Sure, you can freeze, dry, or can your extra tomatoes, but what should you do with all the other fruits and veggies you have an abundance of this time of year? Try these creative ideas….

Obviously preserving some of your summer produce for winter using traditional preservation methods is a great thing to do with some of your extra vegetables this summer, but sometimes you can only can so many tomatoes before you give up! Rather than letting your extra garden produce go to waste, there are lots of things you can do with it.

Instead of just freezing single vegetables, why not freeze the fresh vegetable ingredients for favorite meals in freezer bags?

Or try juicing some of your favorite fruits and vegetables and coming up with tasty combinations. (For example, we’ve recently tried juicing some of our extra over-mature cucumbers, and added the juice to smoothies and other drinks along with some mint, for a fresh, cool flavor twist.)

You could also swap vegetables or fruit with a neighbor who is growing different things, or see if there is a local food swap group in your area. You can also donate fresh vegetables to a local food bank, and share the bounty with those not fortunate enough to have their own garden!

Check out some other creative ideas for storing and sharing your extra veggies in this video: