WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

[flowerbug]

...Finding enough to can is a problem so I end up eating them fresh. Such a sacrifice.

the ones we get here at home that pop up from time to time are the morels and i usually don't eat them i just let them spread more spores around. it's not prime territory for them so we don't see many. considering when we first moved here there were none at all (and for 15yrs later) then the seeding of spores happened when my brother gave me a few and told me to take the rinse water from them and dump it around the yard in a few spots. a few years after that they started popping up and have been for the last 10-15yrs.

 

[LaurenRitz]

My old house was in a dry riverbed. They had forced the creek into a culvert so they could build the subdivision.

As I worked on improving the soil a lot of things started to appear from the seed bank--including a few morels! Apparently the morels can put themselves into a sort of stasis that can last up to 100 years. When the conditions are right, they pop back.

 

[flowerbug]

My old house was in a dry riverbed. They had forced the creek into a culvert so they could build the subdivision.

As I worked on improving the soil a lot of things started to appear from the seed bank--including a few morels! Apparently the morels can put themselves into a sort of stasis that can last up to 100 years. When the conditions are right, they pop back.

the spores can travel through the air or by flowing water. if they land someplace that is suitable they'll grow and send up mushrooms.

it doesn't take that much for them to grow (some of the places they come up here are thin layers of wind-blown debris and limestone mulch which is put down over black plastic and it isn't very thick). they also seem to like the east side of banks or trees. the more regular light moisture it gets the better, heavier moisture would wash things away.

 

[Mini Horses]

Snow on ground. Almost noon & still temps in 20s. Would be a good day to be canning

Maybe I'll bake, instead. Or take a nap

 

[flowerbug]

Snow on ground. Almost noon & still temps in 20s. Would be a good day to be canning

Maybe I'll bake, instead. Or take a nap

sounds like a good plan to me. i slept in for a few hours extra but i did get to sleep late too, but that was because i had a nap earlier in the evening. in the winter my sleep schedule gets all messed up until the days start getting longer again.

it is really easy to have some dinner and crash out for the evening.

 

[LaurenRitz]

Tomatoes today. First batch is in the cooker.

 

[LaurenRitz]

20 bottles of tomatoes so far, and 3 bottles of juice. The lid blew off two bottles yesterday, one while in the cooker and one while taking the bottles out. Generic new bottles with the lids they were sold with.

I have four more bottles in the cooker this morning, one older bottle with an older lid and ring as a control. Just reprocessing what didn't seal last night. Again, new generic lids.

No more until probably early next week.

 

[LaurenRitz]

the spores can travel through the air or by flowing water. if they land someplace that is suitable they'll grow and send up mushrooms.

it doesn't take that much for them to grow (some of the places they come up here are thin layers of wind-blown debris and limestone mulch which is put down over black plastic and it isn't very thick). they also seem to like the east side of banks or trees. the more regular light moisture it gets the better, heavier moisture would wash things away.

The "stasis" vehicle is apparently a small sphere, about the size and shape of a walnut. I can't remember what it's called.

 

[flowerbug]

The "stasis" vehicle is apparently a small sphere, about the size and shape of a walnut. I can't remember what it's called.

sclerotium, though it really isn't a longer term way of surviving beyond a few years if it would be dry enough to keep it from regrowing. that is, if there is any suitable moisture it will start regrowing again and then not be dormant any longer unless it again got drier again and then it would have to reform the sclerotium.


the spores are the primary means of it spreading and the spores are not very persistent in the wrong conditions (aka they will die out if conditions are not suitable for them to grow).

this is why you should always leave at least a few mushrooms alone wherever you may find them so they will keep spreading spores and then there is also the tradition of carrying morels in bags which can leak some spores to help spread them.