Vegetable gardens across the area are getting to the point of harvesting those vegetables and a University of Illinois Extension nutrition educator has some tips to make sure none of it goes to waste.

Caitlin Mellendorf at the U of I Extension in DeWitt, Macon, and Piatt Counties indicates there are plenty of options on how to preserve those. While she has finished up her summer series on preserving, she is giving us a preview of those courses.

Canning is the most popular of the food preservation methods. Mellendorf explains there are several ways to can as well.

Another popular and easy method for vegetable preservation is freezing. Mellendorf indicates this is not a difficult method for food preservation.

Mellendorf encourages keeping tabs on extension.illinois.edu/dmp for coming information about the September food preservation classes.