Oral History Feature | Debbie Bauer

Debbie Bauer is a master gardener who was instrumental in establishing the Watauga County Seed Library located at the Boone branch of the Watauga County Library. We sat down and asked her what she likes about canning her own food.

"Whatever I can is whatever I’ve grown myself, that’s what I like to do. It’s not difficult, it is time-consuming and you have to follow your recipes exactly if you want everything to come out as it should. As you get more experienced in what you are doing you can tweak recipes, you’ll know what you can and what you can’t do and it still turns out fine. The time it takes to process the food and get everything sterilized, and all of that, it takes a lot of time, but the end result is 100 times more worth it.

The most satisfying part is just standing there, looking at the end product, that you grew, and that you made and that you can have all year round and share with your family. That’s what my family gets from me every Christmas, a big basket full of everything I’ve canned or dehydrated."

Read Debbie's full interview here: https://www.blowingrockmuseum.org/farmforagefeast

Photo Title: Plant, Grow, Eat, Repeat.
Photo by Ashley Warren @naturalcraftphoto