Ever end up with too much of a good thing?  Too many jars of jam or two many pickles? Every canner has! Well in this episode, you learn how to take those extra preserves and trade them to diversify your panty and your friendships. You see, food swaps are a popular and fun way to meet other artisan food crafters, explore new flavors and make friends at the same time. In this episode, host Theresa Loe interviews Emily Paster - the author of "Food Swap: Specialty Recipes for Bartering, Sharing and Giving". You learn: What a food swap is and how it works, Surprising advantages of trading homemade goods, Food swap etiquette, How to avoid legal issues, What is quince paste and how to use it, How to find a food swap in your area or start your own. As always, there are links and resources at www.LivingHomegrown.com/54 as well as a full transcript of the episode.

In this episode you learn the secrets to successfully preserving your garden produce using your freezer. This method is fast and easy if you know the tricks. Host Theresa Loe shares: Which containers work best and why, What is flash freezing and why you should use it on berries, How to disable the enzymes that soften frozen vegetables, Why headspace is so important when freezing in glass containers, What makes tomatoes so easy for freezing, The trick to freezing zucchini quickly. As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/53 for the show notes which contain related links and a full transcript of the episode.

Get your canning jar questions answered. In this episode, host Theresa Loe answers 4 listener questions about canning jars. You learn: Why you should include a jar ring when you give away preserves as gifts, What to do with those one use canning lids, How to prevent accidental reuse of used lids, Different options for storing uneaten preserves in the refrigerator, Why we check the rims of jars before each canning session, Tips for storing jars so they stay organized and chip free. As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/52 for the show notes which include related links and full transcript of the podcast. 

Stop trying to have the perfect garden and give yourself permission to enjoy the gardening process! In this episode, host Theresa Loe goes over 3 gardening reality checks to help you put your gardening expectations into perspective. And then she dives into 5 simple tips for stopping garden overwhelm in it's tracks before we hit peak harvest time. You learn: The biggest mistake newbie gardeners make, Her secret weapon for fighting weeds organically, A simple trick for keeping track of garden records, The daily practice that will serve you in more ways than you expect. It's all about taking the pressure off ourselves so that we get more out of our gardens than an aching back. As always, you can go to www.LivingHomegrown.com/51 to see the show notes, related links and download the full transcript of the episode.