imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

What do you do with extra produce from your garden?

I have a small garden, but it is often feast or famine. I try to limit the number of any one kind of plant I have to maximize variety and minimize waste. I still end up with too many zucchini, cucumber, tomatoes, limes and cilantro all at once and have nothing at other times. I give some of it away, but a lot of it ends up not being used. What do you do with your excess from the garden?

User avatar
TomatoNut95
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2069
Joined: Sun May 26, 2019 11:11 am
Location: Texas Zone 8

It's mostly peppers and tomatoes that I'll get too much of. I usually just freeze, eat, give away or waste excess.

pepperhead212
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2851
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2014 1:52 pm
Location: Woodbury NJ Zone 7a/7b

I dry a lot of things, freeze some, can a little, and give away a lot to friends and family. With a few things I take excess to some grocers (the red epazote and habaneros and some other chiles for the Mexican grocer, and the curry leaves and some green chiles for the Indian grocer), and get deals on my future purchases. I originally got the idea for taking things to the grocers when I'd trim my curry tree and epazote plants, and hate to throw the stuff away, but nobody I know uses those things!

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

That's a thought. I have a murraya curry tree. I have to see if anyone wants it. I have to keep cutting it back or it would be 15 ft by now and it reseeds. The only Indian friend I know already has a tree.

PaulF
Greener Thumb
Posts: 910
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2010 5:34 pm
Location: Brownville, Ne

Take it to friends first, then if still extra it goes to the village Post Office for anyone in town to take home.

User avatar
digitS'
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 3925
Joined: Sun Sep 26, 2010 1:10 pm
Location: ID/WA! border

For several years, surplus produce from a large garden went to a farmers' market.

DW was the sales person and both DD and DS were involved at times. After set-up, I had time to make it to a garden for a little extra work. At an early marketsite, with longer hours of operation, I had time on 2 occasions to load the boat and go fishing :D.

Markets shouldn't run for more than 5 hours, tho' ;). Any longer and your lettuce will be flat on the table on a hot summer day! Processing time can take several hours the afternoon before market and a nap is required after.

DW is very much a fresh veggies and fruit person so we are frequently in the soopermarket produce aisles thru the winter. I have said that we sell garden produce in the summer so as to afford California broccoli in the off-season.

Steve

gumbo2176
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 3065
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 2:01 am
Location: New Orleans

I share it with neighbors, family and friends. Much of what I grow I do use in some way, either cooked and eaten fresh, canned or cooked and frozen for later use, but once my personal quota is reached, or well within sight, I start handing it out.

Some of the crops I share from the spring/summer garden are beans, cucumbers, eggplant and especially okra since I have at least 60 of them planted every year.

From the fall/winter garden I give out collards, Swiss Chard, leaf lettuces, Kale and if my cabbages and broccoli all come in at the same time, some of them. Last fall I had to pick the last 8 cabbages at the same time since we had so much rainfall that they were getting ready to split from taking up so much moisture. I don't make sauerkraut, so some of them were given out.

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

You can freeze tomatoes whole in plastic bags.

You can freeze corn on the ears or cut it off and freeze kernels in bags.

We also freeze peppers, Mexican chilies, Tabasco, Jalapeno, Sweet bells, whole or sliced.

Freeze beans in zip lock bags.

Onions, garlic, potatoes, keep them in a, cool, dark, dry, place.

I use to give extra to the homeless shelter but now they refuse to take it.

I give away extra to, relatives, friends, neighbors.



Return to “Vegetable Gardening Forum”