One of the most important things you can do as a gardener and homesteader is to preserve open-pollinated/heirloom seeds that grew well for you. Keep growing them, but also share with others so they can keep these seeds going. One single bean seed can produce many, so even 6 to 8 shared seeds is huge.… Continue reading Seed Saving: Heirloom Bean Seeds We Grew in 2023 And Saved
Category: Preserving
Freeze-Drying Eggs
During the pandemic years, freeze-dried and dehydrated eggs were hard to source. People were stocking up, especially at the tail end, when Avian Flu forced many commercial growers to kill their hens. This led to very high prices. At one point, Augason Farms was over $100 a can on Amazon. The price for Augason Farms… Continue reading Freeze-Drying Eggs
Freeze-Drying Onions
We grew a lot of onions on our homestead this past year. We specialize in “Whidbey Sweets,” as we call our Walla Walla Onions. They don’t grow as big here on the island as they do in their namesake of Walla Walla, WA, but it’s also a lot cooler here than in blazing-hot Eastern Washington.… Continue reading Freeze-Drying Onions
Freeze Drying Handcrafted Large Batch Beef Pasta Sauce
Harvest Right is running a sale on their freeze-dryers through February 15th, 2024. If you have been thinking about getting a freeze-dryer, this is the time - prices are up to $500 off. We had found a great sale on the large cans of tomatoes on Amazon. Then the order showed up and nearly every… Continue reading Freeze Drying Handcrafted Large Batch Beef Pasta Sauce
2 Bags of Cranberries: Canned Cranberry Sauce For The Year
Chances are you might be planning on making cranberry sauce from scratch this fall, for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. If you have a few more minutes, can a big batch of it instead. Then you have plenty to have on hand, but in small enough portions it won't spoil in the fridge. And you'll have… Continue reading 2 Bags of Cranberries: Canned Cranberry Sauce For The Year