Beans, Beans

The green beans have started to mature along with the peppers, tomatoes, summer squash, cucumbers and potatoes. There are a lot of veggies to eat; more than two adults can manage.

pole beans growing on a 4' X 16' cattle panel - easy to grow, easier to harvest than the bush variety

Since we can never keep up by eating up, we try to freeze/can as much as possible of the surplus to be used during the garden’s off season - late fall, winter, and early spring.  The over mature and spoiled veggies are fed to the chickens; nothing produced here goes to waste here.

Freezing is my preservation method of choice for most of the vegetables except for the tomatoes which I have dried; but, I prefer canning.  A plus to freezing is that any amount of produce can easily be preserved; from a handful to a bushel or more.  I, personally, prefer the smaller and more manageable harvest size; keeping the process fun rather than a chore.  The only down side to freezing…if the power goes off - then, the generator needs to be up and running in short order.

Green beans are so easy to freeze -  clean, snap to size, parboil for three minutes in boiling water, place in meal-sized freezer bags, and into the freezer where…

the flavor of summer is saved for a later time.