Full up after harvest

We store many of the things we grow for use throughout the winter. As a general rule, we finish all our starches in Jan., but finish lots of the frozen berries just as new ones become available. We try to make chutney, salsa and spreads last until we can make new, but since we give those as gifts at Christmas, it can be a challenge.

As of Oct. 18, we have harvested all the food we will.



In order to be able to cook using strong flavors, we free a lot of herbs. The tradition actually started when I read that mint could be frozen. I was about 19, and my sisters and parents started to freeze mint for ice tea. After that, I started experimenting with other frozen herbs.

Frozen- Herbs

• oregano (4 cups)
• basil (12 cups)
• parsley (2 cups)
• sage (3 cups)
• mint (3 cups)
• jars of pesto (5 jars)
  

The rest of our herbs we brought in and transplanted under the grow light, so we can have fresh spices over the winter. We have already dried a lot of herbs and spices for the year, especially dill and coriander.

The fruit we freeze we use in baking, mostly loaves and muffins for breakfast foods, but also in pies and turn-overs. We rarely freeze vegetables from the garden, as they are inexpensive in the grocery store.

Frozen - Fruit

• strawberries (9 cups)
• saskatoons (32 cups)
• raspberries (14 cups)
• apples (30 cups)
• zucchini (16 cups)

In addition to freezing, most of our stored food is kept in our cold storage room. Take a look at the pictures of our fall yard and the cold storage.

Fresh in the cold storage

• 4 large pumpkins, 2 small
• 2 bags small onions
• 2 gourds
• 13 dried jalapeno peppers
• 30 dried Thai peppers
  
• 2 1/2 pounds beets
• 52 pounds red potatoes
• 23 pounds Yukon gold potatoes

We also have 17 pounds of carrots, a bag of peppers and a few kohlrabi left in the fridge. We also have 20 pounds of tomatoes still ripening in the basement, which we use for eating and in pizza.

Preserved in the cold storage

• 2.5 liters of plum jam from Dana's tree
  
• 3.5 liters of raspberry jam
• 2 liters of taco sauce
• 3.5 liters of apple sauce (ours) plus 9 liters canned from Pat's tree
  
• 9 liters of tomato sauce, which is about a 50% reduction from canned tomatoes
  
• 14 liters of canned tomatoes
  
• 3 liters of chutney
• 1.5 liters of stewed rhubarb
• 18.5 liters of salsa
• 2 liters pickled beets from Erin

Yesterday we had our first day of sunshine in a couple weeks and spent time in the yard deadheading and emptying rain barrels. We also store our patio furniture away from the deck and cover the BBQ. It was good to get that done as the snow melted. If winter sets in prematurely, we are ready.

Today we are headed out to the garage to do some work on the piano bench we are building and do a much needed cleaning job. Our single garage is Mike's workshop, a general storage area, our garden shed, and the place where we park our bikes. It has tendency to descend into anarchy in not closely supervised.

First Frost

Our first frost was Oct. 6. We had already picked all the things we wanted to save except for some in the greenhouse. The evening of the 8th, it went down to -9 and all the delicate stuff in the greenhouse died, as it is has been cloudy for days and could not warm up during the day via passive heat. The spinach and cilantro made it through. If it warms up again, it will resume growing.

We had a great Thanksgiving meal at Anna's on Friday and are scheduled to go out to Mike's parents house today around 3. We gave Anna one of the 4 big basil plants we brought in, but have been making lots of pesto with the rest.

This morning we are hoping to dig out the rest of the carrots, potatoes and beets. The ground isn't frozen, although we have about an inch of snow. It looks very strange with the green leaves on the trees.

In the fall, we usually clean out the rain barrels, put away lawn furniture, clean out planter boxes etc. So far that had been hard to do with the snow, so we are hoping for a good melt. If we can work around the snow, that's the priority for today.

Mike continues to can tomatoes at a rapid rate. We get about 2 large ziplocs every day ripening from the tomatoes we have in the basement. At this point, we are boiling it down to sauces and paste, as we have lots of salsa and canned tomatoes.

Steady as she goes

There has been a lot of rain this week, so we`ve spent little time in the yard. However, Mike has been busy building a piano bench for the girls and working in the greenhouse while I`ve done fall harvest. The yard is starting to look barren and the colours are changing. Inside the greenhouse however, life is starting anew.

Mike has been bubble wrapping the inside to preserve heat. We have no frost yet, but expect to have some any day. I planted a crop of cold tolerant greens, spinach and cilantro, which have sprouted well. They are growing slowly this week as there has been no sun at all, but did well last week when temperatures in the greenhouse ranged from 35-11. I am not sure how well the new greens will do, but I am excited about the experiment.

Here`s a look at our yard in early Oct. It includes pictures of the bubble wrap and things growing in the greenhouse.

The cold storange continues to get fuller as Mike cans tomatoes. After the first frost, we`ll bring in potatoes, a few more onions and the rest of the tomatoes. Well also dig the carrots and beets, but we`ll let the parsnips winter over in the garden. This week we`ll also plant the garlic and dig up the glad bulbs for winter storage in the basement.