WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

humble_hills_farm said:

I think numerous factors affected the results. 1) the recipe said to leave 1/2" headspace, and I always did 1". On a whim I decided to try the 1/2". 2) I attempted an outdoor propane burner with a flimsy heatshield and the wind kept blowing out the flame causing temp fluctuations. 3) at one point, temps went up to 15 psi (wasn't paying attention). I always pressure can tomatoes. I have since made a better heat shield. Next time I try something new like that I'm not going to spend the whole day cooking spaghetti sauce... I'll just do some juice!

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I can on a propane stove on a screened in porch, and if I have issue with wind, I always have bad luck processing. It'll turn out funky.

I pressure can inside, but that is because I like to sit and relax while I keep an ear on the weight. I always have everything in jars in the fridge before I start since it's usually fish or meat.

I've waterbathed outside on the propane burner. Can't do it on windy days though so I don't try.

humble_hills_farm said:

Yep, you can check out my intro here. Are you originally from Maine? I love winter, but have always worried about a shortened growing season that far north. Glad to hear you are making it work! Hugelkulture is fascinating for me, and I probably would have set up my own garden that way if I wasn't so pressed for time.

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I do some gardening under a tunnel. Have a cattle panel green house, but it was infested with mice last winter, so... I lost just about the whole crop. I may let the ducks have it this winter. I push the season on both ends. My neighbors don't plant ANYTHING until after Memorial Day. And, we can get our first frost around Sept. 10. I start planting in the garden in late March, taking advantage of micro climates, and using milk jugs or poly tunnels. And, can stretch the back end until late October. In the greenhouse, I can harvest greens until Thanksgiving, then start back up again around Valentines day.

11 half pints of seedless blackberry jam. I may do more soon as it's Mom's favorite.

Steam canning some sweet corn this evening. Hope to get up to or over 40 qts for the year, which is our usual need.

I'm dehydrating figs -- again/still -- gotta do it while the season is hot.

I actually looked at a propane unit for outside canning yesterday. Well, now I doubt I will buy it...after reading. I'll just keep using the kitchen or the garage apt stove. Sounds easier.... there is a huge amount of work in canning...even more if it's from your garden produce!

Knowing how long a day it is to cook those tomatoes down to sauce, then can, then lose it......wow, I'm almost crying myself! That's a hard loss to take. Sounds like you at least have a good idea why.

Finished out with 29 qts of corn, but have enough of last year's and the year before to serve our needs. Tossed 2017 and '16 corn to the chooks(10 qts), so an overage like that tells me we are storing too much of that particular veggie to suit our yearly needs. I will use the '18 corn for canning soups up this fall, leaving this year's and last year's(just 4 qts) to see us through until next season.

This year shelf space is at a premium, so weeding out things we don't eat in favor of canning up the things we DO eat. Most space will be utilized for just a few veggies like corn, tomato soup, and fire jam, but mostly for meats and soups. The soups are mostly for my mother, as she loves to just dump a pt. into a bowl and nuke it...gives her all her daily nutes in one bowl without having to cook. Great for winter eating with some homemade bread.

we're doing tomato juice a few times a week now, haven't done any tomato chunks yet, but they should be coming along soon.

Did 4 more quarts of tomato juice today. Finally got enough to make it worthwhile.

Beekissed said:

This year shelf space is at a premium, so weeding out things we don't eat in favor of canning up the things we DO eat.

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This is a problem for gardeners and canners. Growing things we rarely eat, or little of........canning because it's there! I'm guilty on the growing front but, not excessively. Finally looked hard at what I do eat, then either buy frozen or someone's excess, saving ground space for other things.