by Sheila Watson Kraklow

Created on: May 08, 2009   Last Updated: May 18, 2009

How to Freeze and Keep the Vegetables You've Grown

Your garden is bursting at its white-picket-fence line with all its bright and colorful bounty, just waiting for you to get busy. How does one go about harvesting and storing all those delicious, healthful vegetables? Freeze them! Here in this article we will unearth a common- sense approach to preparing and freezing the luscious rewards of your gardening labor. We will examine freezing peas, carrots, zucchini, sweet corn, and green beans, thus covering a wide array of garden produce.

Always look for fully mature items to harvest.
Some harvesting tips:

-Peas and green beans should have at least 6 to 8 beans in each pod/shell and be plump as well as crisp. Pull a few pods/beans off random plants and test for these things. Peas mature much faster and will be ready to harvest long before any beans have formed.

-Carrots are ready to harvest when you can just see some orange tops above the soil. Harvest when the carrots are at peak condition. Young, small to medium-sized carrots are the sweetest. Older carrots may get withered and soggy or become woody. Pull a few "test" carrots and do a crispness test by breaking them in half. Peak quality items should resist and then have a nice snap when it does break. To freeze, harvest carrots that are four to six inches long and about as big around as your index finger (1 to 2 inches). Carrots of this size will be tender but firm, and perfect for freezing.

-Zucchini plants will garner you bushels of tender, thin-skinned, dark green or speckled produce. Be careful not to over-plant or you will have far too many-and your neighbors will get tired of seeing you coming to their doors with more zucchinis! One or two plants will produce all the squash you can eat, bake, freeze, or give away. Zucchinis should be harvested while young and slender. The best zucchinis are small, about six inches in length. Pick them often and be sure to use this delicious vegetable when fresh.

-Sweet corn is a late summer-treat that can be frozen at its peak of freshness and enjoyed all winter long. Harvest when silks have turned brown and dry; this is when sweet corn is ripe.

Supplies needed:

Clear plastic zip-lock or twist-tie bags, or
Plastic (Tupperware or Rubber-Maid) containers with lids, or
Clear plastic vacuum-seal bags, such as Seal-A-Meal. This method of bagging is highly recommended; it is easy to use and removal of all the air from the bags guards against freezer-burn and adds greatly to the

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