master gardeners

We planted a small raised bed this year. If successful gardening could be based solely on enthusiasm, our garden would flourish.

Sam has already mapped out the new raised bed plans he has for our large-scale gardening adventure. My mother-in-law loaned us her beloved copy of:

Now that Sam has read "the manual" cover-to-cover and is convinced that we will be(excuse me, already are) master gardeners, I am trying to figure out what we will do with our great harvest. This inevitably leads to a discussion about canning, freezing and drying. I would like to make it clear that while I am absolutely open to the idea of the hard work that will be required, I am terrified of canning, pressure cookers---who isn't? While there are some valid reasons for my fears, generally they are irrational. I think I am going to need some training/counseling to overcome my them. I am going to look into our local extension agency---occasionally they offer classes on these topics. For now, I am off to find the recipe that my Mama Dietz used to make a delightful freezer soup---tomatoes, corn, ocra, onion, a ton of black pepper. . .