September brings shorter days, cooler temperatures and — dare I say — unwelcome early frosts. In the meantime, keep gathering sunflower bouquets and savor and preserve the garden harvest.
Preserving the Harvest
Got surplus produce? A well-stocked freezer and pantry saves money and trips to the grocery store. If your crops were less bountiful this season, purchase locally grown food to preserve. You’ll be glad you did this winter.
Match your crop with the preservation method that works best for you: freezing, canning, drying, pickling or dry storage. Pick fruits and vegetables at their peak and toss or compost any that are damaged, bruised, over- or under-ripe. If the food didn’t taste great after being harvested, the flavor won’t improve when preserved.
Freezing vegetables is quick, easy and effective. The general rule prior to freezing vegetables is to blanch first: immerse in water that’s at a rolling boil, briefly. This helps prevent loss of color, texture and flavor. Blanching times vary per vegetable; once done, plunge into cold water then drain. Add one additional blanching minute for altitudes above 5,000. Vegetable blanching and freezing guide:
Vegetables that can be blanched then frozen include: beans (green, snap, wax, lima, butter, pinto), cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, peas, carrots, kohlrabi, rhubarb, summer squash, sweet corn, tomatoes and peppers. Fully cook beets, pumpkins, winter squash and sweet potatoes before freezing.
Vegetables that don’t freeze well: cabbage, cucumbers, watermelon, celery, cress, endive, lettuce, parsley and radish. (See the pickling section below.)
Freezing fresh fruits: Wash, stem, dry and freeze on cookie sheets first, then put into freezer bags. Blueberries, blackberries, huckleberries, elderberries, gooseberries, strawberries, raspberries, currants and rhubarb (technically a vegetable, used as fruit) freeze well. More:
Drying or dehydrating removes the moisture from food so bacteria, yeast and mold won’t grow and spoil the food. Crops that dry well include apples, peaches, pears, tomatoes, grapes, plums and herbs to name a few. Complete drying methods and more information for both fruits and vegetables: and vegetables.pdf
Pickling: Fruits or vegetables are preserved in vinegar or brine. Add more zip by including spices, herbs or sugar. Some of the more common pickled foods are cucumbers, peppers, green beans, onions okra and radish. You can even pickle watermelons and peaches. How-to and recipes: http://spock.fcs.uga .pdf
Fermentation: Fruits or vegetable are cured in a salt or water brine for a week or longer. This process alters color, flavor and texture. No vinegar is added, which helps the food produce lactic acid, which preserves the food and acts as a probiotic. More:
Canning food using boiling water requires sterilizing it first then keeping it sterile. Additional boiling time needs to be added for our altitude. Hot pack canning is done by filling jars with precooked hot food prior to processing. In raw-pack methods, you fill the jars with raw, unheated food prior to processing. This works for high-acid foods including tomatoes, pickles, sauerkraut, peaches, pears, apricots, plums, lemons, gooseberries and blackberries. More:
Steam pressure canning: A steam-pressure heavy kettle with lid, safety valve, vent and pressure gauge is used to process low-acid foods to a temperature of 240 degrees. Low-acid foods include okra, carrots, beets, turnips, green beans, asparagus, lima beans, peas and corn. More:
Dry storage using a root cellar (the old-school place for “putting food by”) is an area in the house that remains cool but doesn’t freeze, and works well for storing produce for several weeks. Root crops including potatoes, onions, shallots, garlic, pumpkins and winter squash store well in dry, cool conditions. More
Food Preservation Resources
National Center for Home Food Preservation:
Colorado State University Canning Fact Sheet:
Oregon State Extension Service:
Food preservation without sugar or salt:
High-altitude food preservation:
In the landscape
Maintain regular lawn watering while temperatures remain warm. Grass continues to grow; in fact it puts on more growth in an effort to repair any summer traffic, disease or insect damage.
Core-aerate the lawn if not done in the spring (twice each year is OK), especially if thatch, compaction or fungal disease were problems. Be sure the lawn is well-watered a day or two prior to aerating so deep plugs are removed. Fertilize soon after aerating.
Weeds in the landscape and lawn area are getting ready for the winter by putting on strong root growth, so remove them in the fall so there will be fewer weeds next spring. Hand-dig, or spot-treat with herbicides.
We’ve seen little consistent rain the past few weeks, so be sure to water your entire landscape before cold weather sets in. Plants with dry roots and no supplemental fall/winter watering may experience injury or death. Dry, stressed trees and shrubs experience leaf scorch, early leaf drop, or early change in color. More:
Continue regularly watering and fertilizing outdoor ornamental and vegetable containers. As long as they are growing, producing or blooming, they need regular care and maintenance.
It’s about time to move plants indoors that were enjoying being outside for the summer. Check for insects, treat if needed, and give them a final prune to remove damage. Add a light fertilizer before moving them indoors. More:
Think spring and finish mail-ordering spring and summer ornamental and garlic bulbs. Also check out newly arriving bulbs at garden centers and purchase early for the best selection. Both ornamental and garlic bulbs can be planted between September and late October, before the ground freezes. If they can’t be planted right away, store bulbs in a cool, dry place until ready to plant.
Betty Cahill gardens in Denver. Find more of her writing at http://garden
