100+ Ideas to Eat (or Preserve) the Summer Bumper Crop from Your Garden

Gardening at home is a hands-on way to help feed your family, practice sustainability, a fun way to exercise, and an outlet for coping with stress. In 2020 we saw the boom of "pandemic gardens" as people started growing their own food to avoid shortages, make fewer trips to the store, and simply as a hobby while spending more time at home. Fruit and veggie seeds sold at record levels and according to the National Gardening Association (NGA), 35% of families in the U.S. grow vegetables, fruit, and other food at home. The trend doesn't seem to be going anywhere in 2021, either.

If you're growing food at home successfully, there's often a time in each food's peak season where you end up with a bounty of produce you simply can't seem to eat fast enough. Let us help you find delicious ways to use up all kinds of amazing summer vegetables and fruits. And if you still have a surplus of produce, use our preserving methods to keep the literal fruits of your labor stocked to enjoy year-round.

Veggie Love

Home gardeners are crazy for tomatoes (yes, tomatoes are technically fruits, but we treat them like vegetables for culinary purposes). The NGA reports that tomatoes are the most popular crop grown at home—grown by 86% of home gardeners. Cucumbers, beans, carrots, and peppers round out the top 5 most popular veggies grown at home. Whip up something delicious starring one or more of the vegetables from that list using our recipes. We're also including ideas for zucchini because it can grow so fast in warm weather resulting in a very large bounty.

19 Tomato Recipes That Showcase the Versatility of the Summer Produce Star

Cucucmber Salad Ideas Full of Fresh Flavors

18 Tomato Salad Recipes to Perk Up Any Summer Menu

Hearty Stuffed Pepper Recipes to Make for Dinner Tonight

Our Favorite Fruits

Home gardeners in the U.S. tend to vary their fruit crops more by growing region, but berries are the favorite. Gabion Reviews reports that in 2020 the top grown fruits in the U.S. were blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries (see, all the berries), followed by apple, peach, and cherry trees. Even though we tend to think of apples as a fall fruit, you can start harvesting them as early as late July and early August—when it sure still feels like summer outside. Use our ideas to find new ways to cook with your garden fruits.

21 Healthy Blueberry Recipes for Every Meal (Including Happy Hour and Dessert)

The 19 Best Blueberry Desserts That Have Ever Entered (and Disappeared From) Our Test Kitchen

16 Quick and Easy Recipes to Make with Fresh Strawberries

26 Game-Changing Strawberry Dessert Recipes

Save It for Later

When you've shared the goodies from your garden with family, neighbors, and coworkers and made produce-packed recipe after produce-packed recipe, but still have more fruits and vegetables than you can use, it's time to preserve them. With all the home gardening and preserving going on in 2020 we experienced a canning supply shortage, but that's been leveling out and you should be able to find everything you need to preserve the foods from your garden. Learn all about canning in a water bath canner or pressure canner and find the best way to freeze foods using these helpful guides.

Save Your Produce Up to a Year When You Master Water Bath Canning

Master Pressure Canning at Home in 9 Simple Steps

This Is the Best Way to Freeze Green Beans So They Stay Fresh All Year

How to Freeze Peaches to Preserve Their Gorgeous Color and Bright Flavor