Gardeners often talk about the ‘hungry gap’, the duration between last harvests and first harvests.
Here in Toronto, Canada, that is often between December 1st and April 1st.
In the our household, the tomatoes picked green in November usually ripen over December.
(We also, of course, always have herbs growing indoors.)
Then we enjoy butternut squash for January, March, and April.
This year, we’ll have enough butternut squash to eat one a week during that time. (grins) One butternut squash lasts the two of us two days. That’s a LOT of butternut squash. And it’s a happy challenge to have.
We also have dried beans, of course. And our frozen tomatoes. And anything we buy or bought at the store.
In the Fall/Autumn, boxes of local produce are sold at grocery stores. The Dear Wonderful Hubby and I chop up (or otherwise process) vegetables and freeze them. We always have enough vegetables stored for the ‘hungry gap.’
In the UK and other places, gardeners can often ‘store’ vegetables like kale and beets outside (i.e. just leave those plants in the ground). We get so much snow it is a lot of work for us to do that. Being lazy, I prefer to have the vegetables in the freezer.
Laziness is also why we freeze stuff and don’t can it. Plus it is merely the two of us.
To shorten the ‘hungry gap’, we ensure we have vegetables (usually perennials or self seeders) ready to go in the garden as soon as possible. Peas, bok choy/pak choi, french sorrel, good king henry and other vegetables love the cooler Spring weather. They often emerge/are planted as soon as the ground thaws.
I grew up hungry, not eating every day. I like to have vegetables in the house or in the backyard garden. That makes me happy.
(smiles)
