If your garden produces more vegetables than you can eat, or more vegetables than you care to harvest, don't let them go to waste! There are some easy ways to put those vegetables to good use.
Share with your neighbors: Go door to door with a basket of your vegetables and give them away to your neighbors. If you don't feel like harvesting your vegetables, tell your neighbors they are welcome to come to your garden and pick what they need.
Start a vegetable stand: Set up a table and sell your vegetables. If you don't want to sit outside all day collecting money, you can nail a donation can to a tree or to the table. You will be surprised how many people will leave nice donations for your vegetables. And even if they don't give you money, you will be giving your vegetables away to someone who needs them.
Can or freeze your vegetables: If you like to cook, you can can or freeze your vegetables. If you don't think you can eat all the goods that you canned, you can give them away as gifts.
Donate to a food pantry: Ask your local food pantry if they would like your vegetables. Even if they can't use them in meals they cook for the needy, they may know families who can use the food.
Join a farmers' market: See if there is a farmers' market in your area and go set up a table. You can sell all your excess vegetables in just a few hours! If you don't feel like sitting at the market and doing your own selling, ask someone if they would sell your vegetables for you and pay them for their time.
Turn your vegetables into baked goods or casseroles: You can make lots of delicious cakes and other desserts with vegetables. You can also make healthy casseroles that you can freeze to eat at a later date. Look up some recipes online and turn all your vegetables into quick and easy meals or tasty desserts. If you don't need all the food you bake, share with your friends and relatives.
Donate to a church: You can ask local churches if they could use your vegetables or if they know of needy families who would appreciate the food.
Just remember, an over abundance of vegetables is a good thing. Just be sure to share and don't let your vegetables go to waste. Plenty of people will gladly come and harvest the vegetables for you if it means they can feed their family.
Local Tip: If you live in Sanford or in a surrounding town, and if you have too many vegetables, you can bring them to the Sanford Farmers' Market on Saturday mornings at Gowen's Park (the park near the Junior High School). Even if you don't want to set up a table, you could give the vegetables to someone else for them to sell. The market opens at 8:00am on Saturdays through the harvest season.
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