The Preserver's Garden : How to Grow a Garden for Fermenting, Canning, Pickling, Dehydrating, Freeze Drying, and More

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.