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After all that hard work in putting in the garden, then faithfully weeding, watering and mulching it you are able to harvest the bounty of your labor. So what to do with all that extra food you can’t eat right away?(especially the zucchini) You could always share your excess with your neighbors and friends. I suggest canning, drying, or freezing the fruits and vegetables that you worked so hard to grow. When February comes and you get a hankering for the summer’s goodness it is just a pantry or freezer away.

We have over the past couple of years found it quite enjoyable to can jams, fruit and vegetables. All the effort of preservation has sure made the winter dinners tastier. Sure we could go to the grocery store and buy blueberries in the dead of winter, however those blueberries come with a rather steep price tag, both in monetary outlay at the register and all the carbon miles. Not to mention they don’t taste the same. (Is it just me?) Most of that out of season fruit I see here in the winter comes from Chile and New Zealand.

For me preservation of garden crops is more than just eating the peaches, or blackberries in the winter, for me it is also preparation for pending calamities. The potential for food shortages, natural disasters or even loss of employment are very real. The ability to preserve and consume produce offers a bit of a buffer from hardship. When gas prices reach $4.00 a gallon how much are those green beans going to cost? Preservation skills developed now will become a great asset in your battle to survive the lean times.

In an effort to promote preservation of food, I will be addressing various preservation methods in a series of regular posts here at Groovy. Please contribute your ideas and thoughts in the comments of each post.

Whether you grow the food yourself or buy it from your local farmers market, taking the time to preserve it will pay great dividends in the winter months and in times of need.