The Ant and the Grasshopper

We all, I think, know the story of the ant and the grasshopper. You know, the one where the ant is working away all summer gathering up food for the winter while the grasshopper lounges around? Then the winter comes and the ant has a lot of food to get through and the grasshopper is starving.

With the aside of grocery stores at our convenience, where they only have a couple of days of food on hand at any given moment, what are you doing to be make sure you have food if you need it? Are you an ant or a grasshopper?

I ask this as we do have gardening season coming up. I know I have talked about gardening on here before and even on chilly days like today, I know the time is coming that I will be eating from my garden.

Aside from eating fresh produce from my garden, I look forward to eating my food throughout the winter. You see, I can. Not that I can eat it, which is true, but I participate in the old art of canning food from our garden for our use.

Last year we had a wonderful year for our tomatoes. I was able to can enough tomatoes that they lasted in our home supply until the end of March. I also used a lot of the tomatoes to make our own salsa. In fact, I used our own garlic, onions and peppers as well! We are currently on our last bottle and I may have to resort to buying some salsa to make it August.

I just received my sales flyers and that's what got me thinking about canning. There are a lot of canning products coming on sale tomorrow and I am hoping to pick up an extra thing or two.

My transplants are all growing very well in my family room. I am hoping that I have A LOT of tomatoes again this year.

Are you a canner? Do you want to learn?

There are many reasons to can. To use your own produce through out the year and keep everything local. To know what's in your food. To cut down costs on your food budget. To learn how to provide for yourself should you ever need to.

It's good to put food aside and it's fun! As you plan your garden this year, and I highly recommend whatever your situation is that you do grow some food, plan to grow a little more to put aside!

Here are a few great sites to check out when planning to can your food:


Canning Garden Produce


How to Can Anything


How to Can and Freeze Fruits and Vegetables From Your Own Garden

Enjoy your day!