Sharing The Surplus Garden Harvest What To Do With Extra Vegetables

Ideas for Sharing Your Surplus Vegetables

1. Friends, Family, and Neighbors. The easiest way to share the harvest is to give extra vegetables and flowers to our friends, family and neighbors. ...
2. Churches and Food Pantries. ...
3. Sell Your Surplus. ...
4. Give it Away! ...
5. Preserve It. ...
6. Compost It.

1. What can I do with extra vegetables from my garden?
2. How do you store vegetables after harvesting?
3. How do you grow a vegetable garden and donate some of the produce to those who need of food?
4. How do I divide my vegetable garden?
5. Should fresh picked vegetables be refrigerated?
6. How do you preserve vegetables for the winter?
7. What is the best temperature to store fresh vegetables?
8. How do you store vegetables long term?
9. How do you store fresh carrots from the garden?
10. Do food banks take fresh food?
11. Can you donate produce to food banks?
12. Where should I put vegetables in my garden?
13. What is the common garden layout for growing vegetables?
14. What should I plant in my raised garden bed?
15. What vegetables should not be refrigerated?
16. What veggies do not need to be refrigerated?
17. How do you keep vegetables fresh outside of the fridge?
18. What is the best way to store carrots for winter?
19. How do I preserve food from my garden?
20. How do you preserve vegetables for years?

What can I do with extra vegetables from my garden?

10 Ways to Use Extra Garden Vegetables

1. Make veggie-filled goodie bags. ...
2. Preserve your pickings. ...
3. Donate to a local food pantry or food rescue organization. ...
4. Start a produce stand in your front yard. ...
5. Add a listing to a local crop-swap site. ...
6. Post ads on Freecycle or Craigslist. ...
7. Cook a meal for a neighbor in need. ...
8. Barter for goods and services.

How do you store vegetables after harvesting?

Harvest when the fruits reach desired size or color. Store in a cool spot (55°F) in the kitchen in perforated plastic bags. Storage in the refrigerator is also possible for a few days.
...

1. Harvest while the flower buds are still tight and green.
2. Store in cold and moist conditions.
3. The expected shelf-life is two weeks.

How do you grow a vegetable garden and donate some of the produce to those who need of food?

Here are the basic steps for starting a vegetable donation program in your community garden:

1. Ask for help. Gauge the interest of other community gardeners either individually or in a group meeting.
2. Find a pantry. ...
3. Create a donation plan. ...
4. Track donations. ...
5. Celebrate.

How do I divide my vegetable garden?

Placement of your vegetables.

1. Divide the site into three sections (4 if you are planting perennial vegetables). ...
2. Within each section organize the vegetables by how much space they need.
3. Place the ones that mature earlier in one area so you can plant something else later in the season in that same spot.

Should fresh picked vegetables be refrigerated?

1. Many fruits and vegetables should only be stored at room temperatures. Refrigeration can cause cold damage or prevent them from ripening to good flavor and texture. ... In the refrigerator, they do not turn red, and even red tomatoes kept in the refrigerator lose their flavor.

How do you preserve vegetables for the winter?

General Storage Rules

1. Store only fully mature vegetables. ...
2. Do not store vegetables that have been bruised or nicked or that show the slightest sign of rot. ...
3. Remove all excess soil. ...
4. Thoroughly clean your storage area before each use.
5. Keep the storage area dark.

What is the best temperature to store fresh vegetables?

A general rule for vegetables is that cool-season crops should be stored at cooler temperatures (32 to 35°F), and warm-season crops should be stored at warmer temperatures (45 to 55°F).

How do you store vegetables long term?

Most vegetables, like carrots, potatoes, broccoli, cabbage and celery should be stored in a plastic bag or container in the crisper of your fridge. Mushrooms are best stored in a paper bag. Vegetables should be stored in a different part of the fridge than fruit. This will prevent them from ripening too fast.

How do you store fresh carrots from the garden?

Place carrots in the coolest place in your refrigerator. Remove the tops, which can be also used for salads or as an herb component to other dishes, but only last up to a week similar to arugula. Once you have cleaned the carrots, wrap them in damp paper towels. Storing fresh carrots this way can last for a month.

Do food banks take fresh food?

It might seem like a caring gesture to gift homemade foods for your local food drive, but food banks can't accept any foods that aren't commercially packaged.

Can you donate produce to food banks?

California growers donating California-grown fresh fruits or fresh vegetables to a food bank located in California are eligible for the tax credit. The new law defines an eligible grower as the person responsible for planting, managing, and harvesting the donated crop from land.

Where should I put vegetables in my garden?

Follow a few simple rules when planning your raised bed.

1. Plant your climbing vegetables toward the back of the bed on a trellis. ...
2. Think of larger vegetables going down to smaller. ...
3. Allow for at least 18 inches of space between plants like tomatoes. ...
4. Peppers will grow tall, but not as tall as tomatoes.

What is the common garden layout for growing vegetables?

There are many styles of vegetable gardens, but three common ones include raised beds, inground beds, and kitchen gardens. Each style of garden will have unique characteristics when it comes to designing their layouts.

What should I plant in my raised garden bed?

They last for only for one growing season, so you can grow something different in the same space next time around. Some annuals you might want to grow in your raised bed garden are petunias, pansies, basil, lemongrass, and vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, squash, and onions.

What vegetables should not be refrigerated?

8 Fruits and Vegetables You Shouldn't Be Refrigerating

• Garlic, Onions, and Shallots. With the exception of spring onions and scallions, alliums shouldn't be stored in the fridge. ...
• Hard Squashes. ...
• Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes. ...
• Corn. ...
• Stone Fruit. ...
• Pineapple. ...
• Melons.

What veggies do not need to be refrigerated?

Foods You Don't Need To Refrigerate:

• Tomatoes: If you take nothing else away from this article, please heed this. ...
• Potatoes, sweet potatoes: Yes, potatoes are supposed to be kept in a cool, dark place, so the fridge should be ideal, right? ...
• Apples, Pears: You can refrigerate these fruits, but you don't need to.

How do you keep vegetables fresh outside of the fridge?

To keep your fresh greenies longer and fresher, store them in bags filled with a little air then seal it tightly. While citrus fruits such as oranges, tangerines, lemons, and limes, last longer than your other fruits you can also prolong their durableness even longer.

What is the best way to store carrots for winter?

Store carrots in a root cellar or basement or in a garage where the temperature is about 32°-38°F during the winter; store roots in a bucket or wooden box filled with either sand, peat moss, or sawdust; pack the roots so that they are standing upright or vertical and insulated and covered and do not touch one another; ...

How do I preserve food from my garden?

6 Simple Ways to Preserve Foods From Your Garden

1. Fermenting. The process of fermentation to preserve and store foods has been practiced for thousands of years. ...
2. Freezing. Freezing is one of the simplest, most convenient, and least time-consuming ways to preserve fresh produce. ...
3. Canning. Canning has been used to store foods for almost 200 years. ...
4. Infusing. ...
5. Drying. ...
6. Donating.

How do you preserve vegetables for years?

These seven ways to preserve summer fruits and vegetables are all effective – and can all be done in the comfort of your own home.

1. Drying. Drying fruits and vegetables requires removing the water content. ...
2. Canning. The term “canning” is a little misleading. ...
3. Pickling. ...
4. Fermenting. ...
5. Freezing. ...
6. Oil Packing. ...
7. Salting.