Surplus Produce Decision and Preservation Planning Workbook

New World Survival Community Garden Guide, Roadmap #64
Revision: September 6, 2026

Purpose: Use this workbook when a harvest is larger than your household can immediately use. It helps you decide what to eat, store, share, donate, freeze, dehydrate, can, ferment, compost, or discard before quality declines. It is a planning tool, not a substitute for the preservation procedure itself.

Safety boundary: Do not use preservation to rescue produce that is rotten, moldy, or affected by an unresolved contamination event. Do not invent a shelf-stable canning or pickling process. Use current FDA/USDA/NCHFP/Extension guidance and the specialist New World Survival preservation pages.

1. Harvest inventory

Crop	Amount	Harvest date	Condition / maturity	Known exposure concern?

2. Human-food screen

Question	Yes / No	Action
Does any item look rotten, moldy, slimy, or broadly decayed?		Remove from human-food planning. Use appropriate disposal/compost rules.
Was any item exposed to floodwater, sewage, chemical contamination, animal fecal contamination, or another unresolved event?		Stop and use the applicable contamination/flood/water guidance.
Is there only minor bruising/damage that can be trimmed during ordinary preparation?		Plan prompt use if the remainder is sound.
Is the produce sound and free of known contamination concerns?		Continue to urgency triage.

3. Urgency triage

Do not use a universal shelf-life chart. Rank the actual produce using crop-specific Extension/FoodKeeper guidance and its present maturity/condition.

Crop	Use first	Plan next	Storage candidate	Source checked	Decision deadline

4. Fresh-use plan

Crop	Meal / recipe / snack	Amount reserved	Use by	Person responsible

Fresh-use test: If you cannot name the meal, the food is not yet allocated.

5. Short-term storage plan

Crop	Storage condition required	Actual location	Can we provide it?	Inspection date

6. Sharing / donation plan

Use Roadmap #55 for recipient fit, custody, institutional requirements, and distribution records.

Crop / amount	Recipient	Accepted?	Packaging / delivery requirement	Delivery time

7. Preservation capacity audit

Method	Procedure already located?	Equipment ready?	Storage capacity?	Time available?	Use planned?
Freeze
Dehydrate
Can / pickle shelf-stable
Ferment / refrigerated pickle

Freezer capacity

Available shelf/bin space: Reliable power concerns: Oldest frozen garden food to use first:

Drying capacity

Equipment/trays: Expected batch time: Dry storage containers/location:

Canning capacity

Correct canner for tested recipe: Current tested recipe source: Altitude verified: Jars/lids/space ready:

Fermentation/pickling capacity

Tested/research-based method: Vessel/weights/ingredients: Temperature/storage plan:

8. Batch routing sheet

Crop	Fresh	Store	Share / donate	Freeze	Dry	Can / pickle	Ferment	Compost / discard	Deadline

9. Preservation source verification

Batch	Method	Authoritative recipe / procedure	URL / publication	Key limits checked

Before a shelf-stable canning batch: Confirm the recipe is research-tested for the exact food/product, jar size, process, and altitude. Do not create a processing time from ingredient similarity.

10. Production schedule

Date / time	Batch	Method	Prep start	Finish / cool	Label / inventory complete

11. Finished-food inventory

Product	Date	Quantity	Storage location	Recipe/source ID	Planned use

12. What actually happened?

Crop	Harvested	Eaten fresh	Stored	Shared/donated	Preserved	Lost/discarded

13. Next-season correction

Which crop created repeated surplus?

Why? □ too many plants □ harvest timing □ household preference □ poor storage plan □ recipient unavailable □ preservation capacity too small □ other

Next-season action: □ plant less □ stagger planting □ choose different variety □ plan storage □ reserve preservation date □ pre-arrange donation □ grow intentionally for preservation □ other

14. Capability check

□ I separated unsafe/questionable produce before routing.

□ I ranked sound produce by urgency.

□ I named actual fresh uses.

□ I verified storage conditions for storage crops.

□ I confirmed recipients before allocating donation.

□ I located authoritative preservation procedures before processing.

□ I checked equipment, time, and storage capacity.

□ I labeled and inventoried finished food.

□ I recorded what to change next season.

Reference starting points

FDA produce handling: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/selecting-and-serving-produce-safely
USDA FoodKeeper: https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep-food-safe/foodkeeper-app
National Center for Home Food Preservation: https://nchfp.uga.edu/
Your local Cooperative Extension office for crop storage, regional harvest, and preservation education.

Revision note: This workbook was prepared as a standalone field tool. Recheck current preservation guidance before each season and whenever a safety-critical process changes.