The BEST Ways to Preserve Your Harvest

Preserving garden harvest is a great way to enjoy your harvest long after the garden fades at the end of the season. Gardener Scott discusses and shows 13 different ways to preserve fresh garden produce. (Video #398)
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Big water bath canner: amzn.to/3LlSpbd
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Harvest Right Freeze Dryers: affiliates.harvestright.com/1...
Some of the Gardener Scott Preservation videos:
"Canning Basics": • Canning Basics (to Pre...
"How to Make Garlic Powder": • How to Make Garlic Pow...
"How to Dry Herbs": • How to Dry Garden Herb...
"How to Make Old-Fashioned Pickles": • How to Make Old-Fashio...
"How to Ferment Beets": • Fermented Harvest - Ho...
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[@carolynstreet5325]

I love freeze-drying my herbs. They come out looking and smelling almost like fresh.

[@matthewfriday2979]

Fantastic tips Gardner Scott - I employ many of these techniques and there's certainly a reason they've been employed for, in many cases, hundreds of years. Fermentation might be my favorite, though I certainly can more than anything. It's hard to beat the satisfaction of looking at a shelf of things you've grown and preserved yourself, however they've been preserved. -Gardner Matt

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

I think one overlooked method is to give it away to neighbors, friends, and family. We even did this in the late spring with the surplus seedlings. I must have sowed hundreds of excess tomato seeds, thinking most of them were going to die anyway. When 90% of them ended up growing, we gave them away to friends. As for whether they knew how to properly care for tomato plants, that's a different story.

[@Jeff-rd6hb]

I do this too. Sharing your harvest is part of the joy of gardening. I've always got extra seedlings too, so those go to friends, family, neighbors, co-workers. I've made countless new gardeners over the years simply by giving away my extra plants.

[@brianseybert2189]

My free table next to the sidewalk is a neighborhood staple at this point. Everything disappears by the next day. I even put last years canned tomatoes out, giving myself shelf room for this years harvest. Just this morning a passerby thanked me for the head of celery she picked up last week. Giving back to the community is a big reason I garden in the first place.

[@FrozEnbyWolf150]

@@brianseybert2189 Just make sure they don't think you mean the table itself is free. I've heard stories where someone takes the table and leaves the produce behind.

[@brianseybert2189]

@@FrozEnbyWolf150 Last year a neighbor did ask if the table was for the taking. This year on the free table sign I added no pesticides and completely organically grown, hoping to avoid any confusion.

[@2BitRanch]

Pressure canning some chicken soup right now. Watching u while I monitor the gauge for 90 min :-)

[@Dot2TrotsLowCarbLiving]

My challenge is the size of my garden - 64 sq feet - that gets at most 8 hours of sun at the peak of summer. I just want to grow a little of everything not enough to preserve. But next year I'm planting potatoes in my 4x4 bed, 2 Roma tomatoes for Canning, pickling cucumbers & cabbage for fermenting and June bearing strawberries for jam.

[@kat6084]

I've gone through several vacuum sealers cuz I use them for so many things I wear them out!

[@mapofthesoultagme7143]

There are Saskatoon berries in many places in the city of Calgary, Canada. I pick them in summer, wash them then freeze them. I do the same with the raspberries I grew, wild raspberries in the forest nearby , and cherries from the community garden in my neighborhood

[@KPaul7]

Thank you Scott, all good things and your timing is great. Not for me this year but I will pass this on. Today I just bought 5 varieties of garlic. Garlic festival mystic Connecticut. Chesnok Red, Porcelain, Music, Turkish Red and German White. Now I have some reading and many videos of yours to watch.

[@smas3256]

You got my attention. Plans for them? Are you going to put some in the garden now or later? Just wondering. Dat a lot of garlic I never heard of.

[@amymorales4622]

When I was rearranging the freezer earlier today, I found some corn on the cob which I had vacuum sealed almost 10 years ago. It still looked good. I plan on giving it to the chickens, but I was glad to know that vacuum sealed and properly blanched vegetables could store well for so long.

[@carolclarkson4859]

Love to freeze dry our produce. Have tried some of the other methods, but this is our favorite.

[@rebeccasladky7678]

I love how much you stress to do things correctly and with the proper guidelines! I've seen so many videos where people can incorrectly meaning all they do is turn their jars upside down. Keep up the good work!!!

[@karenshields1878]

Absolutely great information

[@Jeff-rd6hb]

Great stuff, Scott!👍 I use most of these methods for various things. I probably use freezing/vacuum sealing the most (blanching when appropriate), but I also air-dry & dehydrate and I do a fair amount of canning. And when I grow way too much of something I just give it away, lol.

[@sarah_farm]

Bravo to you for pushing creative boundaries with your videos, my friend. It's clear that you have a passion for making unique and compelling content. And it's an honor to have you visit our channel, we can discuss more about our experiences in harvesting and building farms.

[@ImpatientGardenerOhio]

For drying herbs, I have had good luck with using an air fryer to dry basil leaves. 350° for about 3 mins. Then put them whole in a container. Crumble and use a bit at a time.

[@wudangmtn]

Great info. Thanks.👍

[@juliaryan1410]

Wow, I would never have thought of that whole list of ways to preserve. Thank you for preserving your knowledge in these videos.

[@heidiclark6612]

Thank You for some of the ways to preserve a harvest. Because of all your preservation video’s, you have inspired me to preserve my harvests starting last year.

[@LucretiaVanPelt]

Thank you for covering this topic! Excellent!

[@teetstreats5682]

I’ve been considering canning. I really like the way you explain the difference of pressure cooker canning and water bath canning. Thanks!

[@highlandscommunityclub1160]

Thank you, GS. I’ve been using these methods to preserve our harvest, all but immersion. I blanch beans then freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. After they’re frozen they go into a freezer bag. That way they don’t clump up. The salt method we use mainly for hot peppers. My husband was eating chilis he jarred up in rock salt for years! I finally made him a new batch this year with Thai chilies. I’m envious of your freeze dryer…

[@jaytoney3007]

I use the Ball Book of preservation for preserving, using the following methods, freezing, water bath canning (pickling, tomatoes, and jelly), pressure canning, and dehydration (herbs, fruit, tomatoes). I am looking into doing fermentation later this fall, or next spring. I have to study up on it first, and recently purchased the book, Fermented Vegetables.

[@TuttleScott]

a friends grandfather talked about sulphur apples he had as a kid. I'd never heard of such a thing till then.

[@marvinmulford2536]

I need more education on this

[@sarahkirbach5040]

Well between the last couple days I made a batch of tomato jam, batch of crushed tomatoes, 15 jars tomato juice - I’m just wishing my cucumber harvest was better bc I wanted so badly to make pickles 😢. But I’m thankful for what I have. Oh & have been dehydrating all types of tomatoes :)

[@ssfoste]

Nice videos thank you.

[@waynesell3681]

Thank you

[@TuttleScott]

when he holds up the bag of green stuff and you know he's going to say weed. and he does!

[@honestlynate7922]

I like your energy.

[@Horse237]

A 14th method would be to leave some crops like carrots in the ground over the winter. I have not done this myself but others have.

[@Randy_Smith]

I live in Indiana where we get some pretty cold winters and my father-in-law leaves carrots and parsnips in the ground every year until it looks like we are going to get our first long stretch of below freezing temps. Every year at Thanksgiving I help him go into the garden and help dig up carrots and parsnips for the meal. The way that the cold turns the the starches into sugars is really noticeable when you compare parsnips pulled in fall vs winter.

[@GardenerScott]

Good idea. I've harvested many root vegetables left in the ground until I was ready for them. Freezing can affect their texture so they're best harvested before the ground freezes.

[@ghostridergale]

It can be a full time job just preserving a harvest! Unfortunately with our health issues it’s not an easy chore for us to find time preserving things very much any more. If anything we get away with putting some things in the freezer and that’s about it. I have enough of a hard time just maintaining my property these days! Sure be nice to be young again! as Where the heck is that fountain of youth anyway? 😂

[@francesbatycki404]

The fountain of youth is somewhere in someone else’s garden.😅. But seriously, I feel your pain. Everything takes longer and seems more difficult.

[@midwestribeye7820]

Look for a younger person who wants to learn. They could help you in the garden and you could give them knowledge and food. I'm currently doing that right now. It's been great! Plus, I have a new amazing friendship.

[@francesbatycki404]

@@midwestribeye7820 - lol! I’m just learning, myself. I’m a late bloomer, no pun intended.

[@ghostridergale]

@@midwestribeye7820 unfortunately I’m not that lucky. I actually gave away a good $2500.00 in fruit, vegetables, and eggs last year to my neighbors. Now you think they be more then willing to help even if it was just a little. But oh no, ask them for any help their all too busy and don’t have the time to help anyone else. But they can call me when they need help moving something in their house and I’ve always ran right over to help them. My generosity and willingness to help others starting to come to a screeching halt I can tell ya though! I seem to find the ones that want everything for free and don’t think they have any obligations to return the favors. Let a neighbor borrow my brand spanking new chipper that I hadn’t even used myself yet. They used it for two weeks, by the time I got it back it was due for its first service. But the neighbors hands me back my 1 gal gas can they used filled back up and comments now were even! Sure be nice to use other peoples equipment for weeks on end and just refill gas you use and let the equipment owner pay for the maintenance on the machine you used for free! I can’t find those deals either! LOL Funny though, next time neighbors wanted to borrow my equipment. My $6,000.00 brand new feild and brush mower wanting to use it to mow his 5 acres. I wasn’t going to let him use it for free! But the second I said I’ll have to charge you for the use of my machine. Neighbor didn’t even give me a chance to give him a price. Neighbors says quickly oh well if your going to charge me forget it then and walked off! I call those kind of people USERS! I don’t want anything to do with them and they won’t be using my equipment or anything else for that matter again!

[@nancyarchibald9095]

I need a good way to preserve Summer Squash. Too bad we can't can it.

[@LucretiaVanPelt]

The best way I've found is to freeze it. I've shredded it and cut it into pieces. But, the end result is best added to stews, breads, soups or heated up as if you were boiling it for dinner veggies.

[@nancyarchibald9095]

@@LucretiaVanPelt - Thank you for sharing your ideas with me. I will get busy cutting up this summer squash for the freezer then. I still have some shredded up from last yr for quick bread. I won't be planting so much next year. Thx again.

[@nancyarchibald9095]

Do you recommend that I peel it first? Some skins are tougher.

[@LucretiaVanPelt]

@@nancyarchibald9095 I have peeled only when cooking them up, or use them for stuffed squash recipes. I'm not sure how mature, big, or seedy these summer squashes are. The skin is where the nutrients are. So, I guess it depends on your preference. I would shred these first, when freezing. Hope you're having a nice day!

[@jamingmike966]

awesome video and asw it looked like you had slicing size onions for sandwichs if you did how did you get them to grow tothat size ive tried alot to grow onions to that size but havent had any luck

[@GardenerScott]

Thanks. I started the onion seeds indoors in February and transplanted the seedlings into the garden in May. So they've been growing for a long time.

[@nicolehaley7723]

Can you share what size your hoop wires are you have on your raised beds and where you got them from? Thanks

[@GardenerScott]

I made all of my own hoops. This video shows how: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnnVpmebj65kjKM

[@stephenhope7319]

Some remarks regarding "storage" by any method. I grow too many tomatoes, I always do but I blanch and puree into sauce and freeze excess tomatoes during the season. That gives me enough sauce to last until the following May or June ( for chilli's and spaghettis, etc) when my next plants are fruiting. I have 2 refrigerators and that limits storage. I cannot reason why I would freeze anything beyond 7 months. Or store anything I grow beyond that timeline. I eat what I grow, squash, zucchini, and all my herbs etc within the grow season. I can grow again next season. Why would I store beyond next season? Why store something for 25 years ? Will I be here then?

[@highlandscommunityclub1160]

I preserve because I want to eat it AFTER the grow season. My harvest would definitely not fit in my freezer, so I employ canning and dehydrating, mostly. Dehydrating conserves a lot of space. I can pack about 10 dehydrated tomatoes into a pint jar. As for freeze drying, it preserves the flavor and texture really well. Yes it lasts 25 years, but certainly can be used before that. I would love a freeze dryer. I would make triple sized meals and freeze dry 2 meals for consuming later. Would be an efficient use of my time.

[@midwestribeye7820]

I am super sick right now. But, I was up until 2am snapping beans and just got done water bathing 12 quarts of tomatoes and dehydrating a gallon of cherry tomatoes. Gotta put on the big girl pants and get it done. Consequences don't care about your excuses.💪

[@francesbatycki404]

I freeze almost everything because I’m too old to handle hot jars. I have made my own tomato sauce but again, I freeze it. I’ve just purchased some food grade professional grade freezer bags from the Indoor Farmer, a great site for Canadian gardeners especially. 🇨🇦👍❤️❤️👍🪴🥕🍅🌱🥕 I’m also getting an upright freezer very soon because again, a chest freezer isn’t made for a short old lady. I have one but it’s very difficult to organize stuff and find stuff if one isn’t organized. Arghghghghgh! Lol!