Non-Canning Preserving Options

Spring is always a big time for my garden.  I enjoy cool-weather herbs and vegetables, and they grow well in my climate because it's such a long season, from November to May.  The parsley I was growing for Passover will now last me the whole year.  I'm having trouble unloading the oregano the same way people try to foist off extra zucchini.

The trick is to preserve whatever I can't use or give away.  The boss who took my extra kale transferred out last year.  I had to toss a lot of it over the winter, but the heat waves killed all the bugs and it is thriving again.  I chopped up and froze a gallon bag of very clean leaves.  It's the less pretty ones I dehydrate.

The heat wave also made the artichokes bloom a little early.  Not very many of them this year, but they all threatened to bloom at the same time.  Simmered up a round of the largest to save just the hearts.  The next dozen, I kept more of the leaves to do quarters later.  Both baggies are in the freezer.  I don't think the last batch is going to amount to much.

Last up for freezer day was making lemon ice cubes out of the other half of the lemon I used to prevent the artichokes from browning.  Any time I need a bit of juice in a recipe, I can toss in a cube or two instead of bringing in a whole lemon.

The next week was dehydrating.  My green onions got out of control again, and I was missing having dehydrated green onion on hand.  Just two of the giant onions dried up into over half a cup.  When I'm ready to use my leeks, I may try to dry those leaves.  Either that, or they'll go in the broth bag.

My calendula are finally blooming, so I'm drying the flowers to use later in teas.  Half a day in the oven on the dehydrator setting took care of it, and got rid of the onion smell.  I planted them to heal the soil and to harvest the flowers.  Judging by how well the kale is doing, mission accomplished.  I should be able to plant nematode-susceptible plants next year.

I did hang the oregano to dry naturally, instead of forcing things in the dehydrator.  There is so much of it, way more than I thought I could grow.  Maybe I'll tie some up to dry as decoration, or give it away as party favors.  Leave it in a basket in the driveway with a "free" sign.  I mean, there's a lot.

Part of growing your own produce is being responsible for it.  Eat what you can fresh, give some away, or preserve it for later.  Freezing and dehydrating are the easiest and safest methods.  They don't necessarily require special equipment, if your oven has a dehydrator setting like mine does.  "Putting up" doesn't have to mean canning.