If you are lucky enough to have a great crop of vegetables in your home garden this year, these 7 Things To Do With Excess Garden Produce will surely come in handy. Many things can be eaten, but there comes a point when you just have too much for your family to consume. Even if you choose to can or freeze your produce for later, you may have so much you don’t have time to manage all of it. These tips will help you to make sure that produce doesn’t go to waste.
7 Things To Do With Excess Garden Produce
Can or freeze for future use. This is the most popular and useful method of using excess garden produce. In fact, planting a large garden is all about taking advantage of the chance to provide your family with good food year round. Gardens give you the ability to store your own food cheaply and easily for use in off seasons. Here are tips for freezing produce and tips for canning produce .
Share with friends, family, or neighbors. Being generous with the abundance of produce you have is a great thing to do with excess garden produce. Friends and family will be happy to enjoy the fruits of your labor, and sharing with neighbors is a great way to build a healthy friendly relationship with them.
Sell in local farmers markets. If you have a significant amount of extra produce, you can set up a booth at your local farmers market to make a few extra dollars. This can be especially great if you have an organic garden. Organic locally grown produce sells out fast.
Donate to local soup kitchens and shelters. There are tons of local soup kitchens and shelters that feed hundreds or thousands of people each day. These locations can always use a little extra food donated, and having real, fresh produce on hand is a treat. You’ll know the excess produce is being used to help someone in need.
Make sauces, soups, and stews to freeze. Tomato sauce, pasta sauce, vegetable soups, and stews are all great items to can or freeze and use throughout the year. Things like salsa an chutneys or jams are also a great idea.
Dehydrate for veggie chips. Veggie chips are a wonderful health snack for your family to eat. Slice things like sweet potatoes, beets, zucchini, and squash super thin and dehydrate for delicious snacks on the go. Lightly season with your favorite blend of seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, or Parmesan. Here is more on drying produce that you can’t use right away.
Barter with it for other items you need. You can easily barter for things like babysitting, house cleaning, or even having your lawn mowed. Many people are happy to do something for you in exchange for your fresh garden produce.
You don’t have to see any of your hard work go to waste when you use these things to do with excess garden produce this summer.
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