[Homestead] pressure canners
EarthNSky
erthnsky at bellsouth.net
Tue Jun 9 10:34:51 EDT 2009
Lynn Wigglesworth wrote:
> Wow...canning season? We just had our last frost last week.
Well, some people in these parts have tomatoes. I don't yet. Before
the end of the week is out, I'll be picking green beans, and yesterday,
I picked my first cucumber. I now have only 4 cabbages in the
refrigerator, after making cole slaw with one last night...
I know that soon, very soon, I'll have beans, so I pulled out the
canners and checked everything well. I have never replaced my gaskets,
so I think I will do that this year. I have a big 22Q Presto canner, an
8 Quart Presto cooker and a 4 Qt Mirro. It is funny that I have 3, when
I am so scared of using them that I do it outside on the side burner of
the grill or on the propane burner. It is a homestead fear that I have
yet to conquer. I wish someone who pressure cans/cooks all the time
would come and give me a few tips or at least watch me to see if my
habits and methods are good/safe.
The only thing
> I'm harvesting is greens.
I'm waiting on round two of spinach, harvesting chard and lettuce
Except for a few early Stupice (golf-ball sized at
> the moment), it will be a month or more before I see a tomato.
no tomatoes here yet.
Everything is
> sitting, waiting for warmer weather, especially squash, which isn't
> looking very happy.
I've already cooked two batches of squash and have grated squash for
squash bread that I need to make.
The early green beans that I started in cell packs in early
> April are just starting to bloom. Pole beans have just come through
> the ground.
Some beans are blooming; I saw 3" long green beans on my bush Romas.
Onions are doing well, but not forming bulbs yet.
Same
Garlic doesn't
> care about the weather and looks great.
I harvested my garlic last week, I let it cure for a few days outside
and I brought it in last night. Today, I am going to dry about half of
it, freeze some, and save some whole.
Peas are just forming pods.
My peas are done, I am just allowing them to produce seed now.
Potatoes
> are still getting hilled...weeks away from blooming.
I have some I could dig.
Corn is an inch or two
> tall.
I have two foot tall corn and I have two inch tall corn planted last week.
>
> I have a lot of pears amd a few peachs. It looks like the apples ALL
> got hit by the late frost...four apple trees, lots of blossoms, and ,
> for the second year in a row, no fruit.
I have apples and pears. Lost peaches. It looks to be an average
blueberry year and a bumper blackberry year. All three of my grapevines
have grapes, some are 1/2" diameter. Yesterday, I noticed that the
Japanese beetles have finally arrived(they are about a week late this
year), so I may lose everything.
>
> Today's project is to set up a bumch of pots with good soil to start
> the strawberry runners so I can force them in the greenhouse next
> spring.
I stopped pinching my blooms off last week, so I should start getting
strawberries soon.
I have some gardening pics on my blog, and will be putting up a few more
for my next entry which might be tonight, but probably tomorrow.
--
I am having an out-of-money experience.
http://erthnsky.blogspot.com/
EarthNSky Farm, Northwest Georgia, USA
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