Part one of homesteading is growing your own food, part two is preserving it. Here’s what foods are coming out of gardens around Hamilton this week, and what to do with them:

Rhubarb
To harvest rhubarb pull the stalks off the plant instead of cutting them. Cutting them will invite disease to this hardy perennial. Use rhubarb in baking as a fruit, or stew it like you would apples for sauce. Or, try the Harrow Fair Cookbook’s recipe for Rhubarb Punch listed in our Kitchen section.

Asparagus
Another choice perennial for spring, asparagus produces edible spears in May and June, making it perfect for barbecues. Better fresh than frozen, asparagus grilled, fried or steamed is the best side dish for spring. To preserve any you aren’t eating try pickling it for use in summer caesers!

Greens
Lettuces, mustards, baby kale and spinach, all can be grown in a cold frame or greenhouse pretty much year round.

Baby Carrots
For anyone whose sown their carrots under cold frames or hoop houses/low tunnels to get a head start on the growing season, now’s about the time that they need thinning. Picking out the weaker plants from between those destined for bigger proportions means a bounty of true baby carrots for snacking or topping your lettuces.

Garlic Scapes
As garlic bulbs form underground they produce curly shoots above, which left uncut will develop small bulblets. To help garlic grow bigger bulbs below ground these shoots- garlic scapes- are often cut off. Scapes can be used much like green onions or chives, chopped and in a stir-fry or omelette, or as topping on your salad or potatoes.