I like that everyone is sharing preserving methods. Here's some of my methods. When I freeze corn off the cob..my method is to blanch on the cob, cool, then cut it from the cob and freeze.

With okra, I wash, then slice into one inch rounds, spread them on a cookie sheet and let them freeze indivdually, then bag. Very easy to put just the right amount into soups or stews. I do the same with squash and zucchini.

 I've also frozen squash ready to fry by mixing a thick batter of flour, water, salt and pepper. Dip thin slices of squash in the batter , lay them out separately on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper, once frozen, remove slices from wax paper and bag quickly and back to the freezer. Don't thaw to cook, take directly from freezer to fryer.   

Blanching corn on the cob, then freezing in freezer bags works fine. Maw is right on about how to keep it if you plan to remove it from the cobb. Also about the potatos. Keep them cool, dry & in the dark.

Later ripening carrots can actually be left in the ground even after frosts, so you can have them fresh even longer. But they can be sliced & frozen raw or canned.

If you like to fry squash & zucchini, you can slice it, pat dry, then place meal sized portions into baggies (we double bag ours) and it keeps just fine. When thawing, we place it on paper towels to dry the slices before breading. If you plan to use it in casseroles, etc, you can cube, then boil or just blanch and freeze in bags. Same for okra, but you can also dry bread it then freeze. Main thing with these is to be sure & pat them dry before freezing & when thawing.

For tomatoes, how you preserve them really depends on how you plan to use most of them. If you are going to make salsa or sauces, go ahead & make it, using your peppers & spices, then can in jars, so it's ready to use when opened.

You can also drop cored/uncored tomatoes into boiling water, scoop right out into a colander, run cold water over them & they will peel like a dream.

Canaloup can be peeled, deseeded, chunked & frozen.

Snap peas & beans can each be done about the same ways.

On the bell peppers, along with the options Lav gave about slicing, dicing, etc - I also do a few flat bottomed ones this way - carefully cut the tops off, core them out, deseed, wash, pat dry, then carefully freeze "whole" so it looks like a cup (once frozen they are pretty durable) - these are great for serving dips in at get-togethers & parties. Then you can wash the dip residue out & still chop up & use the bell pepper in cooking.

Any type pepper can be washed and roasted in the oven, then frozen or even canned for later use.

Broccoli should be have the heads cut off, washed carefully & frozen in meal sized portions.

You are going to have such a great stock of good food for the winter!

DizzyD %-}                   

  Seeds for SASBE

All your veggies will freeze well, except maybe Irish Potatoes.  They tend to become watery, and a little grainy with freezing. Some people can theirs.  They can also be preserved for most of the winter by leaving the dirt on them, and storing them in a cool dry place.  The link above tells a lot about growing, and storing potatoes.   As Lav said, the blanching process is very important, as it stops the continued aging of a full grown veggie.  The suggestion to get a Freezing & Canning Guide is a great one.  Even Okra can be blanched, and turn out well.  If you cut your corn off the cob, you can't blanch it in water, but what I always did was put it in the bottom of my roaster and cook over a low flame stirring constantly until it reached the boiling point.  Then plunge the pan in the ice water, and continue to stir until partially cool.  Good luck with  your garden and the produce you get from it.

maw   

Annette Shelton/ mawnature/ maw

Let's Make a Trade!

If you have freezer space, freezing is the best and safest method to preserve green beans. They need to be blanched for 3 minutes( put in boiling water, then directly into ice cold water to quickly cool, drain and pat off some of the water), place in a freezer bag and they keep well for about a year in the freezer.

Peppers don't need blanching. Jalapenos, I just wash them, pat them pretty dry and freezer bag them. Green Peppers, I wash, cut and clean out the seeds. Some of them I dice and some I leave halved for stuffed peppers, this way they are ready to go right out of the freezer.

We can a lot of tomaotes, but you can freeze them if you have the space.  I've never tried freezing tomatoes, but I've heard it works well.

~ Connie    ~ Zone 5    ~ MN