Food Processing

Food can preserved in many different ways. The best web site we have found dealing with this topic in an overall way is The National Centre for Home Food Preservation

Cold Storage

Some vegetables can be stored very well at home in a proper storage facility, commonly called a root cellar. Check http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/store/wisc_vegetables.pdf article for a good introduction. Locally Gabriel Gagne 346-9615, and the people at Northern Sun Farm 434-6143 have experience in this regard they are willing to share.

Lacto-Fermentation

It may seem strange to us that, in earlier times, people knew how to preserve vegetables for long periods without the use of freezers or canning  machines. This was done through the process of lacto-fermentation. Lactic acid is a natural preservative that inhibits putrefying bacteria. Starches and sugars in vegetables and fruits are converted into lactic acid by the many species of lactic-acid-producing bacteria. These lactobacilli are ubiquitous, present on the surface of all living things and especially numerous on leaves and roots of plants growing in or near the ground. Man needs only to learn the techniques for controlling and encouraging their proliferation to put them to his own use, just as he has learned to put certain yeasts to use in converting the sugars in grape juice to alcohol in wine. Locally Gabriel Gagne 346-9615, and the people at Northern Sun Farm 434-6143 have experience in this regard they are willing to share.

Dehydration

Jack has some very worthwhile experience with Solar Drying here.  Also Gabriel Gagne 346-9615, and the people at Northern Sun Farm 434-6143 have experience in this regard they are willing to share.

Home Canning and Freezing

Bernardins have an excellent resource on home canning