Garden Planning - Taking Inventory of My Pantry

The other day I was making chili, I reached into the cupboard for home canned tomato sauce and realized I only have 4 quarts left. It was a sad day.

Running out of home canned tomato sauce really came as no surprise. The tomatoes did not do well last year. I canned all I could, but a quick look in my garden journal shows that 30 quarts were all that they produced. The journal also told me that we started getting tomatoes in early August, seven months ago. A little figuring reveals that we use about four quarts of sauce a month. So, when planning the garden this year, my goal is to can at least 48 quarts to keep us in sauce for the year.

I figured that while I was at it, I should take an inventory of the other home canned items in the pantry.

Green Beans
There are still 53 quarts of these. I really thought I had a surplus of beans, and would not have to can as many this year. At little figuring showed that the surplus is smaller than I thought, and I probably need to can about the same amount this summer. Anyone want to help snap?

Pumpkin
I can't believe I have barely used any of the pumpkin! We love pumpkin, but it really isn't a part of my typical cooking repertoire. I need to include it more.

Pickles
There are 10 quarts still! Again, we like pickles, I just need to serve them more. I want fresh cucumbers, and can't stand to waste what we won't eat, so I'll be making more pickles this summer, or giving cucumbers away!

Hot Peppers
Only 3 pints are left. The peppers did not do well last year either. There were almost no sweet peppers. The hot ones fared better, but we could use more of those.

Corn
ZERO! Oh yeah, we didn't get any corn last year! Thank you very much cutworms and drought.

Taking inventory of the pantry was helpful for a number of reasons. First it is good to see what actually is in there. This is true whether you are planning a garden or not. If your pantry is anything like mine, items tend to get shoved to the back, and forgotten about. I need to use what I have on hand before buying (or growing) more.

While taking inventory I also took a a few moments to organize. Keeping like items together and keeping the pantry organized helps me keep tabs on what I do have, and to use what we have on hand.

The main motivation for my taking inventory is for garden planning. The gardening season is upon us. Some are already planting. I'm not quite that together, but it will happen soon. Gardening is enjoyable (to me,) but hard work. It is better weight control than hoodia, and I am ready to get out there. Before I do all that work, I want to make sure we aren't planting too much, or too little. Taking inventory of what is left from last season, and referring to my garden journal for how much was planted, I can get a good idea of how much of an item we actually use, and need to plant.

Are you planting a garden this year? Share some of your plans and ideas.