It helps to enrich your life on multiple levels. Growing your own food is an excellent way to help boost physical and mental health and combat chronic disease. Many of the foods we eat daily are filled with preservatives, pesticides, synthetic ingredients, and other non-nutritional additives. These circumstances have created a diet loaded with toxic substances, plaguing our systems and playing a significant role in the development of chronic disease.

Being selective with crops is important because it helps maximize yield, quality, nutritional value, and disease resistance. It is best to utilize varieties with a reputation for; doing well in your area. Also focus on those crops that your family will make the best use of, and which crops you can successfully garden given your current circumstances.

One way to enhance your garden is to try planting 1-2 new varieties annually and compare their growth performance with former favorites to help you select the best options each year.

Use the guides below to get an idea of which varieties would be best for your gardening restrictions and goals:

To maximize the quality of your crops and for your garden to grow properly, you need to utilize soil that is providing the appropriate amount of water and nutrients to the plants. The soil should be prepared before planting to help enhance the yield and nutritional value of your harvest. Balancing the acidity of your soil by using lime, or adding things like fertilizer and organic matter, such as compost or manure, can also help to improve the quality.

Good soil is loose, easy to work with, and has good water-capacity and drainage. It is important, especially with a first planting, to have your soil tested. This will inform you of the quality of your soil and what nutrients may be lacking, to help determine what needs to be added.

Plowing or tilling the soil should be done in the spring or fall and when soil conditions are not too wet. Fertilizer should be added before and during planting, using a hoe, a plow or a tiller, and should be integrated into the soil surface a few inches from the side of a row of plants. Along with the fertilizer, lime can be added to help balance soil that is too acidic, and sulfur for those that are too alkaline.

Growing a successful, healthy garden depends heavily on how and when you plant your crops. Oftentimes your climate will dictate the “when” and the type of plants you are growing will dictate the “how”. Some plants can withstand exposure to frost, while others can’t. Make sure you have mapped out your garden, prepared the planting areas, and are utilizing fresh, viable, disease-free seeds.

Refer to these “When to Plant Vegetables” and “Frost Dates” calendar resources that allow you to enter your zip-code to see the growing season for your local area to plan the best time to start planting:

Freezing is one of the best and easiest ways to preserve the nutrients of your harvest. It is most suited for crops that are generally cooked before eating and not those typically eaten raw. It is important to research what is best for each product of your harvest to make sure to maximize the nutrients you preserve from your harvest.

The best time to freeze your crops is just prior to peak ripening and avoid freezing damaged or bruised items. Most crops will require blanching in steam or boiling water for up to 3 minutes followed by a quick cool-down in ice water prior to freezing. This blanching process helps halt the development of nutrient depleting enzymes that leave your food deprived of taste, nutrients and color.

Utilize a container best suited for long-term cold storage such as vacuum sealed plastic bags or containers. Vacuum sealing helps to prevent frost buildup and keeps the vegetables fresher longer.

Canning is a more involved way of preserving your crops for later use. Each step should be followed closely to avoid the development of harmful bacteria and extend the shelf-life of your stored crops. Like with the freezing process, it is important to stop the activity of nutrient, depleting enzymes prior to canning by heating to a high enough temperature that will also help destroy harmful microorganisms.

Canning involves sealing your foods in a glass jar and either using a water bath for highly acidic foods such as jellies or jams or pressure canning for low-acidic items such as beans and vegetables.

Some important points are to utilize mature, tender, clean crops and pack in standard canning jars with all air bubbles removed. If a jar is sealed, it will have a concave lid. Canned food can be stored in dry, dark areas for up to a year and a half!

When people hear pickling, they typically assume you are talking about making pickles, pickled cucumbers, but there are a variety of vegetables that can be pickled, such as beans, tomatoes, carrots and beets! In fact, pickling is an effective, time-tested method that goes back over 4,000 years to Mesopotamian times.

Pickling differs from canning in the use of a brine, a boiled mixture of vinegar, pepper, salt, or sugar, to help preserve the food. It involves arranging your food in glass jars, adding the seasoning of your choice, covering them with the boiled brine, and sealing the jar securely once it has cooled. Some common seasoning choices are turmeric, dill, jalapeno, mustard seeds, and cumin.

Refer to the guides below for further information and resources to get you started with pickling today!

Drying or dehydration of your excess harvest can be done in many ways and helps keep your food nutritious, easily stored and rehydrated for use in future recipes such as soups, stews and casseroles.

Since dehydrated foods are more lightweight, they are optimal choices for convenient on-the-go, high-energy, nutritious snacks. For example, fruits can be dried and rolled up into rolls or flattened into leather-type chews.

Drying can be done using methods as simple and free as bright sunlight or hanging vegetables in a cool, dry room, to more technological and cost-involved methods such as a drying oven or an electric dryer.

Don’t be afraid to try different methods and determine which will work best for you. It is up to you which method of drying is going to work best for your situation. See the links below for some further information on how to start dehydrating your own fruits and vegetables:

When considering storing your produce the major factors are temperature and humidity. Different fruits and vegetables will require different optimal storage environments. It is best to be prepared prior to harvest to meet these storage requirements for all your harvest to help avoid waste and spoilage.