1st Year Veggie Garden Questions - MN

CREillY

CREillY

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Mar 26, 2018
Location
MN
Stuff has been maturing and we've started harvesting, It's been a fun learning experience and activity to do with the kids.

Questions:

- Any tips on storing or processing potatoes? My garage stays heated to 50 in the winter. I was thinking about making batches of mashed potatoes and freezing them, Bad idea? Or will they keep in my garage?

- We are going to have a ton of tomatoes, Roma, and Large Cherry. What's a good food processor for Salsa's? Or if you have any other other good long term storage idea for them please share!

- Favorite Zucchini dish?

- Favorite pickling recipe for cucumber spears and green beans?

Thanks everyone!
 
CREillY said:
Stuff has been maturing and we've started harvesting, It's been a fun learning experience and activity to do with the kids.

Questions:

- Any tips on storing or processing potatoes? My garage stays heated to 50 in the winter. I was thinking about making batches of mashed potatoes and freezing them, Bad idea? Or will they keep in my garage?

- We are going to have a ton of tomatoes, Roma, and Large Cherry. What's a good food processor for Salsa's? Or if you have any other other good long term storage idea for them please share!

- Favorite Zucchini dish?

- Favorite pickling recipe for cucumber spears and green beans?

Thanks everyone!
Click to expand...
Potatoes-DO NOT WASH...cool dry place in an open mesh bag, or just in a box. We keep ours in milk crates. Hard part will be keeping the temp low enough until winter. We try to keep ours under 50. You will get 3-4x the life out of whole stored potatoes than you will breaking them down and freezing. You can also can them. For this wash, peel, and cut up to fit in jars and can. For mashed potatoes using canned just drain and throw in boiling water for a minute or so. Then standard mashed potato process.

If you damage potatoes when harvesting they will spoil faster so either can them or use them first do not try and store.

We can a ton of tomatoes. You have to blanch and peel the tomatoes before canning. My wife adds herbs or spices in the canned tomatoes so when she makes a sauce she basically just pours the canned tomatoes into a processor. chops it up and into the pot or pan and tweaks it form there. she does have to add some tomato paste to thicken.

For salsa we just use a ninja express processor makes a good amount unless you are making a giant tub for a party but even then it works well just make a couple batches.

I pay no attention to Zuchini or Cucumber/pickles or anything green bean related. I know my wife and her mom and sisters make pickles and hot pickled green beans. but never saw the recipes
 
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My best (and only) advice is that I should stop by as I am only an hour or so from NB and offload some of the burden before winter hits 👍
 
I’ve had decent luck with potatoes in the garage, but as stated above getting them cooled off now is the issue.

Depending on what you want to Dow it’s tomatoes, I’ve had decent success freezing them whole for later use.

Unfortunately for me this year I’ve been overrun with grasshoppers and they destroyed nearly everything in my garden. This pic of cucumbers and squash was fully leafed vines two days before this picture was taken. IMG_6189.jpeg
 
For Tomatoes we have one of those plastic hand crank sauce makers that works pretty well. I bring the sauce to a simmer then cool and freeze. I just wish I could get a good tomatoe crop.
 
WCB said:
Potatoes-DO NOT WASH...cool dry place in an open mesh bag, or just in a box. We keep ours in milk crates. Hard part will be keeping the temp low enough until winter. We try to keep ours under 50. You will get 3-4x the life out of whole stored potatoes than you will breaking them down and freezing. You can also can them. For this wash, peel, and cut up to fit in jars and can. For mashed potatoes using canned just drain and throw in boiling water for a minute or so. Then standard mashed potato process.

If you damage potatoes when harvesting they will spoil faster so either can them or use them first do not try and store.

We can a ton of tomatoes. You have to blanch and peel the tomatoes before canning. My wife adds herbs or spices in the canned tomatoes so when she makes a sauce she basically just pours the canned tomatoes into a processor. chops it up and into the pot or pan and tweaks it form there. she does have to add some tomato paste to thicken.

For salsa we just use a ninja express processor makes a good amount unless you are making a giant tub for a party but even then it works well just make a couple batches.

I pay no attention to Zuchini or Cucumber/pickles or anything green bean related. I know my wife and her mom and sisters make pickles and hot pickled green beans. but never saw the recipes
Click to expand...
Thanks for the tips! I haven't canned anything yet, but that seems to be the consensus for tomatoes (Been gong down a YT rabbit whole).

Sounds like a lot of people use the Ninja Express as well. I think that's what I'm leaning towards.

Ended up shredding a bunch of zucchini yesterday for baking, and vacuum packing green beans. I also tried cutting zucchini into discs, laying on a pan to freeze, then ziplocking them for an easy grab and fry (read it online). The kids have been chowing grilled/Fried zucchini.
 
MTPipeliner said:
I’ve had decent luck with potatoes in the garage, but as stated above getting them cooled off now is the issue.

Depending on what you want to Dow it’s tomatoes, I’ve had decent success freezing them whole for later use.

Unfortunately for me this year I’ve been overrun with grasshoppers and they destroyed nearly everything in my garden. This pic of cucumbers and squash was fully leafed vines two days before this picture was taken. View attachment 580259
Click to expand...
I put up a 6.6 plastic netting fence with t-posts to keep the deer out, for now... People keep asking why I planted so many pumpkin plants. Are your grasshoppers the size of birds?
 
For zucchini I like to cut them about the size of a half dollar may be a litter thicker. Put them in a bowl and salt and pepper with some Italian seasoning. Lay them out flat on non stick foil. sprinkle a little graded parmesan cheese and graded mozzarella. Cook at 400 till cheese browns.

For tomato I blanch in boiling water and let cool to remove the skin. Then put in quart freezer zip lock bags and freeze them. Great for anything you would use tomato sauce for.

I don't grow or eat potato. To many carbs.
 
I usually can about 75+ jars a year of GB's & tomatoes each but this year has been a disaster. We had almost 2 weeks of heavy rain & drowned everything. Replanted... then the deer, rabbits, crows, coons got into it. Then the millions of Japanese beetles wiped all the leaves out. Then I learned that some jack wagon switched all the little ID tags on all the tomato plants at the nursery & I have a bunch of stuff I can't even use. Only thing that is turning out good is cucumbers & squash.
For extra squash & zucchini you can shred them up & freeze to use for fritters later.
 
If you don't already have this book, get a copy.
https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/ba...ook-guide-to-preserving/0000000223542?bc=Ball
Here in SD, our garden is starting to go nuts with cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, and green beans. Last Sunday I canned 4 quarts and 12 pints of pickles; dill, garlic dill, spicy; using roughly 10 pounds of cucumbers. Also did 8 pints of pickled green beans aka dilly beans.
Already picked another 8 pounds of cucumbers so far this week. I've got a few varieties of hot peppers ready to pick so this weekend we'll probably can some spicy relish recipes in 1/2 pint jars along with more pickles. Also break out the pressure canner to start on green beans. Looking at the ball book has given me some ideas for using cabbage in some canning recipes next week as well.

Peppers are finally starting to fill out, looks like timing is going to be about right for tomatoes, peppers, red onions, and tomatillos all ready around the same time for our main event canning - salsa, chili mix, and pasta sauce.
 
spur60 said:
If you don't already have this book, get a copy.
https://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/ba...ook-guide-to-preserving/0000000223542?bc=Ball
Here in SD, our garden is starting to go nuts with cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, and green beans. Last Sunday I canned 4 quarts and 12 pints of pickles; dill, garlic dill, spicy; using roughly 10 pounds of cucumbers. Also did 8 pints of pickled green beans aka dilly beans.
Already picked another 8 pounds of cucumbers so far this week. I've got a few varieties of hot peppers ready to pick so this weekend we'll probably can some spicy relish recipes in 1/2 pint jars along with more pickles. Also break out the pressure canner to start on green beans. Looking at the ball book has given me some ideas for using cabbage in some canning recipes next week as well.

Peppers are finally starting to fill out, looks like timing is going to be about right for tomatoes, peppers, red onions, and tomatillos all ready around the same time for our main event canning - salsa, chili mix, and pasta sauce.
Click to expand...
Sounds delicious, I'll check it out! Thanks!
 
If you have a lem grinder, the juicer attachment is pretty sweet for doing big batches of tomato sauce, salsa, ketchup, etc.
 
I have an asparagus patch and grow squash and pumpkins mostly We did add some Bear Island Flint corn this year. My wife was given a few seed years ago and we forgot about it in the freezer but 3/4’s germinated. This year just hoping for fresh seed.
have not tilled the soil in over 30 years and it really saves ground moisture which become more important every year it seems as rain is hit or miss and mostly miss this year.
moderate drought currently and leaning towards severe drought soon.
 
CREillY said:
Like a cover crop and then plant your rows within it? I had a hard time this spring playing the game weed or vegetable
Click to expand...
Yes. This Fall I am planting some oats over our entire garden and will cut and let lay as a mulch/green manure. I will broast clover sometime in the summer, between rows to help keep weeds down. This year has been a good year for weeds. I can't keep up with pulling them.

I am constantly fighting Powdery Mildew. Most of my issue is that there is not the best air flow where our garden currently is located in the yard. This may be the first year that I add Lime also. Soil just hardens pretty quickly even though it has been amended with compost.

I like to use zucchini for lasagna. Slice them thinly the long way and replace the noodles with zucchini. They are also good pickled with onions.
 
For those serious about food production, look into the mittleider gardening method and foliar feeding. Combine that with drip irrigation and you can produce a ton of food.
 
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