I feel your pain.

I'm putting a cold frame on my list of garden purchases for that reason. I can have lettuce all winter with one of those. A lot of folks says they're just awesome devices that they didn't know how to do without once they bought/built it. Is it really the "cell phone" of gardening? I hope to find out!

We have a hoop house and a cold frame, just put both up last spring. I did not plant anything in my cold frame in the fall because I figured that I cold just grow some lettuce, scallions and some other things in the hoop house since it would be easier to get to in the winter with snow. I went and bought some rubbermaid containers to plant in, planted the seeds and of course like I always do got excited watching them all sprout and grow. It made me so happy thinking about being able to go out there and pick lettuce during the winter. Well anyhow a few days after they started sprouting a vole or mouse (I am assuming) came along and ate all my precious lettuce down to the dirt. Since I figured by that point it was starting to get too cold for anymore seed to germinate and buy the time I figured out how to keep the voles or mice, whatever it was, from eating them it would definitely be too late, I gave up. If it wasn't for that stupid rodent I probably could be eating a bowel of fresh lettuce right now!

But anyhow I am sure you will love your cold frame, I do love mine.

Bigger garden, more freezer space, and rodent traps will take care of those issues.

Okay, I have to have potatoes with any meal, otherwise it is a snack. The problem with them is no matter what, it is hard to keep them past the first of March or at the latest April without them going mushing.

This year, I canned about 24 quarts. Cut them into pieces but left the skin on. Filled quart jars with the spuds and water, stuck them in a pressure canner for whatever the recommended time and pressure is (15 minutes at 10 pounds, maybe).

While they don't make great French Fries, that is about the only thing they cannot be used for. Even then, if I empty the water out and stick the taters in the fridge overnight, I can deep fry them without them falling apart.

The plan is to can about 50 quarts this year. I may also try cutting some up into French Fries and dehydrating them.

Mike

Just in case someone reads the post above and thinks 15 minutes at 10 lbs in a pressure canner is OK for potatoes: it's not! Should be 40 minutes for quarts, 35 minutes for pint. Which I'm sure Mike would have remembered if he wasn't so exhausted from all that canning :) ! That's a lot of potatoes! I'd never considered canning potatoes before. Perhaps I'll have to try next year.

I'm still OK on some of my vegetables, but I'm getting low on frozen zucchini (even with rationing, dratted SVB) and garlic. I discovered an extra stash of frozen pesto this weekend when I made yet another stab at organizing the freezer. This time with the freezer, I'm trying bags with large, laminated, color-coded with pictures labels. So far, so good. My unheated side storage area has been holding my garlic, potatoes and winter squash even better than expected. All this said, I will cry when I use the last frozen spinach.

Bellatrix

Anyone ever freeze potatoes? I plan on growing over 100 pounds this growing season and am looking for preservation ideas.

Canning is certainly one option.

But, Id also like to freeze some. I figure that I should cut them down into 1/4s and boil them for 5 minutes. Then put them in freezer bags.

I plan on growing early varieties (yukon) and late maturing, so I can have potatoes until about Feb. Hard to expect them to be fresh any longer than that.

Bellatrix,

Thanks for the correct time. I use a canning guide and look up the directions for whatever I'm canning. I also can whole tomatoes and salsa, blanch green beans, dehydrate carrots, squash and cabbage.

Mike

Tommy2, don't try freezing potatoes. It's not dangerous or anything it's just that their texture turns all mealy and unappetizing. I suppose you could use frozen potatoes as mashed potatoes or for potato soup but definitely not for boiling. Try freezing one yourself and you'll see what I mean. :(

Gotchya..Thanks..

I need to get a good book on food preservation..

I have 5 butternut squash left along with 2 sweet dumplings. Still have some kale in the freezer plus lots of blueberries. Our onions are starting to sprout and someone(hubby) left the lid off of the rubber maid container where my carrots were stored in damp vermiculite and they are growing new tops!! The butternuts are soooooo good after the long storage..taste like pumpkin pie. Maybe 4 pints of "annies salsa" and several cubes of pesto. Quite a bit of ground venison and several serving of fillet green beans (frozen). Rasberries are going fast.

Tommy2, there are people on the Harvest Forum that freeze potatoes after blanching so you might want to check that forum out. You can do french fries by blanching then freezing and they come out better than store bought. Also, bake some potatoes, scoop out the centers and mash with your favorite whatevers, then refill and freeze. Very good.