End of the Season
Summer is coming to a close and soon you will be harvesting all that you have been working on in your gardens. The fruits and vegetables that are the result of your labor are most plentiful at this time. Making the most of your vegetables and fruits should be on the top of your list.

Posted Thursday, April 13, 2006

At the end of the summer season you may be overwhelmed with the sheer amount of fresh vegetables produced. Alternatives to pitching rotten vegetables are going to be freezing, canning and cold storage.

A few of the easiest vegetables you can cut and freeze are peppers, onion, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, etc. You will find that the best way to freeze your vegetables will be to clean, cut, and store them in baggies according to how much you are going to use.

If you find yourself with soggy vegetables in the freezer after only a few weeks or months, next time consider cleaning and boiling them before freezing. Even if you have too many onions then you can cut, dice, slice or chop, boil and freeze them. Or give them to friends and family. You then have all types of onions you can use all winter long for your meals that you like to include onions with. You can do this with many of your favorite vegetables.

Another alternative to freezing is cold storage. You can prolong the life of your vegetables by putting them into cold storage without freezing. Cold temperatures that are between thirty five and fifty degrees will work great in prolonging the usefulness of your vegetables.

You can build a cold storage unit underground near your greenhouse, or if your basement or cellar is cold enough you can put your vegetables in these types of dark areas to continue using your vegetables for months to come.

Yet another way that you can prolong the usefulness of your vegetables is to can them. Canning is a process of using hot boiling water, wax rings, jars to preserve fruit and vegetables. One of the most common uses of canning is making tomato sauce or pickles, jellies and jams.