I had a lot of trouble getting them to seal with a vacuum. The liquid in the carrots prevented the final seal from happening. I found if I sealed it two times it worked better. So I did that. I also put some in Ziplocs. I'll use the Ziplocs and the ones with flawed seems first. The well sealed ones will be used last. Last year I had a lot more frozen, but I think this will be more than enough. I have a lot of the orange vegetables this year. Maybe less carrots, but way more winter squash. And certainly more sweet potatoes as I've never grown them before. Last year my carrots were my main orange vegetable. This year they are my most minor one.
The six pounds of Mokum carrots will be stored in plastic boxes in the fridge. They ought to keep very well for a couple months like that. I'm sure they will be gone by then. I kept the Mokums fresh as they tend to be a sweeter and more mild tasting carrot. So great for fresh eating. Though the SugarSnax is a very good fresh eating carrot too, it isn't quite as good as the Mokums.
I still have two major chores before the end of the year. The first is to wrap up the figs to insulate them. Last year they died back to the ground. So this year I'm going to bury them in leaves and cover with a tarp. But for now I have a cold and I'm sticking to staying inside and drinking tea. The hope was that I could start on the other one. I have to go through all those wonderful catalogs and figure out what I want to plant next year. I always order from Fedco, but occasionally order elsewhere too. Sadly my Fedoc catalog is not yet here. I wish it would hurry up.
I always have to freeze my fruits and veggies on a tray first, then bag and vac them. That way I don't pull the juices up. I've never frozen my carrots, we eat them so quickly I don't have to. Even the dogs love fresh carrots. No matter how many I grow, I never seem to harvest enough.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely lot of carrots. I have never harvested enough for our fresh needs let alone freezing any, but then as they grow pretty much year round here I guess that is one job i wont need to experience.
ReplyDeleteI have carrot envy! A nasty vole snacked on all of our carrots, so I actually had to buy some this week. So sad. I still have many garden chores, but in SC, I'm gardening almost all winter with low tunnels...so I'm trying to get Christmas decorations happening to alleviate the begging of the kids. Then I can get back to garden therapy--yay! I hope you feel better quickly--take care and pamper yourself!
ReplyDeletelovely carrots. I usually let mine sit out for a bit after I balanched them to get the water off and then they vacuum seal nicely. I'm likely allowing all kinds of bacteria to get at them but they never make me sick..lol
ReplyDeleteThose carrots look great! I never have enough to freeze any, but do have about 5 bagsful stocked in the fridge. I would say peeling and slicing all those carrots were a lot of work but so handy to have that all done already when you are ready to use them in a meal!
ReplyDeleteI do a variation on the freeze and then seal method, I pack the bags with the blanched veggies and then lay the bags on a tray and freeze them, then seal them after the contents have frozen.
ReplyDeleteWhat an inspiring post for extending the garden season and they look so appetizing. I'm growing veggies in 2' X 5' planters next spring for the first time in years. And carrots will be on our plates. Enjoyed very much.
ReplyDeleteYou don't seem to have a lot of luck with vacuum-sealer machines!
ReplyDeleteLook at all those lovely carrots! I still have quite a few in the ground still but they are mostly small sized ones now. I really love Mokum for fresh eating too. One of my favorite carrot varieties.
ReplyDeleteI like to store our excess veggies frozen but my families does not seems to like my effort. I am still trying to change their opinion and teach them not to take the short cut by buying fresh food from market.
ReplyDeletedaphne, i got my fedco catalog wednesday, so i would expect you would have it soon if not already. i expect they would go out at the same time.
ReplyDeleteeven though i am somewhat relieved when garden season is over, i get excited when the seed catalogs arrive. and i need exactly zip, zero, zed seeds.
Have you tried pickled beets to extend the season? Easy and yummy.
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