Canning Vegetables to Save Money

I love this time of year. Days are nice and warm. The sun is shining. Animals are out and about. And the garden is producing.

My husband and I have a 2,500 square foot garden. This year we have planted: 73 tomatoes, 16 bell peppers, more than 40 green beans, 8 zucchini, 1 spaghetti squash, 2 butternut squash, 6 cantaloupes, more than 10 cucumbers, among other things. And yes - there are only two of us in the house.

Why do we plant all of this food? For one thing, we have the yard space and love spending time tending to the garden. Most of our family and neighbors do not have gardens and we love to share.

But the most important reason - the flavor. Nothing in the store tastes as good as home-grown produce. Knowing that I can walk out to the garden and get the vegetables I need for dinner is wonderful. It saves time and money.

To take advantage of most of this extra produce, I can it at home. I make sure that I have enough to last all winter and spring - until the garden starts producing again. I have purchased some canning jars at my local mega-store, but most have been given to me by family members. My husband's grandmother is not able to can food anymore (due to her health), so she has given me all of her jars and her pressure canner.

With a few supplies and a little work, I have canned pickles, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, tomato sauce, green beans, and corn. I also freeze zucchini and bell peppers. Everything I am able to preserve is one less thing I have to buy at the store. And it all tastes as if it was fresh from the garden.

I learned how to can on my own. I simply purchased a How-to canning book at the store. The instructions are easy to read and simple to follow.

I hope you find an opportunity to take advantage of local produce to can. It really does taste better than anything you can buy at the store.