Fru-Gal Friends

Moderator Age : 27 Joined : 12 Oct 2006 Posts : 1693

Again,...be careful starting your seeds this early! Smile

I have been gardening and canning for years so I have accumulated the rings and jars...but have bought them together and a case of 12 jars, lids and rings all together was $6.99 or so...I just bought lids at Walamrt when I was canning deer meat and they were about $1.99.

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Wed 05 Mar 2008, 11:03 am

the Ball Blue Book is the bible of canning
Better Homes & Gardens has a Home canning book that excellent both should be at your library . this are excellent books that teach you the basic ...
Do you family that cans Having someone to help there are several sites on line that are good ..

what are you going to can ???
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Gayla

"They take great pride in making their dinner cost much; I take my pride in making my dinner cost so little."

---Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Wed 05 Mar 2008, 11:49 am

Green Beans (mainly)
Spaghetti sauce
Stewed Tomatoes
Jams
Edamame (spelling?) We love Edamame at the Japanese restaurants, but they are so expensive!

I would like to get a peach tree and can peaches next year.
Plus, we have so many pick-your-own places around here, I can get whatever is in season.

Thank you for the book suggestions. I will look online at the local library to see if they are available.

My step-dad bought all the canning equipment last year to make my grandma's chili sauce. That is the only experience he has - was making about 25 jars of the sauce. I found some movies online that show exactly what to do. And luckily, the lids I got are the ones that pop when completely sealed. :-) So no guessing.

Thanks again!

~M
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"It is not how much money you make - it is how you spend it."

Moderator Age : 27 Joined : 12 Oct 2006 Posts : 1693

We can enough food for a year...I love canning! I use the Ball book too...

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Wed 05 Mar 2008, 2:56 pm

Ball Book on hold along with 7 others! :-)
I cant wait.

I read on the green bean recipe that for 50 lbs of greenbeans, it makes enough for a family of 2 for 3 years! WOW!

Kim - do you have the special equipment needed, or just use boiling water?

I was just thinking... would anyone like to do a seed exchange next year?
Maybe I will remember, and can start a thread.

Does anyone save their seeds for the next year?
If so, how do you do it for tomatoes, zuchinni, etc?

~M
_________________
"It is not how much money you make - it is how you spend it."

Moderator Age : 27 Joined : 12 Oct 2006 Posts : 1693

I have a pressure cooker...a hot water bath...and a 22 quart stockpot...hundreds of canning jars...lots of lids and rings...that's pretty much all you need...
There are things you can't can in a pressure cooker and there are things you shouldn't can in a hot water bath due to bacteria...your ball book will telly ou how to do it...and how long to process each thing...and how much pressure your pressure cooker needs.
I don't think I will be in on the seed exchange as we use all of our seeds. Smile

Do you mean..how to you plant tomatoes & zuchinni? Or do you start them from seed>? If you mean do you start them from seed..we don't start tomatoes from seed (usually)...we get plants from Walmart...can't plant them too soon...frost will kill them...and we start all kind of squash from seed. Squash need LOTS of room to spread out..you can plant them in hte same patch as other viney produce, like pumpkins...or other squash, cucumbers...another idea is to plant your carrots right along your peas...b/c your peas will be done before you harvest you carrots in the fall and you save space that way. You can plant peas up to 3 different times in a season...like plant then wait a week plant another row wait and plant another row. If you plant lettuce and spinach make sure you harvest these as young plants b/c they grow bitter fast and will be no good. They go to seed faster than you would think.
Well, I guess I am rambling...I am just sooooo ready to start our garden!!!!

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Thu 06 Mar 2008, 11:57 am

I have the pressure cooker too Kim do you process much meat I have done chicken and spaghetti but this year my goal is to do all I can I going to put down salmon , and lots of meat .

Have you canned deer meat ??
_________________
Gayla

"They take great pride in making their dinner cost much; I take my pride in making my dinner cost so little."

---Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Thu 06 Mar 2008, 12:11 pm

I was wondering how to take the seeds from something you have already grown (a tomatoe, a zucchini, etc.), and I assume you dry them, save them, and plant them next year? Is that how it works?

~M
_________________
"It is not how much money you make - it is how you spend it."

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Thu 06 Mar 2008, 1:26 pm

M...
that is what we do for most of our seeds especially if the plant had produce good fruit.
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Moderator Age : 27 Joined : 12 Oct 2006 Posts : 1693

Gayla...I have canned venison..tons of it...and lots of ground meats...I LOVE canning...it's like homemade convenience food Smile

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Thu 06 Mar 2008, 7:28 pm

what do you add to your venison Kim do you do whole pieces or ground ?
any recipes you would share would be greatly appreciated.
_________________
Gayla

"They take great pride in making their dinner cost much; I take my pride in making my dinner cost so little."

---Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

Moderator Age : 27 Joined : 12 Oct 2006 Posts : 1693

Well, we start with a whole deer and all I do is bring the quarters up and cut them in stew chunks....raw pack them with a tsp salt per quart...I don't add water it amkes it's own juice...and I process it 1 hr and 15 mins....at 10 lbs pressure.
That is how I do most of our meat...the ground meat was ok, but we preffer it this way.

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Mon 10 Mar 2008, 5:42 am

The seeds have been started.
I started the blackberry bush (had to pour boiling water over the seeds and let soak for 24 hours). Tonight will be the Rose of Sharon bushes from seeds (have to soak in hot water for 24 hours), and also, hopefully planting some herbs and edamame (soybeans). Maybe even the tomatoes, we'll see. I'm waiting for a batch to come in the mail any day now.

~M
_________________
"It is not how much money you make - it is how you spend it."

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Tue 11 Mar 2008, 7:15 pm

I have been soaking my blackberry bush seeds for the last 48 hours, and 3 of them have already sprouted! I have put them into soil, and they will be in the fridge for the next 2 weeks (per the instructions). I hope they continue to do well.

I also am soaking my Rose of Sharon seeds to become bushes in front of our house.

Beefsteak tomatoes are planted (only 1/3 of the seeds, just to see if I am doing it correctly), 5 edamame seeds (still have 30 more), oregano & basil.

The lavender looks like it will sprout quickly, so I will wait until beginning to mid April, and I have a couple more that look like they will come up very quickly.

I am still waiting for my roma tomatoe seeds, green beans, and zucchini to show up in the mail.

But I'm started!
Lets see how it goes!

~M
_________________
"It is not how much money you make - it is how you spend it."

Subject: Re: 2008 Garden Tue 11 Mar 2008, 9:07 pm

Sounds like your ahead of the game M,I mentioned to my hubby tonight about a article in todays paper about time to put our elephant ears in planters in the windows for re planting in may! cant wait!!