Even in small gardens, the summer harvest season can produce an abundance of tomatoes and corn and zucchini, but there are ways to make your surplus crops last beyond the summer.
Several upcoming classes can teach you how to preserve all those fresh foods you're harvesting, along with the finer points of the prep work involved.
"I've shucked a lot of corn and broken a lot of beans," says University of Tennessee Extension agent June Puett, who grew up helping her mother and grandmothers can their summer crops.
Having access to fresh food creates a greater appreciation for the quality of the food you're eating, Puett says. Do-it-yourself food preservation is a logical next step for prolonging summer's goodness.
"We know more people want to know what's in their food," she says. "When they can it themselves, or freeze it, they know exactly what's in it."
Puett has two classes scheduled at the Extension office later this month: Home Canning 101 on Aug. 16 and Food Preservation: Freezing Basics on Aug. 17. Crabtree Farms also has a couple of classes, including Apple Canning 101.
Contributed Photo by Kristy Moyers / Retired Extension agent Marie Moyers, second from left, brought her son Marcus Moyers, left, and granddaughter Gabriella, right, to a canning class taught by her former colleague June Puett, second from right, to make sure they knew all the latest information about proper canning techniques. They brought some of their home canned goods as examples of safely canned foods.The coronavirus has fueled much of the interest in growing and preserving food because it forced people to find more homebound hobbies.
"Last year, I would say our inquiries here at the office probably quadrupled," Puett says. "We ended up posting videos on our Facebook pages. As a [baby] boomer, I needed help with the technology, so I partnered with The Chattery, who could run those Zoom classes while I concentrated on teaching."
Two of the 20 or so classes they partnered on, Home Canning 101 and Cast Iron Cooking 101, are available as webinars on The Chattery's website, thechattery.org.
Puett says the participants' experience level varies. "We've had people who've never canned anything, and I've had my retired co-worker, who is 88 and whom I consider an authority, bring three generations of her family because she wanted to make sure they had the latest information and resources."
Melissa Astin, director of community outreach and engagement at Crabtree Farms, says their September class will teach water bath canning. Instructor Jessie Gantt-Temple of Feathers & Fruit, an urban farm in Soddy-Daisy, will focus on apples "because that's what's in season," Astin says, "but it translates to any water bath canning."
The September class is a prerequisite for the December class on pressure canning, a more advanced process.
"You kind of need to know the basics before you dip into pressure canning," Astin says.
Contact Lisa Denton at ldenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6281.
DATES TO KNOW
Note: All are designed as in-person classes but are subject to change based on evolving coronavirus protocols.
* Monday, Aug. 16: Home Canning 101, 1-3 p.m. at UT Extension, 6183 Adamson Circle, $12; register at thechattery.org
* Tuesday, Aug. 17: Food Preservation: Freezing Basics, 6-8 p.m. UT Extension, 6183 Adamson Circle, $12; register at thechattery.org
* Saturday, Aug. 21: Fall Garden Workshop, 10-11:30 a.m. at Crabtree Farms, 1000 E. 30th St., $18; register at crabtreefarms.org
* Saturday, Aug. 28: Planting Your Fall Garden, 1-2:30 p.m. at The Chattery, 1800 Rossville Ave., $18; register at thechattery.org
* Friday, Sept. 10: Apple Canning 101, 5:30-8:30 p.m. at Crabtree Farms, 1000 E. 30th St., $40; register at crabtreefarms.org
* Friday, Dec. 10: Stock & Stuffers (advanced canning of broth), 5:30-8:30 p.m., $40; register at crabtreefarms.org