Keeping Track of the Pantry

This year I am interested in how long my stored food will last me.  I would have liked to record how much total food that I had stored by the end of harvest season, but I didn't.  Guess it shall be a goal for this harvest season.  The good news is that I still have a ton of food left - some of which should last me into spring.  Some crops I really need to plant more of if I want them to last me until the following harvest.  I will do my best to note how I'd like to improve those numbers this year.

My potato harvest is holding up well.  I started out by eating all the blemished ones so the ones that I have left should store well.  They are starting to sprout, but I don't really mind because if I have any left by the time planting season is here, they will become my seed potatoes anyway.  I am storing them in a closet in my unheated back room and have not yet come across any problems with rot.  When it comes time to use them, I simply pick out the ones I want, break off any sprouts, give them a good scrub and chop them up.

My onions and garlic seem to be holding their own also.  I don't have many onions left, but they might get me through another month if I am lucky.

I don't have many heads of garlic left either, but they may be enough to last me until spring.  Last year's crop of garlic was disappointing since I had so many small heads.  I am hoping that this year's crop fares better as I was able to plant a few large heads of locally grown garlic that I picked up from the farmer's market.

My winter squash are keeping well, but I have been disappointed to learn that my chickens are not very fond of eating it.  I was hoping to supplement their diet in the winter by using them as treats from time to time.

The pumpkins were planted especially for them, but the only part they want to eat are the seeds.  I have sliced it up and fed it to them raw and I have baked it in the oven to make it soft for them, but they still barely seem interested.  Maybe I will try different kinds of squash to see if I can find a variety that suits their fancy.

As for my preserves I think I have an over abundance of pickles and peaches, but not nearly enough salsa or tomato sauce.

I only have 12 pints left of all of my varieties of salsa and 13 pints of tomato sauce.  This year I hope to plant more tomatoes and process a lot more tomato based products.  My salsa is always a hit at work, so hopefully I will have enough to bring as treats for a least a couple more months.

As you can see I still have plenty of pickles. I think I am down to 30 quarts or so, which is still plenty for my personal use even after I gave some away for Christmas gifts.

I still have plenty of canned peaches and apricots also, though my store of jams are running low. I have to remember that I have canned peaches when I am craving something sweet after dinner.

As for the wine I brewed last summer, I don't think it will last too much longer.  Of course there will be fewer parties to take bottles to now that the holidays are over, but there really aren't very many bottles left.

Only seven from the original twenty two bottles of plum wine. I only have one large carboy, but I hope to make several batches of wine this summer, so hopefully I will be able to share a good variety this winter.  I want to try a large batch of strawberry wine this spring and then another batch of plum wine this fall.  If I have time in between those fruit harvests this summer I might try some other kind of fruit wine like peach or raspberry.  Sounds like I will need to talk my friends into saving more bottles for me so I can fill them with my yummy home brew!