It's A Growing Trend: Are You A Jersey Homesteader?

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Homesteading in New Jersey is very much alive and well in the Garden State.

What Is Homesteading?

Homesteading is just a fancy word for doing things yourself instead of buying everything at the store. It's about living more independently, like growing a backyard garden, cooking from scratch, and making your own stuff rather than paying someone else for it.

I benefit from this gardening because my wife has been doing a backyard garden for about 15 years and over time the garden has added more vegetables and more options for canning.

What is Canning?

Canning is basically just a way to save food so it doesn't go bad. You put your food into glass jars and boil them. The hot water kills the germs, and when the jars cool down, the lids suck down super tight so no air can get in.

Once that lid locks shut, you can keep stuff like homemade sauce or veggies in your cupboard for months without ever needing a fridge.

We have quite a few homegrown items that we enjoy each year, throughout the year.

Several varieties of tomatoes, several varieties of peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, potatoes, pumpkins, blackberries, strawberries, carrots, radishes, and string beans.

I have even become involved; although I don’t do veggies, I have started with my own blueberry bushes, and hopefully in a few seasons I’ll have some good-producing bushes.

Back to the canning, April cans a bunch of different items. Tomato sauce, salsa, pickles, and assorted jams.

Do you have a backyard garden? What is your favorite crop? Personally, I love our Jersey Tomatoes and Cucumbers! The best, and I probably eat both every day during summer.