My Gardening and Preserving Goals 2017

Each year I try to garden with a goal in mind. My goal is always to produce and preserve as much food as we need to get us through the winter and to help me spend as little as possible at the grocery store.

Last year I had some pretty lofty goals and fell completely flat on my face. It was a horrible growing season in 2016. Heat and drought took it’s toll on the garden and a late frost killed all of the blossoms on the fruit trees. I have never seen anything like it really.

I revisited my goals from last year and chopped some of the harder to reach goals out.

Here is a list of my family’s 2017 Gardening and Preserving Goals.

Herbs:

1. Garlic
2. Chives
3. Aloe Vera
4. Dill
5. Artemisia
6. Calendula
7. Chamomile
8. Cilantro
9. Purple Cone Flower (Echinacea)
10. Sweet Woodruff
11. Lavender
12. Lemon Balm
13. Mint
14. Catnip
15. Basil
16. Oregano
17. Parsley
18. Anise
19. Rosemary
20. Sage
21. Dandelion
22. Thyme
23. Nasturtium
24. Valerian

Crops:

1. Asparagus
2. Strawberries
3. Raspberries
4. Blackberries
5. Cherries Sweet
6. Cherries Sour
7. Pears
8. Peaches
9. Grapes
10. Rhubarb
11. Sweet Peppers
12. Banana Peppers
13. Eggplant
14. Onions
15. Shallots
16. Snap Bean Bush – Purple, yellow and green
17. Snap Bean Pole
18. Peas
19. Spinach
20. Lettuce
21. Cabbage
22. Swiss Chard
23. Beets
24. Radish
25. Carrots
26. Cucumbers
27. Pumpkins
28. Gourds
29. Winter Squash
30. Zucchini
31. Yellow Squash
32. Cantaloupes
33. Water Melon
34. Sunflowers
35. Tomatoes
36. Celery
37. Broccoli
38. Potatoes
39. Yellow Tomatoes
40. Paste Tomatoes

Preserving:

1. Strawberry Jam
2. Grape Jelly
3. Black Raspberry Jam
4. Red Raspberry Jam
5. Peach Jam
6. Pear Jelly
7. Apple Jelly
8. Honeyed Yellow Tomato Butter
9. Canned Cherries in Syrup
10. Canned Cherry Pie Filling Sweet
11. Canned Cherry Pie Filling Sour
12. Basil Banana Pepper Jelly
13. Apple Sauce
14. Grape Juice
15. Pear Juice
16. Tart Cherry Juice
17. Pickled Beets
18. Canned Beets
19. Vegetable Stock
20. Vegetable Soup
21. Tomato Sauce
22. Blackberry, Red Raspberry, Peach, Cherry Cordials
23. Chili Sauce (Two different kinds)
24. Bread and Butter Pickles
25. Frozen Corn
26. Frozen Peppers
27. Frozen Beet Greens/Chard
28. Red Root Relish
29. Lemon Sage Wine Mustard
30.  Dilly Deans
31. Pickled Hot Peppers
32. Sweet Crisp Pickles
33.  Crushed Tomatoes
34. Whole Tomatoes Packed in Water
35.  Canned Green Beans
36. Frozen Peas
37. Frozen Winter Squash and some stored whole
38. Chili
39. Stuffed Hot Peppers
40. Stuffed Sweet Peppers

 

So far, we are already doing mighty fine with our 2017 gardening goals and we have had plenty of rain too. Yippee!

This last weekend we added 3 more raised veggie beds which brings my planting area to about 200 sq. ft. of space to work with. Yippee! Thank you Mr. Ripley for working so hard. (He said it was my Mother’s Day present).

To date we have planted carrots, peas, radish, and lettuce but much more will be planted by the end of this week.

How will I keep track of all of this? My journal. And lists. LOTS of lists. Should be interesting! Wish me luck and I will keep you updated. -MM