Here in Ohio, we’re knee-deep in yellow squash, cucumbers, green beans and all the deliciousness of a summer garden. My family’s sugar peas were some of the best we’ve ever grown, so good it’s tempting to eat them right off the vine (though, we recommend a good washing first). But we did get a little carried away with some of our planting. We have more cucumber plants then family members. And somehow, we always overestimate how many tomatoes we will eat. (Spaghetti sauce, anyone?)
The wonderful part is that there are many ways to preserve the harvest for later enjoyment, long after the warm summer season has disappeared.
Keep reading below to discover five ways to preserve your harvest now. (We even included some helpful resources to get you started.)
Continuing in our food storage series, we are going to look at some of the easiest options for keeping food for the winter months. The “easy” part is that there is zero processing necessary for the produce – it is just a matter of creating the perfect storage environments. 
Welcome to the first post in Lehman’s food preservation series!
The day we installed our brand-new 
Larder may not be a familiar word in our modern times, but it was a very important thing in your great-great grandma’s day. It was the stash of food that families pickled, smoked, salted and preserved for the winter months ahead. A well stocked larder was often essential for survival for the pioneers since many times they lacked the luxury of a grocery store they could frequent if their supply ran short. 
We all know that having a well-stocked pantry is an important aspect of being prepared, but what food should you stock? What’s best when you have no refrigeration? What will last on your shelves?