THE PRESERVER'S GARDEN: How to Grow a Garden for Fermenting, Canning, Pickling, Dehydrating, Freeze Drying, and more

THE PRESERVER'S GARDEN: How to Grow a Garden for Fermenting, Canning, Pickling, Dehydrating, Freeze Drying, and more
STACI HILL & JEREMY HILL
Cool Springs Press (non-affiliate Bookshop.org link)
$30.00 any edition, available now

Rating: 5* of five

The Publisher Says: The Preserver’s Garden is an essential guide to planning and planting a garden specifically for the preservation and long-term storage of the harvest. Discover how to plan, plant, and grow a garden with food preservation and long-term storage in mind—plus, meet seven different preservation techniques.

Growing a garden with the intent to preserve the harvest and improve your self-sufficiency is an entirely different world than growing food for fresh consumption. When growing for preservation, your efforts need to be focused on the promotion of uniform ripening, high yields, and flavor that remains stable through the preservation process. Since the end goal is to have plenty of food to eat for months to come, how do you know how much to plant, which varieties are best, and which preservation method is ideal for each different vegetable and fruit? In The Preserver’s Garden, you’ll learn all that and so much more from a modern farming family with a pantry lined with jar after jar of preserved homegrown treasures, a fully stocked freezer, and endless bags of dehydrated and freeze-dried goodies!

In addition to taking a deep dive into seven different methods of food preservation—including freezing, drying/dehydration, pressure canning, water bath canning, salting, freeze drying, and fermenting—authors Staci and Jeremy Hill of @goosberrybridgefarm teach you how to:

Plan your garden around the veggies your family eats the most.

Figure out how much to grow to meet your preservation goals.

Decide which preservation methods are best for your harvest and your home.

Safely prepare your harvest for processing and preservation.

Achieve success in growing a lot of food organically, with less time and less work.

Also included are 22 in-depth produce profiles—from tomatoes and squash to onions and berries—where you’ll learn specifics about everything from growing requirements and harvesting tips to the best preservation methods and plant care techniques to increase the harvest. It’s time to plan for your family’s future with help from The Preserver’s Garden.

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: I long for a garden when I read books like this...they're much more aspirational than flower gardens, herbaceous borders, topiary and fountains...fine if you're a king or queen but I'm just your basic queer.

contents page explaining the way we're going

This clear, concise...no wasted words...handsomely designed book is packed with basic concepts, ideas for fillips, and overall inspiration for you to think realistically about your garden plans. It can't be a bad thing to devote some space to planting and nurturing tings that can nourish you in their turn.

Samples of the look follow:

There are chapters on key concepts:

...and key crops everyone always wants to grow:

everyone loves home-grown tomatoes

...and ways to use them:

It was not a bad experience reading the book on a tablet, but what a beautiful thing to see glossy and present on a page!

No matter the format you choose, this is a useful way to spend gifting money on your gardening buddy, on your first-time homebuyer, or yourself.