Chrysanthemums are a mainstay of the fall garden. Pots of these colorful perennials really brighten up a porch, patio, or entryway.

They can also be used to decorate indoors; the fall colors are beautiful for holiday table settings. Mums come in a variety of types including daisy (single layer of petals), button mums (tiny spheres made up of dozens of petals), and spider mums (long arching petals with tips curved upwards). Yellow, rust, gold, bronze, and maroon, as well as pink, white, red, and lavender, are just some of the many exciting chrysanthemum colors.

Beautiful garden mums are available now at George's Market and Nursery--stop by today for the best selection, just $12 for three.

With summer here, garden herbs are kicking into high gear, producing lots of pleasing, aromatic foliage that is great for cooking and potpourris. Freshly harvested leaves are wonderful for cooking, but you might want to preserve some to use later in the year or to create sachets that will fill your home with wonderful scents.

There are two ways to air-dry your crop. The first is to hang it up. With large-leafed herbs such as basil, rosemary, and sage, snip off the leafy stems, then tie the cut ends together with string and hang the bundle upside down in a warm, dry place (out of direct sunlight) with good air circulation. The herbs should be dry and crisp in two to three weeks. You can then strip the leaves off the stems and store them in airtight container for later use. This method is also a great way to dry lavender.

The second way to dry herbs is to spread them out to dry. With fine-leafed herbs such as oregano and thyme, simply remove the foliage from stems and spread the leaves on a cookie sheet or piece of clean window screen and set in a warm, dry, airy place away from direct sun. Stir them up every few days to turn them over. Once the leaves feel crisp, you can store them in an airtight container for later use.

Food preservation techniques are ways to stop or greatly slow down spoilage while keeping flavor, texture and nutritional value as much as possible. If you don't preserve your food somehow, it will start to spoil soon after it is harvested. The most common ways to preserve food that will keep food safe are canning, freezing and drying.

Other methods that both help preserve food (and also add flavor) include pickling, salting, preserving in syrup or alcohol, and sugar crystalization.

Canning

When thinking about preserving food, most people think of canning. Canning is done by preparing foods, sealing them in sterile cans or jars, and boiling the containers to kill or weaken any remaining bacteria and create a vacuum seal. The two main types of canners are boiling water canners and pressure canners. Each method is best used with particular foods. Pickling and the creation of jams, preserves, and jellies also use canning techniques.

Drying

One of the oldest and most reliable methods for preserving food is drying. Since ancient times people have dried foods to store them for later use. Drying reduces water activity and delays or prevents bacterial growth. Many fruits can be dried; drying is often used to preserve apples, bananas, mangos, papaya, pears, and others. Currants, raisins and sultanas are all types of dried grapes, for example. Drying is also the usual method for preserving cereal grains. Tomatoes are also commonly dried.

Freezing

Another very old method to preserve food is freezing. Many Arctic communities preserved food in holes dug into the ice. Scandinavians preserved fish (especially herrings) this way. Freezing provides long-term storage for strategic food stocks held in case of national emergency in many countries. Some foods, including many raw vegetables, do not freeze well.

This newsletter is not big enough to provide specific information on preserving specific foods - we can only provide an overview of possible techniques. However, there is a lot of online information on the subject. We would recommend checking out the National Center for Home Food Preservation which has specific information on canning (click here), drying (click here) and freezing (click here), as well as other methods such as pickling, fermenting and making jams and jellies (see the menu to the left at any of the previous links).