Preserving the Harvest Chat Transcript

5 Comments

Probably my favourite part about giving presentations and running workshops is the one-on-one chatting that happens with fellow gardeners and aspiring gardeners afterward. I love those moments connecting directly with other people who share the same excitement and passion. I love hearing about what they’re doing and the look of satisfaction on their faces is contagious.

For that reason Seedchat turned out to be one of the highlights of my week. The transcript is now online, so you can still be in on the conversation even if Twitter isn’t your cup of tea.

I’ve compiled a few of my favourite tips below:

  • Herbs That Dry Easily: Lemon verbena, ‘Dark Opal’ and ‘Purple Ruffles’ basil. We dry and use oregano, marjoram, and thyme year-round in cooking. Lemon balm, mint, anise-hyssop & lemongrass for tea. Also: lavender, calendula petals, rosemary, sage, winter savory, dill seed, citrus peels….
  • Lavender Syrup (you can do this with just about any herb): 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, handful of lavender flowers. Bring to boil until thick. Let cool. Strain. Refrigerate
  • In response to the high cost of canning jars: Remember that they are reused over and over so your investment will pay off over time.
  • Herbal Vinegar: To a clean jar add: Sprigs of fresh tarragon and a few strips of lemon peel. Top with warm (not boiling) vinegar)

There are several more tips in the transcript including: preserving tomatoes, drying beans, drying herbs, uses for various herbs, favourite tomato varieties, harvesting seed, lots of good canning resource suggestions, thrifting for jars, addressing the fear around canning for the first time, making fermented drinks…

Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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5 thoughts on “Preserving the Harvest Chat Transcript”

  1. Regarding the high cost of canning jars: I’ve bought some thrift and been given some (usually by older people who hear I’m canning and give me what was in their basement). Also, for the herbal vinegar and lavender syrup I’d use old mayo or other clean jars since they won’t need to withstand the heat of a boiling water canner.

  2. It’s true, I never buy new canning jars. I also rarely pay more than 25cents/jar second hand, unless it is a particularly nice vintage jar, which I collect for storing sugar and such. Love the idea of drying citrus peels, one of my favourite herbal teas is a citrus chamomile that I’d love to make myself.

  3. I remember my grandmother and mother teaching me to can the summer harvest….deep freezing too. Now I try to pass this over to my 3 girls and they look at me like i’m nuts!
    They sure do like it when I pull a jar of fresh tomato sauce or peaches out from no where and whip up a nice dinner or dessert!

  5. almost seems that canning and putting food by is becoming a lost art, my mother still does it, dries herbs in the attic, I remember my little brothers being lowered into a barrel to squash the fermenting kapusta , the house came with a smoker in the basement (there used to be a deli in the storefront), we took turns gring meat, garlic for sausage

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