What are you interested in putting up this season?

[JasonFrishman]

I have this plan:
each year, pick 2 (at least) new items to put up for the winter; hopefully working up to reducing the vegetables that we buy at stores by (insert a large percentage here!)  So, last year, we put up:
carrots, beets, potatoes, onions, cabbage, butternut squash, Kim Chi, Kraut, Fermented Garlic Scapes, some random zucchini relish (fermented), apple sauce, apple cider vinegar, kale, tomatoes, and cucumber pickles.

This year, I want to do the same things, and add:
canned roasted red peppers, fermented veggie mixes (looking for ideas!), corn, and something else...

Ideas?
What are you looking to put up this year?
What have you thought about doing, but haven't tried yet?
Favorites from previous years?

[Morganna]

I'm doing a more extensive container garden this year, though it will mostly be a salsa garden.  This year I'm adding bell peppers, some cherry tomatoes, and I might do some cukes or something like that.  I haven't decided.  I've also added strawberries.  I have no idea how well those will do but I was so happy with my tomatoes, hot peppers and onions last year I can't wait.

We'll be putting up plenty of salsa again.

[Jeanne K]

In the past I've put up quantities of quarts of tomatoes, prodigious pints of pickles, and jars and jars of jam. Now I just stare at my gas burners boiling the jars, boiling the food, and boiling the canned food, and I am dismayed over the carbon footprint of all this. Anyone else have this problem? Should I just get over it or is this really something I should worry about? Is the carbon footprint of 30 quarts of home-canned tomatoes still smaller than the footprint produced to get the equivalent from farm to that market shelf for me? Argh! What's a foodie to do?

[JasonFrishman]

Good Question...

Honestly, I've never really thought about it that way before.
Initial thoughts: the carbon footprint for 30 quarts of canned vegetables is going to be way less than buying canned or jarred foods from a store.  Even if the company that cans the produce is here in Burlington, there still needs to be the extensive processing, manufacturing of labels, storage, manufacturing of cardboard cases, shipping, storage in stores, electricity to run the stores, your gas to go and get the goods, etc...

As a point of comparison, last fall, I put up 40 quarts of tomatoes, 24 quarts of cucumber pickles, and 16 quarts of apple sauce.  I did all of this outside on our outdoor stove, which is powered with one of those portable propane tanks that you can get filled at some gas stations.  All of the canning above was done with about half of one of those propane tanks.  That's not a lot. I don't label them with extensive labels, and the jars get carried down into my basement where I have them through the winter (in fact we are having pizza from a jar of tomatoes that I opened this evening.)  That has to be significantly less than buying from the market shelf. 

Additionally, when I can my own stuff, it either came from my own garden, which reduces my footprint, or from local farmers (the tomatoes came from Rachel and David, the cucumbers came from Eric, and the apples cam from Nick.)  There is the satisfaction of supporting farmers that I know, AND, I have total control of what goes into my own jars.  (My tomato sauce is certainly my own favorite!)

Those are just my quick thoughts, and I am definitely not incredibly well versed in carbon footprint management; I'd love to hear others' thoughts...
-Jason

[Jeanne K]

Jason: Thanks for your response. It helps to hear how much propane it took as a kind of "benchmark" for direct energy use for canning. I, too, have felt it just has to be better to grow and can, and I, too, want to support local agriculture (David and Rachel are our CSA farmers...). Just had to throw out the question, more to reassure myself, I guess...

Along with the CSA, we're growing so much ourselves this year, including six blueberry bushes, cherries, peaches and scads of vegetables that we're getting a second small box freezer so we'll have a fruit freezer and a veggie freezer. (Energy Star rated, of course.)

Love the recent soaking rains we've had...

Jeanne K

[Morganna]

Well, I finally got my container garden in place!  Here is a slideshow of some photos I took a few days after I planted (because it was sunny a couple of days later, not the day I planted).

http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v252/morgannalefey/Earthboxes/2009/?action=view&current=3be4984a.pbw (if this asks for a password, use 4wombats)

I need to get a strawberry pot/jar thing for my strawberry plant. I was told by friends I could put one plant in it, then when it sends out runners, put the runners in the other pots. I hope that's the case.