This year our partner Laguna Ponds did something that I thought was pretty amazing. They installed a water feature in two days. Come to find out, it wasn’t amazing at all because it’s that easy to put in a pond. The hardest part about the project is digging the hole.

While scouring the virtual garden for harvesting and preserving tips I discovered that Laura knew quite a bit on pickling. I asked her to share her knowledge, which she very graciously did. Plus a recipe for bread and butter pickles you can freeze. I can’t wait to try them.

If you have questions for Laura and just want to find out more good gardening information look her up on Twitter (@punkrockgardens) or Facebook or visit PunkRockGardens.com.

At times in the growing season, the bounty from our vegetable gardens can be a bit overwhelming. Many of our backyard vegetable garden favorites mature within weeks of each other. One way out to this annual pickle… is to pickle.

Pickling may seem like a frightening black art practiced only by women of the past with extraordinary quantities of technical kitchen skill, but it’s actually much less complex than say, maintaining a quality compost pile. With attention to a couple important things, pickling is easy. It also generates a lot of value. Pickling turns inexpensive homegrown vegetables into crunchy, tangy delights that cost far less than they would at the grocery.

The first thing to grasp is that pickling via canning is that it’s not cooking. You cannot safely fiddle with the recipes. Follow modern recipes to the letter. Make sure your source for the recipe is reputable. Consider as well, employing safer methods of pickling. Grandma’s recipe for refrigerator pickles – that may include letting the pickles stand at room temperature for hours – aren’t considered safe by the USDA. The trendy practice of pickling by fermentation is also best left for those with deep understanding of food safety. Canning your pickles or making easy freezer pickles is the safest way to start.

Next, your pickles will only be as good as the vegetables you use. Find or pick very fresh young cucumbers for pickles. The fresher the cuke, the more natural pectin it contains. This pectin will keep your pickles crisp. Some recipes call for products like pickle crisp or suggest ice baths to preserve the crunch. Make sure to cut off the blossom end of the cucumber because it contains enzymes that will soften the cucumber. If you’re purchasing cucumbers, don’t buy any that have been waxed. The wax will interfere with the pickling processes.

Vinegar is key to pickling. Acidity in the vinegar is what keeps microorganisms from spoiling food. Be sure to check your vinegar labels for acidity percentage. Recipes are tested using vinegar with 5 percent acidity. Don’t skimp on the salt or substitute table salt for canning salt. Additives in table salt will cause cloudy brine. Stay away from Kosher salt unless the recipe specifically calls for it. Kosher salt is measured differently and can cause your pickles to be too salty.

For canned pickles, look for fresh pack recipes. You’ll need sterile jars and a pot large enough to boil several jars at once. A rack or good tongs will be needed to take the hot jars from the canning bath. The steps are easy. The recipe will dictate how to slice the cucumbers. Add the spices and the slices to jars. Cover the vegetables with the hot pickling solution which is mostly comprised of specific proportions of water, vinegar and salt. Seal with hot canning lids and cook for a bit in a boiling water bath. Cooking times for pickles are less than other forms of vegetable canning. After the jars cool, flavors will develop in a matter of weeks and you’ve made your own pickles.

If you want a no heat and no worries place to start, try freezer pickles. This is also fun to do with children. This recipe comes from Martha Zepp, Lancaster County Food Preservation Consultant with Penn State Cooperative Extension.

Martha’s Freezer Bread and Butter Pickles

Step 1
7 cups thinly sliced cucumbers
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons canning salt

Layer cucumbers, onion, and salt in a glass bowl or non-metallic bowl. Weight down and cover. Do not add water. Let stand overnight in refrigerator.

Step 2
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon celery seed (this can be adjusted for taste. Try adding some mustard seed.)

Next morning, combine, but do not cook, 2 cups sugar, 1 cup white vinegar, and 1 teaspoon celery seed, Zepp says. Stir until very smooth and sugar is dissolved. Drain sliced cucumbers and rinse well. Return to bowl, add syrup and refrigerate an additional 24 hours. Place into freezer containers leaving 1/2 inch headspace and freeze.

Pickling is simply an artful mix of vegetable, acid, spices, sugar and salt. Don’t limit your pickling to cucumbers. Dilly beans are a personal favorite. Adding a little vinegar, some spices and salt to vegetables is really all that’s required to preserve your garden veggies while adding flavor and interest.

I’m pleased to say that this week 25 garden bloggers will be here in Little Rock for our second annual Garden2Blog event. For two days we’ll tour area gardens and hang out at the Moss Mountain Farm Garden Home. In addition to the bloggers team members from several of my Garden Home partner companies will be there. It’s a great way to get industry and media folks talking.

For me the event offers an opportunity to hang out with people who share my passion for gardening and learn a thing or two while I’m at it.

I’m kicking off the celebration with a giveaway. Tell me about your favorite garden blog for a chance to a Garden2Blog goodie bag, three signed garden how-to decks, The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener by Niki Jabbour, a trio of manure teas from Authentic Haven Brand (love this stuff!), Fun with Winter Seed Sowing eBook by Monica Milla, Container Gardening for All Seasons by Barbara Wise and I Garden Urban Style by Michael Nolan.

I’ll select a winner on Wednesday May 9th, 2012. Click here for the official rules.

Congrats to Nicky from DirtandMartinis.com. She’s the winner of the Garden2Blog giveaway. Thanks to everyone who submitted a comment. Great blog recommendations!

Great Garden Blogs to Follow

Edible Gardening

The Casual Gardener

Seasonal Wisdom – Teresa

Garden Humor

The Grumpy Gardener

Good Enough Gardening

Garden Design

Gardening with Confidence

Garden Smack Down

J. Peterson Garden Design

Miss Rumphius’ Rules

Small Space Gardening

Life on the Balcony

Urban Organic Gardener

Container Gardening on About.com

Design

Urban Gardens

General Gardening

BG Garden

Red Dirt Ramblings

The Garden World Report

Southern Post Journal

Our Little Acre

Punk Rock Gardens

The Garden Buzz

The Garden Faerie

Garden Girl

Heavy Petal Nursery

Read Between the Limes

North Coast Gardening

Hello world! I’m stepping out into the blogosphere and can’t wait to exchange knowledge, information and enthusiasm over the virtual garden fence with you.

In addition to my plant nerdiness, my blog will also be a venue to discuss good food, sustainable farming, design, art and books, and I can’t wait to share pictures of all the critters on the farm.

To kick start my blogging education I’m meeting up with 24 bloggers from around the country and my home state of Arkansas and a few Garden Home partners for our first Garden2Blog workshop. Over the next two days we’re going to get together for seminars, garden tours and a party or two of course.

Blogging is a new frontier for me and I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of fun we can get into!