Ideas, Info, Tools & Technology to Create Your Dream Garden
Posts tagged harvesting
The Mad Frost Dance!
Oct 21st
First killing frost is on its way.
Yesterday I had to do the mad frost dance. They were predicting that we might get our first frost and I hadn’t finished harvesting the basil. So, out I run, cut down the lemon basil, bring it in, pick the leaves and put them on the dehydrator sheet, and start them dehydrating. Mad dash number two is for licorice basil. Now the dehydrator is full.
Then I go out and cut down most of the sweet basil and bring it in to put in a bowl of water. Sweet basil will hold in water for More >
Focus Plant: Basil
Jul 8th
Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is many people’s favorite herb. Almost every Italian dish we prepare has basil as the base of its herbs. Of course basil is good for many other dishes, as well.
Sweet basil is extremely easy to grow from seed, and the seeds stay viable for a long time. I found out the hard way this spring when I took a couple of old packs sprinkled them in a flat and ended up with seven flats of basil to show for it. In some instances it will even self sow, as I have several plants to show for it More >
Canning & Cold Storage
Nov 24th
Although it is a little past time to be putting up food for the winter, I’ll finish with preserving food. Canning is probably the least desirable way to preserve your harvest. It requires a lot of special equipment and if you don’t do it right you can even get food poisoning. Nutrient-wise it usually has less nutritional value than either drying or freezing. For many this is still their preferred method.
First thing is, you have to have special jars and lids. You need to prepare the food in a certain manner and seal the jars so no air is inside More >
Freezing Your Harvest
Nov 10th
Freezing is a good choice for preserving your harvest. It is second in preserving nutrients, to low temperature dehydrating. There are some drawbacks. First you need a freezer big enough to store your goods. Second, many foods need to be flash blanched, which destroys some of the nutrients and all of the enzymes. Also, the consistency of defrosted foods can differ substantially from the original. Although frozen foods never go bad, after a while they get freezer burn and become less edible or tasty. The biggest factor is that electricity can be lost and you can lose your harvest with More >