Tips for Harvesting and Preserving: Reaping the Harvest

Dehydrating weeds and herbs all spring and summer long is an annual task much appreciated when the fresh supply of them is gone. Gallons of sealed glass jars are stashed away with stinging nettle, dandelion greens, tulsi, oregano, thyme, rose petals, bee balm, yarrow, elderberry flowers, and peppermint.

When an abundant stand of mushrooms is found, try dehydrating the excess. When harvesting wild foods, always be sure that proper identification is confirmed by an expert source and always label the contents of those jars with name and date.

Some mushrooms will dehydrate well if simply left in a paper bag in the refrigerator. Once the water is removed, the dehydrated material may be stored in a sealed jar for a year or more, a most efficient method of storage.

Tips for Harvesting: Dehydrating & Using Crops

In the fall, after the plant energy has migrated to the roots for the winter, Joan and I put up root crops for the following year. We chop and dehydrate roots of dandelion, burdock, marshmallow, elecampane, astragals, ashwaganda, and yarrow. Or we make tinctures using organic vodka.

Tinctures, tonics, elixirs, syrups, and shrubs are all storage tools that are fun to make, taste great, and will constantly remind us of the warmer days of summer during the cold months around the corner. It is tough to beat the flavor of homemade fire cider. That elderberry syrup will help prevent any cold or flu from entering a household.

Preservation: Canning and Jarring

Canning tomatoes should be a national pastime—perhaps it once was! Is there anything better than homemade tomato sauce in the dead of winter?

Berries are frozen on cookie sheets, then transferred to glass jars and put into the freezer. Blueberries, raspberries, peaches, and black currantsare standard breakfast fare throughout the year. Eating high-quality berries—grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, or any other chemical additives—all year long brings a satisfaction that is difficult to explain.

We dehydrate pears and apples because they have a lower water content. Jams and jellies require such a lot of sugar that we tend not to go that route, but they sure do taste good.

Storing Crops: Garlic, Potatoes, and Carrots