Thompson Valley Farm

Busy time on the farm right now.  I am pickling and drying vegetables for the winter.  Cucumber/sweet relish is my all time favorite, and one I make the most of.  So far I have made 36 jars.  Traditional Dill pickles, Hot Horseradish Dills and  Sweet Chunks are made from traditional recipes.  I'd love to do some Sweet Gherkins, but that requires iddy-biddy cucumbers, and 9 days to produce.  A bit labor intensive for me right now.
I have Roma tomatoes drying in my dehydrator, as I love sun-dried tomatoes. I will pack them in olive oil when finished.
Can't wait until the mushrooms are growing, as I dry about 2 gallon jars of them for winter use, along with onions.  This year, I think I will also dehydrate carrots and potatoes.  The dried vegetables from last year retained their flavor, color and were fabulous in soups, stews or roasts.  They kept well, and took up little space.

Today's canning:  Sweet Chunks, Relish and Hot Horseradish Dills.

Top shelf left, Dills and Sweet Sandwich Pickles, Right top shelf, Green Beans, Bottom let, Relish and Sweet Sandwich pickles, Right Bottom, Relish and Dills.

It is important to store the canned goods in a cool dark place.  I always save the boxes the new jars come in so that its easy to keep them sorted and safely stored.  

There is nothing like having delicious food from your garden mid-winter, and they make great gifts too!