This morning I worked in the garden and gathered a quick morning harvest of peas. This small harvest resulted in 3 cups. I blanched them and prepared them for the freezer. My spring peas are used for fresh eating, adding to other items to process, or freeze-drying. Will this feed my family for an entire year? No…but it will provide a couple of meals at least. And every bit counts.
Through sharing my harvests, big or small, I hope that I can encourage even just ONE of you to grow a garden. It is more than just providing food, it is a GREAT stress reliever!
I often get questions from friends/neighbors/family members along the lines of, “How do you know what to plant?” My answer to them, and to any of you here who may have the same question is this: What types of vegetables do you and your family eat on a regular basis?
Don’t start out trying to grow all of the “fun” and “exotic” stuff. Start with the things that you know you will use. Pick 4-5 basic vegetables. Green beans, or beans of any type, are typically one of the easiest vegetables to grow. Do you enjoy pasta sauces, salsas, diced tomatoes, and marinaras? Grow some tomatoes. There are three basic categories of tomatoes: Sauce, slicing, and cherry. Grow a few plants of each category. If you find out that you didn’t grow enough sauce tomatoes for your needs, or that you grew too many slicing tomatoes, then modify your amount next spring. Peas are another good starter crop. They typically germinate well and can tolerate some cool weather. Cool, NOT freezing. Bare in mind though, if you’re looking to have enough peas to can them alone, you will need a significant size patch, or to grow two crops. A spring crop and a fall crop.
I will be planting a bigger fall harvest. This bigger harvest, if it all comes to fruition, will be the one that I use to process my pints of peas.
Don’t be afraid to start small! We all do.
If you haven’t already, check out the other posts here and see how much my gardens have changed over the years!
Thanks for stopping by!
Have a wonderful day, and Happy Homesteading!
Stephanie
