As grocery prices rise and supply chains feel less reliable, a new book titled "The Preserver's Garden" offers a return to the nearly forgotten skill of growing food with the intention of preserving it. Written by homestead farmers Staci Hill and Jeremy Hill, the book represents the first comprehensive guide to fully integrate garden planning with food preservation methods such as fermenting, canning, pickling, dehydrating, and freeze drying. The Hills, who have nearly a decade of hands-on experience at their Gooseberry Bridge Farm in rural Missouri, argue that the knowledge of turning a season's harvest into meals that last all year has largely disappeared in just a few decades. Their book bridges this gap by bringing together lost wisdom from the past with the realities of modern life, showing readers how to grow food specifically for preservation rather than treating gardening and preserving as separate skills.
More than just a gardening guide, "The Preserver's Garden" reframes food preservation as a modern solution to contemporary challenges. It speaks directly to concerns around food affordability, food allergies, food waste, and food deserts while addressing a deeper desire many families share: to know exactly what's in their pantry and where it came from. The book emphasizes that readers don't need acreage, expensive equipment, or a homestead lifestyle to preserve food successfully, working at any scale from backyard gardens to container plants. The philosophy presented is simple and encouraging, designed to meet readers where they are—especially those who feel overwhelmed, short on time, or unsure they have "what it takes." Instead of all-or-nothing thinking, the book emphasizes baby steps, flexibility, and progress over perfection.
With clarity, encouragement, and real-world examples drawn from their own family and farm, the Hills show how growing and preserving food builds more than a stocked pantry—it builds confidence, resilience, and connection to food, family, and seasonal rhythms. For more information about the book and its approach to food independence, visit thepreserversgarden.onlinepresskit247.com. The book invites readers to reclaim food independence not through extremes, but through intention—one garden, one jar, one season at a time, offering a practical response to growing concerns about food security and quality in an uncertain economic climate.
