AS I PLANT MY PARSLEY, PICK ASPARAGUS and get ready for tomato transplant time, it gets me thinking about tomorrow (as in “the offseason”) when my Northern garden doesn’t offer up so much food as it will the next few months. No worry, because I am a hoarder—of fresh garden and farmer’s-market produce (though not on sagging shelves like that 1940 Farm Security Administration slide, above!).
Plan now to grow, or acquire, enough for extended enjoyment, using my top 17 tips, and maybe using one of two four sets (update: response has been so huge I had to get more!) of six snazzy Weck canning jars (below) that I bought to share with you, too. Feeling lucky?
Details on the giveaway are down at the end, but first, a word about not just canning but also freezing in glass: You may recall that last year, with increasing evidence about how problematic plastic is in contact with foodstuffs, I shifted even more of my storage containers to Ball jars and Pyrex containers and such.
This year, I’m investing in getting rid of the rest, so the tips list starts with that subject.
17 Tips for Canning and FreezingWhy I’m not just canning, but also freezing in glass: It’s about mounting evidence on the dangers of Bisphenol A (BPA). And glass is just great.
A year of parsley, in freezer “logs,” or… …a year of most any green herbs in green ice cubes (pestos), such as parsley, sage, chives, garlic scapes, rosemary, cilantro…you name it. Frozen whole tomatoes: Why bother with tins from the store? Pop whole ones into bags, jars or freezer boxes; pop some out as needed.
(Remember them from this other post?) Tomato junk: What I do with the dregs of the vegetable garden, an all-purpose base to soups, stews, chilis. Waste not… Freezing garlic: Why put.
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Interior designer Stephanie Hunt’s seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom Park City, Utah, home is a grown-up, glammed-up, sophisticated version of a funhouse—it’s got so many surprises and delights at every turn. And believe it or not, she got the inspiration for the home on a freezing winter trip to Reykjavík, Iceland. “We were there for a quick weekend trip and I was struck by how the simple barn structures—very close together—looked like one unit. Because we’re art collectors I wondered what it would feel like to have each pod or pavilion, if you will, developed in a simple, honest architectural style, connected by halls and glass elements, with the halls serving sort of in-home art galleries,” she explains.
Ornamental Japanese Maples are widely available for planting in your garden. The autumn colouring makes these trees spectacular when planted en mass in a woodland or Japanese garden setting.
Oak trees conjure up images of Robin Hood and mystical Oak forests. Britain has made good use of Oak trees down the centuries. ‘From little acorns great Oak trees grow’
The hot subject for discussion this Autumn seems to be the renaissance of Dahlias. For me they have never been far from my garden but I understand how fashions come and go then return.
Hay fever and Asthma attacks can be brought on by Scented Plants as well as pollen or Fungal Spores. Histamin problems can also be exacerbated by scent and smells in the garden.
For something a bit different this book on botanic art covers some of the unusual colours from black flowers, plants and seaweed like strange green, blue and puce pink.
One thing is sure the climate in your garden will change. You already know one week will be different to the next and I can’t remember when two months or any years were the identical to others. In many areas you can get 3 or 4 seasons in one day (or in Scotland one hour!).
Snowdrops are officially called Galanthus. This snowdrop is Galanthus elwessii with larger than normal blooms and a honey scent the other main species are Nivalis and Plicatus. The snowdrop is very hardy, grows in most soils and prefers partial shade.
Our transatlantic cousins still benefit from the Pilgrim fathers gardening knowledge taken to their shores centuries ago. The potato famine of 1845-50 caused Irish farmers to discover the Idaho potato. Now these and other horticultural favours can be returned by this book of organic homespun tips.