Homegrown Pantry: a Gardener's Guide to Selecting the Best Varieties & Planting the Perfect Amounts for What You Want to Eat Year Round

329 Pages·61.618 MB·English

by  Pleasant, Barbara

Homegrown
Pantry
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HOME
GROWN
PANTRY
A GARDENER‘S GUIDE TO
Selecting the Best Varieties &
Planting the Perfect Amounts
for What You Want to Eat Year-Round
Barbara Pleasant
ß
Storey Publishing
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The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by
publishing practical information that encourages
personal independence in harmony with the environment.
Edited by Carleen Madigan and Sarah Guare
Art direction and book design by Jeff Stiefel
Text production by Erin Dawson
Indexed by Samantha Miller
Cover photography by © Hero Images/Getty Images, front (top); Jeff Stiefel, spine; © Kip Dawkins Photography, front
(bottom left) and back (all); Mars Vilaubi, front (bottom right)
Interior photography by © Kip Dawkins Photography, except © Barbara Pleasant, 78, 103 (left); Mars Vilaubi, 6, 24 (right),
42 (cauliflower), 43 (carrot, cucumber, radish), 48 (blackberry, blueberry), 49 (plum, rhubarb, strawberry), 52, 72, 74,
80, 84, 85, 88, 98, 100, 108, 119 (top), 121, 135, 137, 146, 150 (right), 185, 187, 209, 258, 260, 276, 305; © Nicolevanf/
Getty Images, 8 (top); Sarah Guare, 249
Map, page 135, by Ilona Sherratt
© 2017 by Barbara Pleasant
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by
a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any
part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without written permission from the publisher.
The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommenda tions are made
without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in
connection with the use of this information.
Storey books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized editions. For further
information, please call 800-793-9396.
Storey Publishing
210 MASS MoCA Way
North Adams, MA 01247
storey.com
Printed in China by R.R. Donnelley
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Pleasant, Barbara, author.
Title: Homegrown pantry / by Barbara Pleasant.
Description: North Adams, MA : Storey Publishing, 2017. | Includes index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016055527 (print) | LCCN 2016056917 (ebook) | ISBN
9781612125787 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781612125794 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Food crops. | Food—Preservation. | Vegetables. | Herbs. |
Fruit.
Classification: LCC SB175 .P54 2017 (print) | LCC SB175 (ebook) | DDC
635—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016055527
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To Gwen Steege,
for her ceaseless support
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Contents
No. 1
Why Grow Your Own Food?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
The Drive to Provide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Twelve Common Traits of Pantry Gardeners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
How to Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Your Climate, by the Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Choosing What to Grow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Working with Tunnels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Managing Your Food Preservation Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Cooking from the Homegrown Pantry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
No. 2
Basic Food Preservation Methods
. . . . . . . . . 15
Five Basic Food Storage Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Cold Storage of Homegrown Produce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Freezing Your Homegrown Bounty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Drying Vegetables, Herbs, and Fruits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Canning Your Homegrown Harvest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The Magic of Food Fermentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
No. 3
Vegetables Homegrown Pantry
for the . . . . 51
Asparagus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Peas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147
Beans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 Peppers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153
Beets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Potatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161
Broccoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Pumpkins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .171
Brussels Sprouts . . . . . . . . . . .82 Radishes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .178
Cabbage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 Rhubarb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184
Carrots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 Rutabagas . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190
Corn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 Spinach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194
Cucumbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Summer Squash . . . . . . . . . .199
Garlic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 Sweet Potatoes . . . . . . . . . . .207
Kale and Collards . . . . . . . .121 Swiss Chard . . . . . . . . . . . . .213
Kohlrabi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128 Tomatoes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219
Onions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133 Turnips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227
Parsnips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 Winter Squash . . . . . . . . . . .231
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No. 4
Fruits Homegrown Pantry
for the . . . . . . . . . 238
BERRIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239 TREE FRUITS . . . . . . . . . . .263
Blueberries . . . . . . . . . . . . .240 Apples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267
Grapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .247 Cherries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275
Raspberries . . . . . . . . . . . . .253 Pears and Asian Pears . . . . .280
Strawberries . . . . . . . . . . . .259 Plums, Peaches, and
Nectarines . . . . . . . . . . . .285
No. 5
Herbs Homegrown Pantry
for the . . . . . . . . . 291
KITCHEN HERBS . . . . . . . . .292 TEA HERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . .303
Basil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293 Catnip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .304
Cilantro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294 Chamomile . . . . . . . . . . . . .305
Dill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295 Lemon Balm . . . . . . . . . . . . .306
Marjoram . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296 Monarda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307
Oregano . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .298 Raspberries . . . . . . . . . . . . .308
Parsley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299 Stevia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .309
Rosemary . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300
Sage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301
Thyme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313
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1
N
Why Grow
Your
Own Food?
The best food in the world starts in the garden and ends on your
plate, perhaps after a comfortable stop in a well-stocked pantry
or freezer. It never knows the back of a truck or the inside of a
factory, and it holds no chemical or genetic secrets. The food you
grow and preserve yourself is pure. Eating it feels comfortable
and good.
This is why we garden our way through summer and can
our way through fall, with the hum of the dehydrator in the
background. Both a hobby and a lifestyle, provisioning yourself
with homegrown, organic food brings tasty, tangible rewards
that save you money, but it’s the overall wholesomeness of the
endeavor that makes food gardening so special. The package
deal includes healthy exercise and mindfulness practice (weed-
ing, cutting vegetables), for which you get a supply of fresh food
that is renewed each year.
This book is about growing a garden that produces tasty,
nutritious vegetables, herbs, and fruits, and then storing them
for year-round use. This rewarding path leads to a fuller life, but
it’s a long and winding road from growing your first tomato to
canning a batch of salsa. This is your guidebook for that journey.
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