Simple Living – Growing a garden for canning(apr 19\14)

So we are making our living simple but you say how can growing a garden and canning food be simple…….well its easy…..you plan your crops so that they mature in batches.  So at this point its easy to can, dehydrate, freeze, cold storage etc in large batches.  Really gardening is not hard like most people think……initially putting in a garden can be hard work depending on the size and detail you choose…. Generally speaking its not that hard once the growing beds are in place and you have the seeds or seedlings you need.  If you have never gardened before I suggest you go simple container gardening can be real easy.

With a little bit of planning and a bit of a green thumb we should be able to have mostly all the produce and canned foods that we need for the upcoming year.  This must sound crazy but if you pace yourself and plan everything out making stuff in batches makes it less intimidating:).

Now you may think “they are crazy why would they give up instant food from the grocery store”  well not everything you buy there is good for you and prices of produce etc are going up and to take the simple pleasure in knowing you grew your own food is rather satisfying.

So here we go….. we are starting on a say simple lifestyle almost like a new diet but of course without weight loss in mind:)

asparagus

Our growing beds are huge about 2000 square feet, we will have produce to freeze like corn and green beans ……and tomatoes for tomato sauces, salsas, stewing tomatoes and whole tomatoes for canning.  We are going to dehydrate veggies as well…..dried mushrooms, herbs, fruit leathers, stuff to bottle for cooking different meals.  We are going to prepare a cold storage room as well so that we can store our onions, garlic, potatoes, cabbages, winter squashes, carrots etc…….

I look forward to seeing how long and how well our produce store……

So how do these canned items sound:)

pickled radishes
pickled butternut squash
habanero mint jelly
juniper maple cocktail onions
dill pickles
roasted tomato and garlic sauces
salsa verde
jerky
fermented sauerkraut
sweet hot caramelized onions
apple sauce
jams



These are just some of the items we plan on making  …… not to mention the canned soups, stews and pie fillings as well

I might make mini pies that I will freeze and can be baked like fresh……..

mmmmmm sounds good and the best part is that there will not be any chemicals in our foods that we can’t pronounce or say……all down home tasty ingredients:)

So if you have any pickling or preserving ideas let me know I will see if I can use them:)

So yes simple living…..simple ingredients and simple pleasures that make this farm girl very content and in her happy place in life:)