Whether you’re new to gardening or a seasoned grower, proper harvesting and preserving techniques will greatly extend the life of your produce, reduce waste, and save your family money. You’ve worked hard all summer long, time to reap the benefits!
A lot of garden success boils down to perfecting the timing: when to amend, when to plant, when to pick, when to prune…it is a lot to balance. Harvesting too early can lead to a lack of flavor and nutrients, harvesting too late can lead to over-ripened or spoiled crops. The timing of everyone’s harvest will look different depending on your growing season, weather events, how much time and help you have, storage capacity, etc. Here are some important tips that will help everyone get the most out of their garden.
Safely Handling Your Harvest
To help your produce stay fresh as long as possible before you are ready to process:
- Use clean tools: dirty shears and clippers can introduce pathogens that speed up spoiling
- Harvest in the morning: produce is typically at its most fresh and hydrated first thing in the morning
- Handle gently: avoid bruising or nicking fruits and vegetables to reduce spoilage and prevent pests. Remove produce that has signs of rot or disease before they can spread to nearby food
- Separate each crop into 3 groups: sort your harvest into groups based upon what needs to be eaten right away, what can be stored, and what needs to be composted or fed to livestock.
- Delay washing: while washing produce is important before eating or processing, if possible, avoid the temptation to do it right away. Excess moisture can cause mold and rot during storage. If you do wash them, let them completely air dry before storing.
- Inspect regularly: check storage and processed produce periodically for signs of spoilage (off smells, discoloration, etc.)
- Follow tested recipes closely: whether you plan to dehydrate, ferment, or can, always follow tested recipes to make sure your acid levels, temperatures, and processing methods prevent contamination
- Keep workstation clean: sanitize kitchen devices and surfaces before and after use and in between produce types to prevent cross contamination
Saving Seeds
If you would like to save seeds from your crops for next year:
- Only save heirloom variety plant seeds: hybrid plants can produce some seeds that are sterile and others that have different characteristics than the parent plant.
- Let fruit mature completely: for plants that produce internal seeds, save seeds from fruits that are fully developed but not rotting. (low moisture produce like beans can be left on the plant until completely dry)
- Allow greens, herbs, flowers, and root vegetables to “bolt”: let a couple plants fully flower and dry out before harvesting seeds
- Ferment gel coated seeds: fruits that produce slimy seeds need to be fermented to dissolve the coating before storage
Here is a step by step guide to saving seeds for a wide variety of garden plants
Preservation Methods
It can take time for you to process all your harvested fruits and veggies, so some short term storage may be needed. As you are prepping your canner, dehydrator, and storage, here are 4 environmental factors you must monitor to protect your harvest:
- Light: Tubers and root vegetables like potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and turnips will last longer in dark conditions. Some (like potatoes) will start to develop chlorophyll and solanine, as they start to photosynthesize in the presence of light. If green spots develop on your potatoes, remove them before eating.
- Moisture: moist surfaces can become hotbeds for pathogens and mold to develop. Unless you are immediately putting produce in the refrigerator or freezer, store your harvest in dry conditions until you can process.
- Temperature: store produce at their ideal temperatures as you get ready for long-term storage. Click to see the proper short-term storage temperatures for garden produce.
- Ethylene gas levels: Ethylene gas is a ripening hormone, naturally produced in: apples, bananas, peaches, pears, tomatoes, melons, and other fruits. Ethylene can be both a harvesting friend and foe. You can strategically use this off-gas to help some produce ripen after being picked. For example, if you have to pre-maturely harvest green tomatoes to protect them from an early frost, temporarily store with a few pieces of ripe fruit to help them continue to ripen before processing. Paper bags are perfect for capturing ethylene without trapping humidity. Some produce are sensitive to ethylene and will develop strange colors and tastes when exposed. Protect carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, peas, potatoes, squash, and cucumbers from ethylene during storage.
Cold Storage (Freezer)
Freezing is a convenient way to preserve taste and nutrition, but not all fruits and vegetables can be frozen the same way.
- Blanching: Blanching is the practice of briefly boiling produce before freezing. Freezing does slow enzyme activity, but does not stop it all together. Blanching is a great way to further slow or stop enzyme activity, and preserve texture/color/taste of your produce.
- Flash-Freezing: freezing foods quickly creates smaller ice crystals that are less likely to rupture plant tissues and turn your harvest to mush. Carefully space out foods on open trays at a temperature of 0° F or colder and in small quantities at a time to speed up the freezing process.
Click for blanching and flash freezing instructions for a wide variety of garden fruits and vegetables.
Dry Storage (Cured, Dehydrated, Freeze Dried Foods)
Removing moisture enables you to long-term store a wide variety of foods.
- Curing: Curing involves stabilizing climate conditions for a period of time so outer skins dry and harden to prevent rotting during storage (not all produce can be cured). Click to learn more about curing produce for storage.
- Dehydrating: Removing moisture not only helps food last longer while maintaining nutrient levels, it can also make it take up less room in storage. Whether you air dry, use an oven, or a dehydrator, here is a step by step guide for drying food from your garden.
- Freeze-Drying: Freeze drying turns the liquid moisture in your foods to solid ice and then directly into gaseous vapor. It is the same process used by NASA for preparing astronaut meals. Learn more about how to prepare and freeze-dry your own food.
Canned Storage (Pressure or Water Bath Canned)
Canning is a fantastic way to store tomatoes, pickles, jams, and jellies for months. There are two primary methods: water bath canning and pressure canning.
- Water Bath Canning: for high-acid foods like tomatoes, fruits, and pickles. This process involves immersing jars in boiling water to kill off harmful bacteria. Here are some tried and true water bath canning steps and recipes.
- Pressure Canning: for low-acid foods like green beans, carrots, and meats. Pressure canning requires a special canner to achieve the higher temperatures needed to ensure safety. Click for a guide to pressure canning your produce.
- Fermentation: some canned foods (cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, and beets) can be fermented during long-term storage. Fermentation is an ancient preservation technique that not only keeps vegetables edible for months but also boosts their nutritional value with the growth of beneficial probiotics. Fermenting involves using a saltwater brine to create an anaerobic environment where beneficial bacteria can thrive.
Learn more from the Real Salt® experts at Redmond about how to preserve food with salt.
Preserving Your Garden with Redmond
Redmond’s vast sea and volcanic deposit is at the ready to help you amend, flavor, and preserve all your hard work on the homestead. Our unique sea deposit offers a wide variety of products for your soil, table, and pantry.
For your land, Redmond Mineralyte is the perfect soil amendment before putting your garden to bed this winter. Your soil has been working hard supporting crops all summer, so it is time to pay it back with invigorating electrolytes, humates, and volcanic minerals. This easy-to-use soil amendment supports the vast biological ecosystem that your plants need to thrive and helps grow healthier, more nutrient dense produce.
For your home and family, Redmond offers a collection of delicious Real Salt® sea salts and seasonings. Whether you are looking to flavor, preserve, or brine, Redmond’s ancient mineral salt fills your life with flavor and helps you savor every moment.
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