Plan the Garden to Preserve Food Later

Gardeners rejoice! Spring is on its way and now is the time to plan what produce to plant. Besides planning what to put in the ground, plan ahead to preserve the bountiful harvest.

Depending on ground space and weather, growing a garden can yield fresh, nutritious produce to enjoy throughout the year. Two resources can help with your planning.

The first is K-State’s Vegetable Garden Planting Guide. It gives vegetable yields per 100 feet of land, planting guidance, and a planting calendar from planting to harvest. For example, 100 feet of green beans should yield 120 pounds of beans. Yield can also be calculated per person. For green beans, 15-16 feet of plantings per person.

Based on what is planted, plans can be made to preserve the produce. To can the green beans in the above example, the 120 pounds of beans will make about 60 quarts of canned beans. An approximate yield chart can be found in Table 2 of So Easy to Preserve, 6th edition.

For more gardening information, check out the K-State Horticulture Fruit and Vegetable Gardening Programs website.