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Useful writing on growing food, preserving it, sharing it, and keeping more life local.

9/5/2026

Pick the Apples at the Right Time, Store the Good Ones, and Can the Rest

Most of what goes wrong with apples happens in the two weeks around picking. This plain guide covers how to tell when your apples are actually ready, how to handle them so they keep, how to sort the fruit that stores from the fruit that does not, and how to turn the bruised and windfall apples into canned applesauce without wasting a single one.

Apples Food Preservation Fruit Preservation Preserves Self-Reliance

8/28/2026

What to Do With a Windfall of Apples: Store Them, Sauce Them, Butter Them

A good apple tree drops more than a family can eat in a week. Here is how to store the keepers, put up applesauce, make apple butter, and dry the rest, without any fancy equipment.

Apples Canning Food Preservation Food Storage Fruit Preservation

7/8/2026

Apple Cider Vinegar at Home: Turn Scrap Apples Into Shelf-Stable Vinegar

You do not need a press, a fermenter, or anything fancy to make real apple cider vinegar at home. One jar, some apples, sugar, and a couple weeks of patience is all it takes.

Apple Cider Vinegar Apples Beginner DIY Fermentation Food Preservation Homesteading Self-Reliance Zero Waste Zone 7a