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Plums freeze well. Simply skin, halve and pack in layers in cartons, cut surface downwards, with organic sugar in layers between. To serve, tip into a dish, thaw and add a little brandy if desired.

Whether you try sun drying or dehydrating your edibles with artificial heat—this age-old method of storing food deserves your consideration. Drying, which doesn't require the support of heavy industry as do canning and freezing, is too valuable a skill to be forgotten.
Almost any edible—vegetable, fruit, herb, fish, or meat—can be processed in this way, without additives . . . and the finished products won't support destructive bacteria (or even mold) as long as they're kept free of moisture. Besides that, dried foodstuffs require little storage space and only inexpensive containers.
Drying using the sun cost's nothing. The food must be clean,juicy fruits and vegetables must be cut in half, and are sometimes better quartered or sliced. The more moisture an item contains, the smaller you cut. Sun-preserved food is easy and do experiment with fruit leathers etc.

Oven Tomato Drying

Cut each tomato in quarters, or halves if they are small, lay on a baking sheet, sprinkle with celticsalt and organci pepper.

Put oven on lowest setting, with door a jar ( I use a wooden spoon to stop it closing completely) and leave tomatoes overnight.

Bottle into sterilised jars, add a clove of garlic, and some dried oregano, top up with best quality organic olive oil.

I dont have a clue how long these will last as they get eaten up so fast in this house... but I do keep them in the refrigerator.

If you accidently over dry them (if they are like crunchy chips) then make soup with them... best tomato soup ever.

The easiest way I find of preserving my garden surplus tomatoes is to pick them, clean them, put them in a plastic bag as they are, and throw them in the freezer. When you want to use them take out what you need, and immediately give them a wash with warm water. They are still frozen solid, the warm water only softens the skin, which rubs off easily. Skinned tomatoes, ready to go in the pot for your pasta sauce.

Bottling and bartering with family, friends and neighbours.

Heaps of zucchini and tomatoes at present, here are a couple of recipes we have been using...

Pickled Zucchini
2 lbs zucchini
2 tablespoons salt
1 cup vinegar
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon celery seed
2 teaspoons mustard seed
slice zucchini and onions, add salt, leave for 2 hours. rinse.
blend remaining ingredients, boil for 5 minutes, pour over vegies and leave for 2 hours.
cook for 5 minutes.
bottle and seal.
Cucumbers may also be done this way to make "bread and butter" cucumbers.

Tomato Chutney
6lb ripe tomatoes
2 lb onions
2lb sugar
2 tablespoons curry powder
3 tablespoons mustard
1/2 teaspoon spice
white vinegar
Cut up tomatoes and onions, sprinkle with salt. let stand overnight.drain off juice, add vinegar to barely cover tomatoes and onions. add sugar and boil for 10 minutes. mix the mustard, curry and spice with a little vinegar, to a paste, add and boil 1 hour. bottle and seal.

Home Bottling --Stew excess fruit in enamel or stoneware pots,never metal and try honey and fresh rosemary sprigs instead of sugar.