Frozen vegies

[Akashia]

Example you planted a garden and took like the collard, mustard and the like and you took them and vacuum sealed the bag and put it in the freezer. Not cooked or anything. Was wondering if it would be ok to give that to them, thawed of course, or does it have to be fresh, fresh, like just purchased or picked? Was curious.

[HRT4SQRLS]

Hi Akashia,

There is a little more to it than just freezing vegetables. I grew up in a traditional southern home where every summer we would pick peas and many other vegetables and they were processed and frozen. Vegetables have to be blanched before they are frozen to preserve them and maintain their palatability and nutritional benefits. Here is a link about preserving veggies in the freezer.
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/blanching.html

A thawed frozen veggie is nasty if not cooked. IF I was going to give a squirrel a frozen veggie I would give it to them frozen. They actually like frozen things including ice. :) IF, I was going to give a squirrel a frozen veggie it would be a very small part of their overall diet. From my experience, many squirrels are very picky eaters and will reject things they don't like. I have a hard enough time getting them to eat fresh produce so I can't imagine getting them to eat frozen veggies all the time. I do know that there are some rehabbers that do it but I don't.

IMO, the bottom line is yes, a squirrel will eat a frozen veggie but a fresh one is always preferable. I might give one as a frozen treat but I wouldn't do it as a part of my feeding protocol.

Your family will certainly enjoy the home preserved vegetables. :grin2 I hated the work involved with it but I sure did love the benefits. :tilt

[Akashia]

Hi Akashia,

There is a little more to it than just freezing vegetables. I grew up in a traditional southern home where every summer we would pick peas and many other vegetables and they were processed and frozen. Vegetables have to be blanched before they are frozen to preserve them and maintain their palatability and nutritional benefits. Here is a link about preserving veggies in the freezer.
http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/blanching.html

A thawed frozen veggie is nasty if not cooked. IF I was going to give a squirrel a frozen veggie I would give it to them frozen. They actually like frozen things including ice. :) IF, I was going to give a squirrel a frozen veggie it would be a very small part of their overall diet. From my experience, many squirrels are very picky eaters and will reject things they don't like. I have a hard enough time getting them to eat fresh produce so I can't imagine getting them to eat frozen veggies all the time. I do know that there are some rehabbers that do it but I don't.

IMO, the bottom line is yes, a squirrel will eat a frozen veggie but a fresh one is always preferable. I might give one as a frozen treat but I wouldn't do it as a part of my feeding protocol.

Your family will certainly enjoy the home preserved vegetables. :grin2 I hated the work involved with it but I sure did love the benefits. :tilt

I was mainly wanting to know if you could give it to them. Yeah I know preserving food here in the south is time consuming and hot work but worth it. No I would not make it their main diet, fresh is always better for everyone, including us humans. Thanks for the link. Have not tried some of the other stuff before.