Simpler Living
By Fiona Wagner • Bankrate.com

It's hard to believe that the summer is behind us. After an all too short growing season, filled with seeding, weeding, primping, pruning and cajoling, our inaugural garden patch is now tilled and tucked in for the winter under a thick layer of composted chicken poop and mulch. All that's left is a towering row of mammoth sunflowers, bursting with seeds that we've left for the birds, standing like sentries at attention in wait for next year's garden assembly.

As I was tearing out the last of this year's greenery, I was overcome with mixed feelings. Growing food, especially organically, isn't always simple. As a novice gardener/aspiring farmer, there's loads to learn about soil types, natural fertilizers, companion planting and bugs. So, there was a part of me relieved to have garden duties off my farm chore roster.

But the larger part of me was sad to see the end of the season. It was a productive time, and our little garden delighted us with its ever-changing bounty. Eating food straight from the field is such an exquisite sensory experience: After snapping green beans off the vine that were longer than a pencil and as thick as my index finger, it pained me to go back to eating store bought beans that are stringy, bland and puny. And I'd much rather fight with my kids over grape tomatoes than processed sweets any day.

Before moving to our farm in eastern Ontario just over a year ago, we knew that eating produce from the farmers' market tasted better, but once the market was closed for the season, we went back to shopping at the grocery store. We knew that imported produce bears only a striking resemblance to its in-season, local relations, but cheap air freight and multinational grocery store chains have made food imports plentiful and affordable.

But it wasn't always that way. While we're used to shopping year-round and seeing strawberries in February and asparagus at Christmastime, folks used to "put up the harvest," using age-old techniques to dry, pickle, salt, preserve and store their bounty for the winter.

Whether you're overrun with produce like we were (apparently, 24 heirloom tomato plants produce more fruit than we can eat, sell and give away), or if you prefer to stock up on your family's favourites at the farmers' market, there are plenty of ways you, too, can extend the goodness of summer year-round.

Methods of preserving
When people think of food preservation, images of Mason jars, pressure canners and stove-top water baths often come to mind. Canning is an integral (and fun) part of food preservation and one that I've written about before, but it's not the only way to keep food for the season.

While many experienced gardeners live by the motto that whatever grows underground, stores underground -- think carrots, potatoes or parsnips -- the simple act of harvesting can become impossible when faced with thick snow or frozen soil. The next-best solution is the root cellar.

If your property doesn't already boast a root cellar or a handy north-facing hill (unlikely, I know), a basement or garage may do just fine. The key is the space must be dark and offer some temperature and humidity control.