Harvesting and preserving

The first Savoy of the summer, July 2018

Now, at the height of summer, I'm preserving every veg I can, and we're eating everything I can't!  

I've again got more cabbage than I can handle--a good position to be in, right?  The above was picked on a Sunday, eaten for the next four days, then made into a big jar of kraut, and finally on the fifth day the remainder was blanched and frozen for later (it filled a freezer bag).  The next cabbage got the same treatment, and the rest are almost there--it'll be a head a week for at least six weeks.  I want to make plenty of sauerkraut--I need a big bucket, I think!

I'm picking chard leaves at least once a week to dry for winter use.  The stems are either cooked that day, or chopped and frozen.  I've also been drying summer savory, a pungent herb which I was happy to find self-seeded this spring.  It's reminiscent of rosemary (which as I've mentioned has died) and useful for stews and sausage.

And the first zuccini, July 2018

I'm doing as many pickles as I can.  I've done beets, turnips, cucumbers (given to me from a fellow allotmenteer), and zuccinis so far;  most of them are brined/fermented in the fridge, but the beets are in vinegar in the cupboard.  If I get a zuccini explosion, I'll do some of them in vinegar too as they were very nice last year.  Otherwise I might run out of fridge space.

I can't really preserve lettuce, though--we're racing to keep up with it, by eating salads several times a week.  I hope my own cucumbers and cherry tomatoes are ready soon--both are making little green fruits. 

My French beans are a bit sparse still, no doubt because of the heat, but I'm very gradually salting down the few French beans I've been picking, half an ounce at a time.  I hope to fill up at least one jar of them by the end of the season.  If the runner beans start up, they might go in the same jar.

As you know, my goal of veg self sufficiency for this year is six months, and the deadline isn't until the end of November--another four months away.  I know from experience, fresh veg harvest starts to tail off mid-September;  I hope the surplus I preserve now can keep us going, not just till the deadline but beyond.