Learn simple ways to preserve garden harvests now to make holiday cooking, entertaining, and gifting easier and more meaningful.
When you’re in the thick of the late summer garden, it seems like the garden produces endless harvests of herbs, tomatoes, and zucchini.
But we know all too well, don’t we, that the summer garden will come to an end and that we will be longing for those fresh herbs and veggies again soon.
With a little effort and planning now, however, you can turn those harvests into pantry staples, prepped ingredients, and edible gifts that will taste amazing and save you time and stress once the holidays roll around.
Why Preserve Your Harvest for the Holidays?
For those of us in colder climates, the shift from the summer garden to frost-kissed mornings comes all too soon.
We know our pepper, green bean, and basil plants won’t last forever. But their flavors can. Preserving your favorite garden flavors now means you can have the best-tasting ingredients ready for cozy winter meals, Thanksgiving side dishes, and even some to share as gifts.
Thanksgiving and Christmas are busy, and often stressful, holidays.
Why not make things a little easier by prepping and preserving ahead of time?
These simple tips and preservation ideas are ways to save garden excess now so we can enjoy it when it really matters, save time and money, and share it with the people we love.
Imagine, too, the pride and satisfaction you’ll feel when you’ve gather your family and friends around, serve up the holiday meal, and say, “I grew this!”
It’s the best!
This post is a sneak peak to my upcoming series, a Garden-to-Table Thanksgiving, where I’ll share recipes and ideas for celebrating the holiday with food and decor you’ve grown yourself.
Harvesting Tips for Best Flavor
When your main goal is food preservation, freshness and quality matters big time. The fresher and better the harvest is going in, the better and richer the taste will be later.
You’ll get the best flavor if you pick fruits, veggies, and herbs at peak ripeness.
Here are a few of my best tips on harvesting fruits, veggies, and herbs for best flavor:
For fruits (including tomatoes), pick on a warm, dry afternoon when flavors are most concentrated.
For veggies and herbs, harvest them in the morning after the dew has dried but before the sun gets too hot.
In general, choose fruits, veggies, and herbs that are not damaged or bruised. Process or preserve them the same day if you can.
You’ll notice a difference with your homegrown, preserved fruits and veggies if you follow these tips.
Stocking the Pantry with Shelf-Stable Harvests
Some vegetables don’t need fancy preservation methods. They can actually be cured in their natural state and stored away for fresh eating later.
These vegetables include:
- winter squash (butternut, hubbard, acorn, etc.)
- pumpkins
- sweet potatoes
- white potatoes
- onions
- garlic
- carrots
- beets
Each crop has slightly different methods for curing (I’ve previously shared details for curing sweet potatoes here), but the goal is the same: to prepare them for long storage without refrigeration, canning, freezing, or dehydrating.
For example, root vegetables like carrots and beets should be scrubbed well, have tops removed, and stored in a cold, humid location. I put mine in a plastic bag, seal it up, and keep it in the crisper drawer of our refrigerator. They’ll last for a few months and be ready for any soups, roasts, or fresh salads during the winter months.
Onions, garlic, and potatoes generally need to be cured in a warm, shady location before being stored in cool, dark place like the basement.
Pumpkins and squash cure out in the field and then can be kept in a warm, dry spot like the pantry.
I also like displaying edible pumpkins and squash as fall decor when I’m resetting my home for autumn. Find my fall home reset tips here.
Easy Freezer Prep for Holiday Recipes
Freezing is one of the easiest ways to preserve your harvest. You can prep and freeze plenty of fruits, vegetables, and herbs right now for your favorite winter recipes.
Have favorite recipes that you make for Thanksgiving or Christmas every year? Portion and label the garden ingredients you’ll need now and it’ll be one less thing you have to buy and prep for holiday dinner.
Best ideas to try:
- Blanch and freeze segmented green beans for casseroles.
- Cut sweet corn kernels off the cob and freeze.
- Roast pumpkins, puree, and freeze in recipe-sized portions.
- Whip up a big batch of basil pesto and freeze for quick pastas or sauce for meats.
- Freeze chopped herbs in olive oil in ice cube trays to add instant flavor to any dish.
- Freeze herb butter and other flavored butters for later.
- Make fruit butters or freezer jam for charcuterie, dessert, or glazes.
Pro tip: Label your containers with what it is, how much is inside, and what you plan to use it for. Future you will be ever so grateful.
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Canning Now to Save Time Later
Canned goods are so useful to have around the holidays. They’re an easy shortcut for holiday cooking and also make great gifts if you have extra.
When you can your own food, you can customize the flavors, portions, and so much more.
Have a secret spice blend for apple pie filling? Use it.
Prefer a chunky cranberry jam or sauce? Keep it rustic.
Like having your green beans a certain size for casseroles? Cut it how you like.
Just remember to use tested recipes and proper canning jars.
One book I rely on is: The Ball Blue Book: Guide to Preserving.
A few ideas for using home-canned goods are:
- Pumpkin Butter (spread on rolls or use in pumpkin spice lattes)
- Pickled peppers or other veggies (for a charcuterie or antipasto platter)
- Any relish or chutney (serve as a side)
- Any jam, jelly, or preserve (use to glaze ham, or for shortbread cookie sandwiches and cake fillings)
- Pressure-canned green beans (as a side, or for casseroles)
- Pressure-canned corn (as a side, or for cornbread and casseroles)
Once you start thinking about canning for holiday side dishes, appetizers, and main courses, the possibilities are endless.
Dehydrating Herbs and Veggies for Winter Cooking
Don’t forget about dehydrating garden harvests. Dried foods are versatile and are a space-saving method of preservation.
For me, dried herbs are a must-have for winter cooking and holiday recipes.
You can find my full guide to drying herbs in this post.
If you’re ready to branch out a bit, herb-infused salt is also a quick and easy preservation project that makes a great gift.
And herbal tea blends are also easy to make and gift. You’ll want to save some for yourself to enjoy, too, of course.
Dehydrated veggies are easy to add to soups and to use as natural thickeners for gravies and sauces as well.
Pro tip: Store dehydrated herbs and veggies whole for best flavor. Process small amounts as needed and decant into smaller containers for everyday use.
Bringing the Summer Harvest to the Winter Table
As you know, the holidays are a busy time.
Having homemade jams, pie fillings, frozen veggies, and dried herbs ready and waiting will save you both money and sanity. Even more special is knowing that these preserved foods were grown and prepared with pride because you grew them.
These pantry staples may take a little extra effort now, but you’ll be so glad and so proud of what you’ve got to bring to the table later.
This is exactly what Not Quite a Homestead is all about. Growing a garden that feeds us and makes both everyday dinners and holiday feasts a little more special.
If this post resonates with you, stick around for the Garden-to-Table Thanksgiving series. Because you know there’s nothing better than celebrating with food and decor that came from your own backyard.