Thursday, October 28, 2010

Harvest Tally 2010, Video Included

I'm calling it.

While I still may freeze some swiss chard and basil, I'm going to call it and say that our harvest season is officially over and tally up.  It almost made me more tired to tally it than to actually do it.  Well, that's probably not true, but so much of the hard work is far enough behind me that the hot kitchen, sticky floors, mounds of dishes, stained t-shirts and sweat running down my back is almost a distant memory.


Before I list things off, I just want to say that there is no way I could have done all this without Jamey's help.  NO WAY.  I'm not just giving him credit for all the planting and a lot of the harvesting, but also for help with a lot of canning and freezing projects.  With three small kids, it is impossible to do all this alone.  His 5-week off block at the end of the summer fell at the most perfect time, putting-up wise.  Thank you, dear.

I want to send credit in one other direction.  Can I just say that I tear-up as I think of the amazing creation that exists because of our God?!  This stuff grows for us.  To feed us.  The vitamins and nutrients are what we need.  Not only is it what we need, it tastes good!  Most of it tastes amazing!  Thank you, Father, for loving us and feeding us well.

Here we go.  Starting back on May 24, 2010, we preserved the following...

6 packed gallon bags of frozen chopped spinach
11 quarts crushed strawberries, frozen
2  1 1/2-cup bags chopped asparagus, frozen
9 3-cup bags sour cherries, frozen
6 pints sour cherries, canned
5 quarts and 1 pint garden (English) peas, frozen
6 1/2-pint jars strawberry freezer jam, frozen
17 1/2-pints and 3 1/4-pints mint jelly, canned
10 quarts whole red raspberries, frozen
44 quarts green beans, frozen
15 pints chopped zucchini, frozen
20 heads garlic, braided
30 cups pesto, frozen
2 pesto tortes, frozen
19 quarts blueberries, frozen
18 pints corn, frozen
~ 110 onion bulbs, braided
5 1/2 gallon bags halved and 3 pints chopped bell peppers (red, yellow and green), frozen
90 pints tomato sauce, canned
24 pints tomato salsa, canned
13 1/2-pints peach jam, canned
17 2-cup bags chopped peaches, frozen
26 quarts peaches, canned
11 pints peach salsa, canned
23 quarts nectarines, canned
17 quarts tomato soup, canned
10 chickens, frozen
10 quarts roasted tomatoes, frozen
25 pints stewed tomatoes, canned
17 pints grape jam, canned
10 quarts grape juice concentrate, canned
22 quarts and 1 pint chopped broccoli, frozen
10-15 roasted red bell peppers, frozen
12 pounds Ham (mostly bulk sausage)
180 quarts applesauce (77 quarts, frozen, and 103 quarts, canned)
2 1/2 bushels sweet potatoes, stored
1/2 bushel Yukon Gold potatoes, stored
12 butternut squash, stored
1/2 bushel carrots, still in the ground
14 cups beet hummus, frozen (recipe forthcoming)
leeks, still in the ground
stevia, still drying

(We grew this food ourselves except for the blueberries, peaches, beets, some of the corn, apples, concord grapes and broccoli- all these we shared with us by neighbors, bought locally, or were purchased locally by relatives for us.)

There were a number of "crops" we were disappointed in this year.  We were able to use all our own onions for our salsa and tomato sauce projects, but beyond those, they didn't store well at all.  Our garlic crop was piddly.  We will have to buy onions and garlic this winter. We would have liked more strawberries, corn, butternut squash and garden peas as well.

For the incredibly dry summer we had, we are thrilled that so many things did well.  We had more tomatoes than we could use, our pepper crop was great (and still going), our green beans were prolific and our basil was beautiful.

We have nothing to complain about and so much to be thankful for.

One last thing...I wanted to show you what our pantry looks like this time of year and thought a little video would be fun.

The very last thing...For many of the preserving methods we use, see the "Preserving" tab at the top just under the banner.  Thanks for sticking with us through another year of preserving! Pin It

15 comments:

  1. Am totally blown away. Good for you!

    Gigi

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  2. You are so darn cute! Oh how I wish we could sit and enjoy a cup of tea together. xo

    The video was very fun...your pantry is what drew me to you in the first place however many years ago. You had posted a picture of it...along with the curtain you'd made...and I thought, "I like this girl!"

    Good job TH!!

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  3. Wow, what a great harvest! Thanks for posting the video. You are right that pictures are nice but videos tend to give you better perspective.

    I have a ? for you. I noticed some jars in the pantry didn't have rings on them. Do you usually do that, or were you short on rings? Do the jars that don't have rings ever lose their seals?

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  4. Thanks to your inspiration, ideas and recipes, this was one of my most productive garden years ever! I am actually using what grew in my yard. I really appreciated the reminder that my garden is FOOD and not just hard work. My next goal is to EAT IT ALL! No more saving that last jar of peaches, we'll just do it all again next year!

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  5. Heather,
    I always remove the rings the morning after canning and before I store them in the pantry. Most rings are already loose at that point because the lid has been sucked down against the jar rim, so the ring's purpose has been fulfilled- keeping the lid from floating away or popping off in the canner and holding the lid in place until it seals.

    The only reason I use rings after a jar has sealed is if I'm taking the jar somewhere or giving it as a gift. In that case I figure it will help keep things from spilling out if the lid gets bumped in such a way that it pops unsealed. This is to prevent messes and protect the lid.

    If the jars are just sitting on shelves, they don't need the rings! :-)

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  6. wow! great work- that list is really impressive and I loved the video. Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Full jars on shelves make me happy.

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  8. Beautiful! I love the look of full pantries! We keep a full food storage but I wish more of it was food we canned and grew ourselves - someday! You are an inspiration. I know all the work that goes into canning and the wonderful feeling to have it all complete! The video was fun! Thanks for sharing it!

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  9. You did great!! I know how many kitchen hours you logged getting all that food put by. CHEERS! for home-grown, canned-with-love food to raise our children on!
    And one last thing--WOW that's a lot of jars. I hope you didn't have to buy all those jars retail...

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  10. You have put away an amazing amount of food, I/we are so very impressed. Congratulations on a job well done. It is so good that your children are being raised in this wonderful environment the two of you are providing for them...all of this real food and real life lessons.

    I am really looking forward to hearing more about the beet hummus...it sounds weird but good.:)

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  11. Thank you, all, for your kind words of affirmation. Writing about our endeavors here keeps me (mostly) sane through it all:-).

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  12. Loved seeing the fruits of all your hard work! I really enjoyed your video too. Thanks for the tour. It was really fun to hear what your voice sounds like!

    By the way, I think I noticed that your grape juice was canned with the grapes in. Did I see that right? That's how my mother-in-law always did it. Put grapes in the jar. Add water & sugar & then can. But, a couple years ago we got a steamer & have been making our juice that way.

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  13. Well done! We truly live in a land of plenty--our soil is rich (or we at least ways to deal with it if it isn't rich), we have means and space to store preserved food (a huge blessing), and there are so many sources for learning how to do it.

    There is something about seeing a well-stocked pantry (even if it isn't my own) that makes me feel so good.

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  14. Good job, I wasnt sure if you were aware that garlic is best planted in fall. :-)

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  15. WOW - you have done so well - I love the video - you have the cutest accent!
    Well done & you deserve a hard earned rest after all that work - you have provided so well for your family & should be proud of all you've done! What a blessing to be able to grow & produce so much food!
    Have fun
    Renata:)

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Just a friendly reminder, if you know me personally please try to refrain from using my name. There are those who may try to locate me, break into my pantry and steal my pickled beets. Thanks:-).

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