too.
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Michaela
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LeeAnn, last year was my first attempt with a veggie garden so I don't have books on storing beyond using the freezer.
However, while looking through a seed catalog I saw the one mentioned above and Keeping the Harvest: Discover the Home-grown Goodness of Putting up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables & Herbs. Our library has it. Maybe yours does as well. If not, this morning Amazon had a copy for $1.23.
Last year, I did check out Putting Food By. I take a little bit of info from each book I read, but I don't really remember what, if anything, stood out in this one.
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Michaela
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sewcrazy
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Michaela, Thank you for the suggestions. There are so many choices, and obviously not enough time to read all the books and websites available. We built all our beds back in Oct so they will be ready to go as soon as IL gets out of the deep freeze. I really need to make this worth the effort (and money!) we have put in it already.
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LeeAnn
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juststartn
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Um, you've got your in-law's in the deep freeze????
 Now, I know we've all had IL issues from time to time, but even that seems a bit excessive...
Rachel
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juststartn
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Oh! Ball puts out a book on canning. Its a good one.
I've got a bunch of different ones. Just a word of advice, make sure any tomatoes you want to can are high acid (not yellow!--check out the acidity--some will say high acids).
Rachel
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Sarah
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You can freeze so much these days.
Are you going to spray or try organic?
We try organic methods from Gardens Alive, but it can be so frustrating!
Here's my plan based on what has been successful:
Spring: eat fresh lettuce and greens, spinach. Freeze spinach.
Eat fresh and freeze peas, beets,
Summer: tomatoes, corn, potatoes, carrots, onions. Freeze or store surplus
We have had great success with all of the above.
Now, we'll continue the bug battle with all squash type vines,including cucumbers, then, green beans, maybe broccoli.
New this year, we'll try sweet potatoes.
Oh, and I'm going to have herbs to dry.
What are you planning?
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missionfamily
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I did jam last year with blackberries we picked for free on a friend's land, blueberries we picked at a farm, and strawberries I bought from a local. I also cut and froze 1 flat of strawberries and a few pounds of blueberries. This year we planted 60 strawberry plants and we are putting in blueberry bushes...I'll do the same with whatever harvest we get.
I made fire roasted tomato sauce with tomatoes and peppers from the garden last year and canned that.
We planted onions, garlic, and shallots this year which I'm hoping to be able to store.
I've had good success with drying herbs in hanging bunches and then storing them in used herb jars.
We are on overload with eggs right now...I'm trying to think of ways to use them in something that can be frozen...could I make egg tacos or quiches and freeze them?
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sewcrazy
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juststartn wrote:
Um, you've got your in-law's in the deep freeze????
Now, I know we've all had IL issues from time to time, but even that seems a bit excessive...
Rachel |
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 Hey I actually like my in-laws.
That would be Illinois in the deep freeze. But it is rumored that we will get to 50 this weekend. I will believe when it happens.
Thank you for ideas. I am the type that I need my plan in place well in advance.
I hope for mostly organic, but am more worried about getting the weeds and bugs under control. At least this year, I think that will require sprays. And good compost takes a while to cook. We have a large pile of horse manure and straw cooking in the back on the property and we top dressed the beds with aged manure before the snow hit.
The garden is pretty large. 20 beds that are 8 feet by 4 feet and 5 beds that are 4 feet by 4 feet. I hope the snow will really melt this weekend and we are going to fit glass frames over the smaller beds to start warming the soil.
My biggest problem is the weeds  The back of our property is a thistle factory. I have been fighting a losing battle against them since the summer I was on bedrest 5 years ago and couldn't weed at all. They are very tough to kill.
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LeeAnn
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sewcrazy
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missionfamily wrote:
We are on overload with eggs right now...I'm trying to think of ways to use them in something that can be frozen...could I make egg tacos or quiches and freeze them? |
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I make egg burritos and egg "mcmuffin" sandwiches and freeze them about once a month. Then I pop them in the toaster oven to reheat in the morning.
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LeeAnn
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JodieLyn
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you can freeze eggs.. uncooked.. but not in the shell.. I'd lightly scramble them but not add anything to the egg.. so anything you'd mix them into you can premeasure and freeze in baggies.. or for making breakfasts.
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Michaela
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Sarah wrote:
| Here's my plan based on what has been successful |
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Would you and anyone else planning a garden explain how much you're planting to feed the number of people in your family?
Are you starting seeds indoors now? If so, how are you doing this...garage? dining room table? do you have a green house?
I'm also planning around what was successful: cucumbers, various tomatoes, chili peppers, bell peppers, pole beans, lettuce, loose leaf lettuce, spinach, greens (mustard, boc choi), radishes, peas, squash, cilantro, green onions, onions, and considering cabbage. I know I have a longer list somewhere.
When DH has a weekend off, we will add at least three additional 4x10 raised beds. Since that's my plan, I believe I need to put in an order for dirt to be delivered. Buying 50lb bags of dirt adds up and really doesn't go far.
Thank you for the info on freezing eggs. I may have read that during all the chicken research, but forgot. I've been giving away eggs because we can't eat them all.
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Michaela
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CrunchyMom
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I will start my tomatoes as soon as the seeds from the co-op come in--probably next week.
I have had good luck starting the seeds in the oven with the light, putting plastic wrap over to keep them moist, and using a heavy duty spray bottle to water.
Then, in the past, I put them in a window. They got spindly, but it worked. However, this year we are ordering grow lights and will see if that will do in the basement!
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Michaela
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| I have had good luck starting the seeds in the oven with the light |
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Well, thank yah kindly!
Not that I doubted you, but I had to share my excitement because only a fellow gardener would understand.
It works!
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Michaela
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sewcrazy
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We are off to an awesome start.
I enlisted a friend to be my garden buddy. I have the garden and she has the knowledge. She knows how to can and has all the neccessary supplies but now lives on a tiny city lot.
We started planting 3 weeks ago (yes even here in northern IL) and are already harvesting lettuce and radishes. We are so excited!
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LeeAnn
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LisaR
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sewcrazy wrote:
We started planting 3 weeks ago (yes even here in northern IL) and are already harvesting lettuce and radishes. We are so excited! |
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wow, you are a brave soul! I hold off now til mother's day weekend because I've been burned (or should I say frozen?? ) before!
however, I know that radishes are hearty and like the cool, and lettuces- yum!
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Growing our own food
