About this time every year I get the strong urge to “preserve” the harvest.  It’s knowing all the wonderful summer produce is winding down but still plentiful.  It’s sort of like nesting or maybe just the desire to do something with it while still in abundance.  Of course finding the time to do all that I want to do is impossible.  

Every late summer we are inundated with calls looking for the basics.  And every year we remind customers not to wait until the end of summer to start canning.  The best time is peak summer harvest which is around the end of July.  My working theory on why we get so many requests is that most home gardeners have to do something with the end of the garden season harvest.  Therefore they wait until the end of August or September to start looking for tomatoes, corn, beans etc especially in a season like this one when the weather has been extra harsh and their garden was compromised.   

If you are experiencing the urge to gather and hoard, we still have some things on our weekly seconds (aka Fill-a-Bag Seconds).  It changes slightly each week but almost always has eggplant and hot peppers.  This year the sweet peppers have struggled so not quite as many.  We are always glad to share recipe ideas.  You can also check out our Pinterest page to see what we’ve pinned.  Be brave and try something new!

Tidbit of info: Ever wonder what happens to all the surplus produce?  Every Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning it gets donated to our local food pantry to be distributed to those less fortunate.  This is something we’ve done not only locally but also at the farmers markets we attend.  I like to thank my mother and grandmother for instilling the joy of feeding others. Now, what to can, jam or pickle on the next “day off”?