5 Essential Vegetables to Grow to Fill the Freezer and 1 Not to Grow!

5 Essential Vegetables to Grow to Fill the Freezer and 1 Not to Grow!
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Byther Farm is a small organic homestead, being designed and managed using permaculture practices. We aim for self-sufficiency in fruit and vegetables for increased self reliance and better resilience to the modern world. I recognise that we are unlikely to be truly self sufficient, but do the best we can. I share our home with my loving husband, Mr J and our cat, Monty.
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[@LizZorab]

If you've enjoyed this video, please share it with your friends and on social media. And, don't forget to comment with a list of your 5 essential veg for the freezer!

[@conniedavidson1807]

I know you've already mentioned tomatoes but what I like to do is cut up onions, tomatoes, and sweet peppers (or pepper of choice) and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes, then freeze together in pint size bags. Now you have something to throw into spaghetti, chili, soups, stir fry ...quick and easy.

[@mirelapuscas7952]

@@Noooodle816 hello. How do you ferment tomatoes?

[@sabrinaknapp256]

I love to blanch and freeze chopped greens - mostly kale and swiss chard and then I squeeze them into nests and sheet freeze these to package in ziplocks. I freeze a lot of our garden but I find that these bundles of greens and the blanched sliced carrots get used the fastest in winter meals. Freezing really makes sense for those of us in Alaska because most of the year there is no cost to keeping them frozen!

[@ruthohare9840]

An odd one maybe but I freeze excess watermelon. Blended up with fruit juice it makes lovely slushies.

[@user-gp6gt3cy9i]

I pick zucchini small to make breads and muffins and freeze those. Parsley - freeze whole leaves flat, break off a chunk to chop and add to soups, stews, etc. I cook and freeze a soup base with cabbage, onion, garlic, carrot, zucchini, beans - whatever we have a lot of. In the winter, I just have to add meat or dried beans. Pumpkin/squash puree but only after it's spent a long time in the basement and looks like it needs to be used. Peppers of any kind!

[@lunareckless8802]

The main ones I fill my freezer with are strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, pumpkin, butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, runner beans (chopped up still in the pods), French beans, onions, and minced garlic. I will cook up and a batch of stewed apples with any bruised fruit for making pie or crumble too. I really wish I had both the garden and freezer space to be able to get enough to last me until the next years harvest but realistically I only get enough to last to around January and then have a few months of buying everything in before I can harvest the next years goodies. If I ever manage to get an allotment I will invest in an extra chest freezer for storage to make the most of growing my own food.

[@prunechat8401]

Love this video! We only have a tiny garden but still produce mountains of tomatoes, capsicums and chillies for the freezer. One thing that I recently discovered is that skin comes away easily once a frozen tomato starts to defrost, no blanching required as when fresh. Sugar snaps here are also lucky if they make it into the house, let alone the freezer! Thanks for all of the advice in your films, delighted to be a subscriber 😀

[@LizZorab]

Aw thank you!

[@suelalama3976]

I started freezing mixed greens a couple of years ago. Kale, Swiss chard, lambs quarters get washed, rough chopped, mixed thoroughly, blanched quickly to bright green, drained then frozen in 2 portion amounts. Sometimes beet greens, cabbage leaves, dandelion are added, whatever is readily abundant. They get used in soups, stews or sometimes just cooked with onions and garlic over brown rice.

[@sasquaatch6889]

My fennel bolted last year so I made a Moroccan-spiced tomato & fennel soup (my favourite) & froze it in portions. The remainder of my tomato glut was cooked, puréed & frozen to add to soups & stews. Other veggies (chard, onions, beans, etc) were made into soups before freezing, making lots of ‘ready meals’ that just need heating up ❤️

[@emilybh6255]

I eat sweet corn raw! It is wonderful cut off the cob mixed with tomatoes and lots of fresh basil leaves with unprocessed apple cider vinegar and good olive oil and salt and pepper for dressing and maybe some red onions chopped finely and a clove of garlic. Since having it raw, I've never bothered to cook it. It is so fresh, crunchy and juicy when it is fresh off the cob (uncooked). It doesn't get that starchy consistency and it has 5x the flavor.

[@rubygray7749]

I eat it raw standing in the garden! As I do with peas and asparagus, radishes and carrots.

[@lorraineowen7978]

I freeze Tomatoes, Garlic, Onions and Onion tops for pesto, Carrots, Greek Gigantes, Leeks, Potatoes. I find freezing some of my veg is great for soups or sauces really. I also really like to ferment a lot of my veg & Tomatoes too. It's a game changer for me and good for your Gut health, also it will store for winter. My favourite has to be red cabbage&beetroot&garlic.. 😊😋

[@karenwright2444]

Herbs and flavours, couldn't live without them ..... to name a few ...... Frozen - mint, chives, parsley, celery leaf, coriander, green coriander seeds, chillies, lemon grass, basil, thai basil, dill Dried - oregano, thyme, rosemary powder, tarragon, sage, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, nigella seeds, savory Love love love the punch of flavour in the winter!

[@psisky]

I tried 'canning' tomatoes last year , just using old jars. They were a hit. Ate the last of them in Feb. Still fresh.

[@LizZorab]

Food for canning will come in a different video. This one was specifically for those who freeze rather than can.

[@psisky]

@@LizZorab Excellent. Look forward to that one. Should have mentioned I love freezing my onions. It's so handy getting them out of the bag instead of repeat chopping. We eat a lot of them..

[@shelleygoetchius231]

I freeze beans, pumpkin purée, zucchini, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower.

[@tonycronin4009]

Thats one of the most helpfull vids you have done liz...

[@mekashealingjourney]

I love this i wish I could grow such a large red cabbage I’m doing the red acre too. I find I struggle with freezer space so I dehydrate most soft fruits. I roast and freeze some pumpkins and this year I want to blanch and freeze as much leafy greens as I can for my smoothies.

[@sweethometreasures]

How have I never thought to freeze tomatoes?! Thank you Liz!

[@LizZorab]

The one that truly blew my mind was when I first batch cooked baked potatoes (in their jackets), let them cool and then put them into a bag in the freezer. 8 minutes in the microwave and you have that slow baked flavour for a quick meal when you don't have time to cook from scratch!

[@theresawillett9780]

Couldn't find Greek gigantes in the USA so I ordered the dried beans for cooking on Amazon a few years ago. I now have an abundant crop of GG every year.

[@theladysgardenandhome]

I think my 5 favorites from the garden to freeze are tomatoes, peppers, carrots, celery and onions. But I'll basically freeze everything. I find it so convenient when cooking.

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

i find frozen peppers very very useful to have in the winter!

[@andreat9847]

Your braised cabbage sounds delicious! My garden is small so my list is short, hot peppers, tomatoes and green beans. Sometimes I also have extra kale and swiss chard. I freeze the peppers whole. The green veggies get blanched and frozen. I cook tomatoes into dishes like chili and tomato sauce and freeze those, or freeze cherry tomatoes whole. It's all so tasty!

[@christine6878]

I freeze parsnips at the end of winter , no prep needed other than peeling and cutting into the sizes you prefer. They’re ideal for a roast dinner cooked direct from frozen in the roasting tray or in spicy soups, delicious added to carrots with a bit of chilli….filling and healthy.

[@rosemaryogilvie6842]

I freeze peas, broadbeans, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, onions, cooked beetroot (for soups), asparagus (again for winter soups), zucchini, tomatoes, plums, appless, blackberries, mandarins, pureed pumpkin flesh sometimes, mangoes and pineapples (bought in season) and Seville orange juice for a pumpkin soup I make.

[@LivingwithBIGdogs]

I never thought about freezing tomatoes! Thank you ❤

[@hikerlindacanadianrockies8478]

After borrowing Grounded twice from the library, I decided to just buy both your books, as I enjoy them so much. I'm currently reading The Seasoned Gardener, and very much enjoying it!

[@LizZorab]

Thank you so much! I'm thrilled to read that you've bought both books - that's made my day!

I freeze shredded zucchini in smaller bags (1.5 cup) ... It's great for baking and cooking as well.

[@newkekarmyreee4788]

Beans, fruit, carrot, swede, strawberry and chocolate lollies.

[@LizZorab]

I like chocolate lollies too - if only I knew how to grow them in the garden!

[@evafredriksson-lidsle4909]

I froze in tons of zucchini last year and will do that again. It grows so fast and I throw it in morning smoothies. All kinds of cabbage/kale/broccoli fill my garden this year, I so appreciate them and the abundance they provide. Also easy to find ways to store/preserve them. Beans struggle to have time maturing here, so they're not a staple for me. Root crops, beetroot is my favourite, it's sooo delicious! I do grow tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, but so far I haven't had enough to freeze any. The perennial fruit and berries make up the bulk of what I freeze. Will try out some sugar free jam this year, to free up some freezer space. Hoping to get tons of pumpkins as storing them is so easy. They will mostly go to the chickens and goats, though 😅.

[@eileenmcglade682]

In the spring, the remainder of a great onion crop all was sprouting. I chopped, and fried the lot over a day or two with some olive oil, fresh green garlic, black pepper, and portioned into ziploc bags, to add as required to various dinners or just on their own . Delicious

[@joannewolfe5688]

I've never heard of anyone not liking fresh sliced tomatoes! Some people eat them with cream and sugar: I eat them lightly salted. In the USA, the main reason people grow tomatoes is for the fresh sweet juicy succulence you cannot buy in the store! I grow tomatoes to eat fresh and to can -- both whole peeled and sauced. I've never frozen tomatoes and probably never will, as I have limited freezer space and do not think I would like the mushy result. I do freeze snow peas: the secret is to harvest VERY young and tender pods, and then stir-fry the frozen peas without defrosting. The variety is important as well. I like the Carouby snow pea, a French variety that has amazingly lovely two-tone purple flowers and very tender pods. Amazing eaten fresh in salads! The only veg I freeze are chopped onions and (blanched) snow peas. I pressure can all other veg that I don't eat fresh. I store cabbages all winter to eat fresh.

[@lewisgardner1660]

Thank you for video We freeze courgette we cut it into thick slices of about 1cm freeze on a tray, they cook in a hot pan right from freezer and we dehydrate them,we pan roast some potatoes then freeze, swede and butternut freeze well, we don’t freeze leeks or onions as they taint the other foods in freezer. We freeze rhubarb after stewing but this year we are making rhubarb cordial, we freeze tomatoes we grow Roma as we find they freeze better, we also dehydrate them and use in stews or make tomato powder. We freeze bell peppers they are nice in stews. This year we are growing celiac and will try to freeze that as well.

[@bewoodford2807]

I adore beetroot and particularly love beetroot crisps, which i haven't mastered the art of making as yet. Really need to find a good, failsafe method for making them. Currently i buy commercially made beetroot crisps but would much prefer to use my lovely organic home grown roots. Great vlog Liz. Thank you :-) xx

[@stacyk.3402]

We freeze tomatoes to make sauce in the fall. Sliced peppers and onions to use in dishes. We freeze goumi, currants, raspberries, alpine strawberries, and Nanking cherries so later we can make and can jam, jellies and juice.

[@sowgrowandcook]

I love freezing chopped leeks to have on hand for quick soup making. Fresh, soft herbs are also good, especially coriander and dill. When I have a rare glut of cauliflower or calabrese, I’ll blanch and freeze those too. I agree that snow/sugar snap/ mangetout peas lose their loveliness once frozen- so do runner beans.

[@LizZorab]

Ooh, I've been trying to get in touch with you today. I'll give a call again tomorrow for a catch up.

[@melissapollard5447]

Zucchini (shredded and squeezed in a tea towel to remove excess moisture), corn, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and a combination of tomatoes, shredded zucchini, onion and garlic cooked in the slow cooker and frozen in portions as pasta / pizza sauce base. We also freeze masses of soft fruit and rhubarb from our garden either as is, stewed for quick winter crumble filling or churned into ice cream if we’ve got excess milk/cream. I dry my winter beans instead of cooking and freezing. This year I’ve got jars of scarlet runner and the white bean seeds from blue lake runner beans, but my borlotti were a bit of a fail. Here in Tasmania it’s the winter solstice today and I fully expect to be feeding us completely from our freezer and larder right through until we start summer harvesting. Plus, we still have a constant harvest of winter greens, radish, Japanese turnips, brassicas and potatoes that I planted late into pots. Temperature was -3C yesterday morning. Brrrr.

[@fordtelly6573]

Well done. Very inspiring!

[@LizZorab]

Brrr, that sounds chilly! I hope your spring weather isn't too far away!

[@angelabyrne154]

Nothing to do with freezing, but you’ve given me the impetus to try beetroot again. Like you, I remember the vinegary beetroot from my childhood and as I can’t stand vinegar it has always put me off beetroot. I do have to admit the way you described roasting them made my mouth saliva.

[@andreahorsch286]

We freeze sautéed mushroom, chopped hot peppers, basil, tomato puree, geeen beans, and chopped zucchini

[@TomTom-df9ph]

This video is great as you’ve given us your ideas as well as the ones commenting. Thanks Liz.

[@plot1895]

Tomato sauces, soups etc., but perhaps I’ll freeze some uncooked this year, especially if I’m short on time when they’re ready. Blackcurrants, gooseberries, Victoria plums, apples, onions that have gone to seed, broad beans (hopefully Gigantes this year), blueberries ( if we haven’t eaten them all), damsons. In the freezer now I still have some roasted winter squash. Whilst we prefer green vegetables fresh, I do freeze them if there’s too much or in prepared meals. An absolute delight this year has been fruit every morning with porridge.

[@petewestlake8564]

I harvested strawberries last week due to a recent dietary restriction I can’t eat raw fruit currently, so into the freezer they went ready to make jam or a strawberry pie.

[@jacquelinewhittaker4651]

We freeze sweetcorn, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes and also ratatouille, curried broad beans and French beans,

[@hollydimig3998]

Love this video. Thanks for the practical tips.

[@LizZorab]

Glad it was helpful! 💚

[@roseericson3828]

Hey Liz, I love your garden it’s beautiful. I just wanted to add a couple of things and one suggestion. We love a certain pepper, it is from Ukraine, it’s called a Lesya pepper. 4 plants is enough to give us stuffed peppers into early spring. The pepper is really sweet and smells the whole house with a beautiful peppery smell. They freeze really well. We also do similar with a mild jalapeño. We cut them in half stuff with cream cheese and wrap with bacon, they go into the freezer on a sheet and when frozen go into bags. We also had these all the way to May this year. Super yummy. Also, we freeze out Tomatoes, but we always freeze them whole. When I want to use one to make a sauce or add flavor to a dish I turn on the hot water put on thick rubber gloves and put the tomato under the hot stream. Then I simply grab and twist. The skin comes off whole and I hav a perfectly frozen ball of delishessness. Just ear marked your new book. I will order it on Thursday. It is the perfect gift for my friend who is a master gardener. (One for me too!!!!! ) cheers Rose

[@LizZorab]

Thanks for the suggestions Rose, I'm sure that those who eat peppers will be glad of the reminder!

[@bethanskitchengarden]

Great video Liz, loved a nose in your freezer. I too freeze loads of fruit for wine making and I freeze anything really except green beans, runner beans and sugar snaps. Take care 😊

[@dianecharles881]

I freeze bell peppers, kale that I usually cook and season prior to freezing, the others were pretty much what you stated except the cabbage. Which by the way your cabbage was beautiful!

[@sarahhutt1059]

I'm trying you suggestion of freezing the cherry tomatoes now but I also trying for the first time this year freezing yellow squash, grated up and put in 1 person portions.

[@joannabrown4238]

I like to freeze tomatoes, beans, chopped up pumpkin for cooking, I have frozen fruits such as mulberries, mango and rosella's. Mulberries work well for use later on. I have tried freezing broccoli and cauliflower but it's just not the same. Your cabbage sounds lovely, I'd like to try that. I have just discovered a love of beetroot roasted, I always thought of it for pickling then decided the other day to thin them out a bit and popped some of the smaller ones in the oven, we enjoyed it very much.

[@susannebecker6027]

Beetroots are one of my favorite vegetables, but I've never heard of freezing them. Therefore: Thank you soooo much for the tip, I will definitely try it out this year! My top 5 favorite garden items to freeze are peas, green beans, a soup mix (celery, carrots, peas, green beans, leek), tomatoes and plums.

[@susannebecker6027]

Try to use the frozen snow peas as you have described it for the frozen beetroots: put them directly from the freezer in a hot pan with some oil. I add some sliced onions, garlic and honey and fry them until the honey and onions are slightly caramelized. I never felt that they have a different texture when prepared this way.

[@jacquelinewhittaker4651]

We pressure cook the beetroot, slice it, and bag it up in freezer bags. Partially defrosting it in the recent hot weather made beetroot ices.

[@juliacyrzan1751]

Great video Liz! I love freezing herbs, soft fruit, broad beans and pumpkin pure :) im gonna try your tips! Thanks

[@robinmiller1783]

I freeze beets and beet purée, many soups like cream of celery, borscht, tomato etc. I roast toms, onion and garlic then freeze. I freeze all the berries we don’t eat fresh or make into jam. Green beans, borlotto beans and I blanch spinach and kale for soups later on.

[@lorrainerichardson3280]

Pumpkin puree extremely good for soups and some vege based dishes. Tomato puree, green beans, soft fruit, corn and spinach. =-)

[@frankmaruca3703]

Leeks for soups and stir fry’s all winter long delicious

[@dn744]

Amazing cabbage 😊

[@LizZorab]

Thank you 😋

[@samhaynes2]

Amazing video the colours seemed to really pop in this.

[@LizZorab]

I started to film this at 7.15am when the light over the garden was really lovely and then there was also some adjusting done in the editing process! 😉

[@midgepark4042]

the top of my list is broad beans,,, where I live the only way I find them in the stores is canned ,,, much prefer fresh or frozen... second tomatoes ,next runner beans, frenched then blanched,,, a number of othe things I store in my basement ,,, potatoes, garlic and butternut squash and this year , fingers crossed pumpkins... also if I have extra zucchini , I cook it to a mush , then freeze portions... great for making soups and pasta sauces in the winter

[@JBNat]

Just a brilliant brilliant video Liz

[@LizZorab]

Thank you so much 💚

[@jeannereimonn560]

Great advice. Thank you

[@LizZorab]

You are so welcome!

[@lynnpurfield9430]

I have to keep a kg of strawberries for Christmas to make a preserve for scones with clotted cream as a reminder of summer. I have to freeze pumpkin pulp for Christmas and winter to mix with condensed milk and eggs with pumpkin spice to make pumpkin pie for an alternative Christmas pudding. I have to freeze the blackberries and blackcurrants to make jam for winter toast and ice cream treats. I have to freeze toms for water bathing sauces when there is time in autumn and winter. I won't be freezing runners, french beans or courgettes and Tromboncinos any longer cos they turn out yuck!!

[@LizZorab]

I agree courgettes and similar are mushy after freezing - some things are better eaten fresh and in season!

[@suadikom7905]

I really want to plant it here🙏🏼

[@nadenegordon7639]

Beautiful cabbage 👏

[@LizZorab]

Thank you so much

[@stevendowden2579]

nice video liz

[@LizZorab]

Thanks Steven, I'll be focusing on veg for a little while, although I'm sure the roses will get a look in too!

[@pennythompson4790]

I'm growing loads of beans & tomatoes to freezex

[@jacquelinewhittaker4651]

French Beans go wiggly after freezing them raw. We do dry the pods and save the surplus for sowing the subsequent year ...either to eat, or as a green manure.

[@rubygray7749]

I would never freeze food again, after two experiences with losing an entire chest freezer of valuable home grown organic veg, fruit, chicken and meats, when I was away and the freezer was inadvertently turned off. I have always preserved many fruits in bottles by waterbathing, but to replace the freezer option, I bought a pressure canner. Now, one input of energy for a couple of hours, preserves any non-acid food in attractive form indefinitely. No rummaging through unrecognizable long forgotten, out of date mystery parcels in the depths of the freezer.

[@LizZorab]

I do can some foods, but I just don't like the texture of the results.

[@rubygray7749]

@@LizZorab It's great that there are so many options for preserving the bountiful harvests we can grow. Being off grid now, bottling all classes of food is the only choice for me, until I build that solar dehydrator I have plans for. Or salting green beans is another long-term solution.

[@user-lr2wl5sp1b]

I’ve water bath canned tomatoes, which worked great and would like to pressure can but in the UK it’s quite difficult/expensive to source pressure canners and there isn’t a tradition/ big community to tap into when getting started. I’ve often wished the insta pot max was available in a version suitable for use on the UK electricity voltage because from the Rose Red homestead vids that looks like an easy place to start, but sadly the company don’t do one.

[@giovannigaleazzi428]

La numero 1!!!

[@rosemaryogilvie6842]

I freeze tomatoes for winter too! I don’t really like raw tomatoes, much prefer them in a delicious soup.

[@jayneofalltrades3129]

I'm hoping to not have to freeze too much this year as I got a pressure scanner !say year! However, chopped leeks are usueful, along with any root veg I manage that are all twisty: they are prefect for the s!ow cooker. I'm also going to attempt to open freeze courgette this year: we use to many in bowl food in hoping to cut our costs! French beans if I get a good harvest will also be going in, along with any onions that do manage drying: they're going to be chipped and frozen too. Canning is hopefully going to take care of my tomatoes for me. We use so much chopped tomatoes I have 40 tom plants in the ground already... here's hoping for this year's harvest!

[@tonipidsadnick5149]

Wow Liz - I've never heard of those Greek Giganis runner beans! I'm in Canada and I can't find any supplier that has them in stock, but I'm going to jump on them as soon as they come in again. Our favorite freezables are - 1. tomatoes (mostly to can later, in the winter when I don't mind heating up the kitchen) 2. green peppers (hubby makes 40-50 stuffed peppers in the fall which we freeze whole), 3. mixed sweet peppers diced and flash frozen (for fajitas and other dishes) 4. rhubarb (for later muffins and jam) 5. shredded zucchini. Garlic greens, scapes, herbs and tomatoes are also dehydrated. Mostly everything else is canned. QUESTION PLEASE: Around 7:47 and 9:08 you are in front of your pea patch - what are those cranberry red single blossom flowers with the wiry-looking stems in the foreground please? They look like a cross between poppies, scabiosa and peonies. They're glorious! Thanks so much for such a great video. I love the way you garden with mixes of this and that - stunning! Best wishes!

[@LizZorab]

Hiya, the flowers are gorgeous aren't they? They are Knautia macedonica. They are a super perennial that forms an untidy clump of leaves with these fabulous flowers held on wiry stems above the foliage. They come in a few different shades of pink, but this deep pink is the most common.

[@tonipidsadnick5149]

@@LizZorab Thanks so much! I will definitely get some of those seeds!

[@Alison-hc1sd]

Quick question, how long do you boil your fresh Gigantes beans for until they are cooked? Also do you dry them as well as freeze them? Thanks for the great videos, would like to see more on storing crops and maybe recipe ideas too!😀

[@LizZorab]

Depends on their size. 6 to 10 minutes I'd guess. I don't dry them except for the ones I'm saving as seeds. I'm rubbish at remembering to soak beans so they just don't get used.

[@MyFantasyHomestead]

Lovely video, and you have given me ideas about how to cook the cabbages that are growing in my allotment at the moment! My favourite veg to freeze would be tomatoes, last year I managed to freeze 30kg... 💚

[@LizZorab]

I show how I cook the red cabbage in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/l33RYnSBYq6gq8U

[@MyFantasyHomestead]

@@LizZorab Thank you so much 💚

[@jpennturner]

Despite repeated plantings beetroot has just not grown for me this year, usually easy we have no idea what is going on, different seed packs too.

[@janw491]

I’m just getting into canning as well as freezing

[@LizZorab]

I have a larder filled with pressure canned foods, but mostly I don't like the texture of canned fruit and veg, so I freeze more than can.

[@rogierdikkes]

Questions about tomatoes and freezing: Do you notice a taste difference between frozen and vacuum stored? Any variety tomato which is good? Notice any taste difference between fresh tomatoes made to sauce and frozen?

[@LizZorab]

I've never had a vacuum stored tomato, so can't help on that one. I think how we experience the taste of tomatoes varies for each person. It's best to explore with a few varieties and then make a note of the ones that you like the most.

[@amysinger2201]

thank you so much for this video! I found out this spring I'm allergic to nightshades, so what is a gardener to grow?!!?!! BEANS ;) I just discovered runner beans

[@emilybh6255]

You don't need tomatoes. Just use plenty of the alliums and other herbs and spices to make mouth watering dishes. Sweet potatoes, from the Morning Glory Family are exponentially better for you than white potatoes. So they are a good much more healthful substitute. I use them to make Samosa filling these days and freeze them in ramekins so I can defrost just enough to make a few servings using it to spread on or stuff whatever I feel like having.

[@hollyharbz5092]

Thanks Liz, I freeze broad beans, french beans, parsnips, carrots, onion greens, kale, herbs in cube trays or with butter, rhubarb, damsons/sloes, blackberries. If I wanted to freeze gigantes/borlottis would I need to blanche first ? I wish I could grow beets to freeze. Mine just end up like woody twigs!! Can I ask what the red flowers were as you were nearing the end of the passage from your book? They looked like scabious. Beautiful colour.

[@stshnie]

Hello. Liz has said in another comment: ‘They are Knautia macedonica. They are a super perennial that forms an untidy clump of leaves with these fabulous flowers held on wiry stems above the foliage. They come in a few different shades of pink, but this deep pink is the most common.’

[@hollyharbz5092]

@@stshnie Oh thankyou so much 😀

[@gardenfairygodmother1893]

Random question for you, what type of black pipe do you use for the raised bed hoops?

[@LizZorab]

MDPE piping that I scrounged from a building site. I asked and they gave, I didn't not help myself!

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

i love freezing veggies! how you getting on with the canning?

[@LizZorab]

I'm doing well with the canning. Less so with eating what I've canned as mostly I don't like the texture of it!

[@ThatBritishHomestead]

@@LizZorab yea! I know what you mean!

[@marykappesser5145]

I do not recommend freezing zucchini. It is mushy, watery mess. I like to chop and freeze onions and bell peppers, green, yellow, red and orange. It is simple process and makes using them in recipes a snap. Best to freeze them on a cookie sheet or plate and then scooping them up and putting them in a bag to freeze. ( or and you can washout and reuse your freezer bags. I do it all the time, except for ones that have had raw meat- those I discard)

[@rosemaryogilvie6842]

I grate zucchini, spread it out to dry between 2 tea towels and pack them in freezer bags. Perfect for winter soups.

[@lc2654]

I also freeze grated zucchini portioned for a zucchini muffin/bread recipe I like to make.

[@beccihayward975]

I add it to lots of dishes from frozen after it's been grated. It almost dissolves in chilli, Bolognese etc and the courgette haters in the family don't know it's there.

[@suadikom7905]

I ask your mother if it is possible to send blackcurrant stems to Indonesia?

[@LizZorab]

Sorry I can't ask my mother - she has been dead since 2012! And, it is not possible for me to send plant material to other countries.

[@suadikom7905]

@@LizZorab oh i am sorry🙏🏼🙇

[@dayafeickert6752]

Is it significantly harder to keep up with the bigger property? Is the climate changing causing issues as much there?

[@LizZorab]

Yes and no to the bigger property question. It is harder in some ways and in others it's easier. The changing climate means we are having to learn new timings for foods and to consider whether others are worth growing any more.