By Cindy Naas

Although our gardens are slowing down now (at least in some parts of the country) there are still vegetables waiting to be picked and stored or used.

I love this time of the year, and storing squash is one of the great pleasures of the fall garden.

Filling my root cellar with various types of squash makes me feel ready to settle in for the long winter.

Squash don’t need to be brought in right away unless you live in a rainy area, in which case you’ll need to get them off the ground. Preventing mildew is really the only reason to bring squash in before the first frost. If you grew them nestled in straw, this won’t be a worry.

Harvesting - Use a sharp knife and cut them from the vine leaving about 1 inch of vine attached to the squash. Rinse squash off outside to Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

This is the first year I have canned.

When I was growing up, late summer and early fall was considered to be canning season, and for weeks the house would smell like sweet blackberry jam, spicy apple butter and my favorite, the spicy sweet smell of my grandmother’s spiced peach recipe.

As an adult I kept intending to learn to can, and never got around to it until this summer, when my interest in buying and using locally grown produce made me decide to just do it.

So, two weeks ago I went out to a local organic farm and bought a large basket of peaches.

I stopped on the way home Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

You had fun growing some herbs in your yard this year, and now you would like to save some for later.

All you need to do is dry them - much cheaper than buying dried herbs at the store. There are five basic methods.

1) Air Drying
This is the most popular method of herb drying. Simply snip off a few stems - approximately 10 or so - and tie them together into a bundle. Cover with a paper bag and hang upside down in a warm, dry place. Make sure they are not in direct sunlight. It takes about 2-4 weeks for the herbs to dry out.

2) Drying Tray
You can make a drying tray by Read the rest of this entry »