A friend in Wyoming called me Squirrel. I earned that nickname because every year in August I froze, canned and dehydrated everything in the garden. I stuffed the crochet and sewing projects in the back room and let the books founder unread in a heap. I even suspended camping for harvest season because August is hot and flies are out in the Wyoming back country.

My first North Dakota garden is the most productive ever, thanks to the rich prairie soil and long hours of daylight. Oddly, harvest begins about 3 weeks earlier than Wyoming, perhaps because of that extra daylight. So, the squirrel routine begins again. Other projects are strewn around the house, exactly where I dropped them when the garden bell sounded. My affections pour out now on pickled beets. dilly green beans, and pickles. Frozen bok choy, rhubarb, kale and spinach. Dehydrated celery, parsley,onions, potatoes, and carrots.

This level of dehydration is new. Previously I dried herbs and a few other items. However, for my six-week camping trip last summer I bought Harmony House dehydrated veggies in large containers. Lightweight, nutritious and yummy. This year I am making my camping provisions, thanks to my new heavy-duty 6 Tray Food Dehydrator. To keep things fresh I add food-grade desiccant packs. Another step towards food self-sufficiency brought about by living so far north and wondering what would happen if the power goes out in the winter.  I have camping stoves and now, dehydrated foods. I watched a number of U-Tube videos to learn more about dehydrating quantities of food. My dehydrator runs all day.

Loading green onion tops onto dehydrator trays.

Pickled beets, dilly green beans

Harvest time!

Beets

Before I moved, I sold my old freezers that I bought second-hand for $50 bucks each (resold for the same amount). I was fearful they would not survive the move in a U-Haul. I tried to buy a used freezer here, but didn’t have much luck. So, I invested in a nice chest freezer from a local business, which is now  humming softly in my extra-large kitchen.

About camping during harvest season: August is not so hot up here, and I will be out camping after church this weekend. A local rancher and his wife kindly offered me access to their land, near one of the zillions of little lakes. Sooo excited. Been looking for such a place, away from the campground parks and people. I still miss Grayrocks Reservoir in Wyoming, but I may have found its match.

Happy Harvest! If you are in the area, stop by for some veggies!