Preserving food is about as old as growing it.  The problem we come up with after a nice full season of vegetable garden growing is what to do with the excess yield.  It is common sense that food left exposed to air will spoil and rot unless it is preserved in some way.  There are microorganisms and enzymes that are part of this decomposition process.  This change is very present in our compost bins where you can see the decomposition and later use the transformation as compost for your garden and the cycles starts again.  There are three basic ways to preserve your food so you can enjoy them for months long into winter.

The most common way you will see is usually referred to as "Canning".  Although no "cans" are used in this process, this method used heat to to cook and hermetically seal the food in glass jars.  The nice thing about this process is that there are hundreds if not thousands of different recipes available for delicious preserves like Salsa, Chili Sauce and plain pickling to name a few.  This give variety over simply preserving each produce individually like the next two food preservation methods.

Dehydration is another time honored technique.  Dehydration removes the foods natural water content by up to 95% which basically stops the growth of bacteria and spoilage.  Preserving peppers this way is great and will provide you with fresh tasting peppers for soups and sauces.  Dehydrators have come way down in price and if you do a quick search you can find different technics in the Internet to sun dry.  Dehydrated preserves have an advantage over other preserving methods since it allows you to store your newly preserved vegetables in bulk and use in various quantities.  Only caviate is you absolutely need to keep dehydrated preserves dry.  Moister is the enemy using this method.

Freezing is another popular preservation method for vegetables.  This obviously delays spoilage and decomposition by extreme cold.  Freezing is quick and easy.  You can chop up your onions or wax beans for example, place them in a freezer bag, take out all the air you can and place it in your freezer or deep freeze.  When thawed, frozen vegetables will be limp and soggy but they will tast nice and fresh steamed or cooked in a sauce.  As with Canning, freezing as a food preservation method will require planning out the portions based on its intended use.  Once the vegetables are thawed they should never be frozen again.

All three preservation methods require specific preparation steps and packaging.  They each have their pros and cons, but the one thing they all have in common is they will allow you to enjoy your vegetable garden will into the winter months while dreaming of next years harvest!

Keep It Green!

Companion planting is the art of combining vegetables and plants that are mutually beneficial to each other.  For example, you can plant pole beans with corn to give the beans a natural trellis.  You can plant different herbs or edible plants as a natural pest repelant.  Of course you can't just throw just any plant together, so planning is key.

Native Americans planted "Three Sisters" which is corn, beans and squash which is a great time honored example of companionship gardening.  The beans use the corn as a natural trellis and the squash use the shade of the corn and beans.  Corn and lettus are also a good combination as the corn lends shad to the lettuce.  Examples of natural pest repelant companions are onions, marigolds, mint and sweet basil.  These examples have properties that either repel or lure away harmful insects from your garden. 

Research is obviously key and we will be picking up a couple of books this winter to help plan our garden for next season.  There are two books that come highly recommended and which we will do a review on after we read through them: Carrots Love Tomatoes and Great Garden Companion.  There is plenty of information out there on the Internet and forums as well. 

Our challenge is to find the best companions for our climate.  Although staples such as the "Three Sisters" can be grown in our Eastern Canadian climate, we want to expirement with other mixes.  Here are some ideas we have:

• Basil: Will plant to help repel flies and mosquitos as well as improve our Tomatos
• Sunflowers: Will plant to bring shade for beans and potatoes as well as attact birds and bees for pollination
• Corn: Will be planting with beans and squash
• Horseraddish: Will plant to deter potato beetle
• Marigold: Will plant as a natural pest repelant
• Onions: Will plant to protect against ants and slugs

These are just a few ideas and I'm sure they will change or become more elaborate as we research and put down our garden plan to paper for next season.  The key is how to put things together which is where your garden plan comes in.  Take the time to properly plan out your garden as noted in Garden Planning Helps.

Keep It Green!

During a visit with my wife's grand parents, who have lived in the country all their lives, I was reminded at how life was lived not too long ago.  At 80+ years old, they were still picking apples from their apple trees, proudly displayed cherry trees and even offered some seedlings for our Urban Homestead.  Their vegetable garden growing Canadian staples such as Green Beans, Corn and Potatoes looked great surrounded by gooseberries and raspberries bushes.  A quick visit in the root cellar to raid their canning shelf really brought the message back home... you can grow a great abundance of your own food!

The first step in moving towards a more self sufficient lifestyle is to start a vegetable garden.  Starting slow and working at your own pace.  The problem is the world got itself is such a hurry that it forgot the road from whence it came.

As first time gardeners, the key is to start slow.  Do not overwhelm yourself by turning your entire backyard into one huge garden, you will be wrought with disappointment.  There is a learning curve.  Take your time and get a good understanding of what works and what doesn't.  Here's a few ideas to get started...

Start small.  A raised bed garden four feet by eight feet would be sufficient. Start with two of them if you are ambitious.  You can mark off a section of your yard for feet by 12 feet if raised beds are not for you.  You can buy some peat moss and some composted manure to help the health of your soil as well.  Check your local gardening store for soil tests and take appropriate guided action.

Vegetable selection.  Again ask your neighbours or your local gardening store for vegetables that are easy to grow in your area.  In Eastern Canada these are Green Beans, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Onions, Green Peppers, Carrots and Potatoes to name a few.  Green Beans are great and the easiest to preserve by canning, same with Tomatoes.

Preserving yield.  There are many methods to preserve your crop to last you well into the winter.  Canning and freezing being the most prevalent.  You can also dehydrate some vegetables as well.  Being your first few years, you will most likely not have much to preserve and will most likely eating and sharing.  Once you know what and how to grow, as well as how much yield per crop to expect, you can expand your vegetable garden and plan your preservatives to hold you over winter.

If anything at all, gardening brings a sense of community as you share and learn knowledge and produce with your friends and neighbours.  Even though this is being written at the end of the this years growing season, that only means that next years planning is ready to start.  Keep tuned for tips on fall garden prep and cleanup as well as next season planning.

Keep it Green!

If you live in a region with cold winters, you probably spent some cold days and nights dreaming of gardening or planning out next seasons garden plot. Rest assured you can still grow fresh lettuce, spinach, radishes, onions and more if you build a Cold Frame for your winter garden.

Cold Frame gardens are very easy to build and even better can be built with 100% recycled materials. All you need is an old window sash or aluminum, glass door frame. You can use fiberglass, polyethylene or other transparent material is glass is not readily available. Build a frame according to the dimensions of the window sash or other material you decided to recycle and use. Ideal dimensions would be approximately 18 inches at the back and 12 at the front to provide a good angle facing the sun and rain/snow drain off.

There are two ways to setup your cold frame garden: above ground or partially below ground. Insulating factors will be much better if the Cold Frame is partially below ground. Like Solar Panels, Cold Frame bins should face south for maximum sunlight exposure and have at least a 10 percent angle to make the most of the limited sunlight in northern regions.

If the weather gets extremely cold, say low twenties, it would be best to cover the Cold Frame in burlap or moving blankets for protection. You can also add a heating cable, the same kind you wrap around water pipes to keep them from freezing. Warm weather days are just as crucial to keeping your garden in top shape. You will have to monitor and open the top glass hatch to allow proper ventilation. Don't forget to water ;o)

The best veggies to grow are lettuce, radishes, chard and green onions. You can also try small carrots and other greens. What you can grow in your Cold Frame will depend on your local weather. We will build and chronicle the success of 2 Cold Frame plantations over the fall and winter to see what we can grow. Hopefully we can harvest enough for a nice fresh winter salad!

Keep it Green!

Before you start digging up your backyard to plant your garden, a plan should be made to ensure the best use of your available land and effective selection of vegetables and plants to get the most of your garden layout. The first thing to do is decide how much space you can dedicate to your garden plans. This choice is based on both the amount of yard you want to give up as well as the amount of space required by your selected crops. These two work hand in hand. If you are planning to grow a lot of large vegetables, your garden layout needs to reflect that.

The best way to start your garden is to take measurements of your backyard, decide on the crops you wish to grow and draw out your plans on paper. This will help while planting your garden as well as selecting the best logical location for your items such as compost bin, crops proximity to rain catcher and potting shed or green house if you have one.

Garden Plan

If you decide to change your crop or add anything to your plans, this is normal and at least you will have your general layout, look and feel. Adjustments can always be made as your plans are not set in stone. Having a fluid, functional garden is what you want, not chaos. So take your time in planning and research the space required for the yield of crop you wish to harvest.

Some of the other things to consider when laying out your vegetable garden plans include:

• Do you have pets that will be running around the yard? If so, think about fencing your garden off or planning your garden layout so they can't run through your freshly-planted crops.

• The same goes for children. If your kids are playing soccer or baseball in the backyard, you don't want them running through your garden.

• Think about how much time you have to water and maintain your garden. Don't plant an entire field of vegetables if you can only spend hour working on it every couple of days.

• Think about where your water faucets, or even better, the location of your rain catchers. You'll need to water your garden regularly, so it should be somewhere that is within reach of your hose.

These tips are just a primer of some things you need to keep in mind before jumping into planting your vegetable garden. Remember planning makes perfect and the same for your garden. Hopefully it is where you will be spending lots of time so make it functional.

Most of all have fun... Keep it Green!