This is a great tribute to the wisdom of our ancestors. ✌️ As a child, I remember almost all of the women of my family spend hours in the rocking chairs on the front porch stringing/snapping beans, shelling peas, shucking/silking corn, and they taught these simple skills to their daughters. Only a small portion of the bounty was cooked for the evening meal, and the rest was blanched and sealed into jars for long-term storage in the pantry. Corn was cut off the cob and jarred along with tomato chunks and okra, to make a base for soup during the winter. Peaches were peeled, sliced, and either frozen or pickled in jars. Fresh figs, pears, blackberries, blueberries, were cooked into a preserve and sealed into jars. Cabbage was turned into sauerkraut and cucumbers were turned into pickles or relish. Potatoes were stored long-term in a cool, dry place.

I've gotten away from these practices in the last couple of decades, mostly due to shrinking family size because of deaths and geographical spread. And when one is widowed and living alone, home-canning is more of a chore than necessary. I still make fig preserves when I have a good harvest, but that's about it. The few other things I have go in the freezer. So, it's wonderful that you are able to make salsa, pickles, and other things that can keep your tight-knit family going through the winter! You are doing wonderful things with your gardening, and it keeps you out of trouble! Well, mostly... 😁