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Maximize Homegrown Harvests

It’s hard work keeping a garden, buying local food, and foraging from the earth. It’s worthwhile and rewarding work to be sure but it is still hard work. It’s work that increases our independence and food security, work that can in some instances help us save some money and live a bit more frugally, and it is work that connects us to the earth and our homes deeply. Make the most of that work and maximize homegrown harvests by letting nothing go to waste and getting a little creative at the same time.

Maximize homegrown harvests with these 7 tips to make the most of every growing thing to increase food security and live more frugally.

Waste Not, Want Not

Many of the leaves of the things we eat are also edible and useful. Admittedly we can get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of greens in a garden but they can be used for so much more than just salad. Beet greens, turnip leaves, radish leaves and more are all edible and give us many tasty ways to get frugally creative.

Make Medicine

You don’t have to be a certified herbalist to make a few basic herbal remedies. Use what’s growing in your yard or in the woods for simple, yet effective medicines. Even if herbal study isn’t something you want to delve deeply into, there are plenty of simple D.I.Y. projects that make use of common weeds and culinary herbs:

Create Customized Personal Care & Homemaking Products

Many flowers and weeds can be used to create customized personal care products for lotions, balms, and more while also allowing us to clean our home with things found right in the backyard or garden:

Maximize homegrown harvests with these 7 tips to make the most of every growing thing to increase food security and live more frugally.

Homebrew

Homebrew can take on many forms. We can turn fruits and vegetables, even weeds into homemade wine or mead. Toss some herbs into homemade beer for homegrown flavor. We can also simply steep herbs, weeds, fruits, vegetables, and nuts into purchased liquor for a homemade cordial. Cordials don’t require as much equipment as homebrew and can also make for delightful adult beverages. 

Use the Seeds

Despite our best intentions, some plants bolt or go to seed before we’ve had a chance to use it. Let those seeds dry and harvest them either for next year’s garden or for winter sprouts. Radishes, for instance, cross notoriously and in a small garden that might not provide the best results for next year’s garden. However, those seeds make for delicious sprouts during the dark and cold days of winter. 

Maximize homegrown harvests with these 7 tips to make the most of every growing thing to increase food security and live more frugally.

Trade the Excess

It happens to most every gardener: the rutabagas produce incredibly well but the snow peas were eaten by voles – the apple tree is prolific but the squash succumbed to powdery mildew, etc. etc. Find a local community of gardeners open to bartering and trading. Your apples might just be the thing the person overrun by squash needs. Trade the excess and get what might be lacking while also building a nice community of local gardeners. 

Compost

Compost is an important part of the garden and it should be where all the things that can’t be eaten or used in some other way should go. Pea vines and pods, tomato plants, bits of rotten produce, grass clippings, leaves, and on and on. Compost will only help everything grow better next year. Improving the soil, will only improve yields and increase food security in future years.

As the summer season begins, remember to take the time to do all that food work now and increase your food security by making the most of every growing thing.

What’s your best tip to maximize the homegrown harvest?

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Susannah ~ Healthygreensavvy

Wednesday 29th of June 2016

Such great suggestions! Love the sprouts and homebrew ones especially!

I also like to use leftover parts of garlic plants as mulch to repel critters. Thanks for a wonderful post --sharing!

Meshia

Thursday 19th of May 2016

I can honestly say I try to use every part of my garden I can from the flowers to tomato skins. The leaves though(!) never would have crossed my mind, which seems so silly now that I know! Also, Im not sure I would have ever dried or froze my leafy greens (I would've composted), but to blend dried ones into powder is a GREAT idea! I've checked out a few more of your posts after seeing this post. Thank you for sharing such great information!

Homespun Seasonal Living

Friday 20th of May 2016

Thank you so much for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I'm so glad to know this post was useful to you. Happy Gardening (and eating)!

Beth

Monday 16th of May 2016

Great idea to use the crossed seeds for sprouts. I never thought of that. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Homespun Seasonal Living

Tuesday 17th of May 2016

Oh you're so welcome. Enjoy those sprouts!

Angi @ SchneiderPeeps

Monday 16th of May 2016

When I have room I leave the plants that have flowered for the bees. It makes me happy that even though we didn't benefit from the harvest someone will. Also, a friend from Kenya taught me how to prepare squash leaves to eat. Most greens don't grow here in the summer but squash does.

Thanks for the great tips! And that chard looks beautiful.