Canning Supplies

[Mini Horses]

With nice sunny days the cement blocks will absorb heat. They used to heat bricks, wrap in a blanket and put into beds to keep feet warm.

A couple of lights will give enough heat in some mildly cold climes to keep above actual freeze temps in there. Just so much depends on the extreme and length of time for that extreme, plus size of unit you have. May work well one year, not so much the next.

 

[Britesea]

Victorians heated parts of greenhouses enough to grow pineapples by composting manure in them.

I read about doing that- it was called a a hot box as opposed to a cold frame. DH wants to experiment with that in the greenhouse, but I don't think we have enough manure to do it. Might try it one of these years though...

Something I'm working on (a few concrete blocks at a time) is building a row of walled bins along the north border of the garden- opening on the outside, to hold compost, chips, excess cardboard etc for use in making compost or other garden delights. The backs of the bins face south into the garden, hopefully working as a windbreak against those chilly winter winds and a heat sink to help keep the garden just a few precious degrees warmer.

I think all the things I've been doing like this are helping- it seems like every year I get a little more out of the garden before the weather finally kills everything. Last year some of the beets made it through the winter and started setting seed in the spring. I would have harvested them through the cold weather, but the ground froze hard and I couldn't dig them up. So this year I want to pile a bunch of chips and pine straw around them and the carrots and daikons to see if I can keep eating out of the garden longer.

 

[baymule]

What is Grand Solar Minimum? I looked it up, kinda the opposite of global warming, but it comes in cycles. The global warming scenarios for 2050 are alarming, it it comes to pass as predicted. It makes buying land in Montana with their -30F degrees look enticing!

I have lots of jars, don't like the regular mouth quarts, but I'll use them. I try to use those for stuff I give away. LOL That way if I don't get them back, it doesn't hurt my feelings. I need lids, both sizes. I've found some and bought them, but I want a 2-3 year supply.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Why should you not til a garden to plant peas? I always did and have had no problem. Does it do something to the soil if you do?
I have considered doing the cattle panel greenhouse. Thanks for the info.

Re: tilling: Our soil is so heavy with clay that the standard garden: (bare clay soil) stays frozen much longer than a garden that has had the soil built over many years by copious addition of organic matter, AND kept covered with mulch. My mulched areas are frost free by April 14, while standard gardens may be frozen until end of April. THEN, those bare soil gardens remain too wet to be tilled until usually Mid May. Then... we can get frosts until Memorial day. Tilling the soil DOES have a negative impact on it, especially if the soil is heavy. It breaks the natural soil crumble up, disrupts the micro-organisms including the fungi. Fungi are important for plant function. They form a symbiosis with the root systems, greatly enhancing the uptake of nutrients. Also, repeated tilling causes hard pan, resulting in a compact layer below tine depth that is impenetrable, resulting in even more water retention, making early planting more difficult.

I read about doing that- it was called a a hot box as opposed to a cold frame. DH wants to experiment with that in the greenhouse, but I don't think we have enough manure to do it. Might try it one of these years though...

Something I'm working on (a few concrete blocks at a time) is building a row of walled bins along the north border of the garden- opening on the outside, to hold compost, chips, excess cardboard etc for use in making compost or other garden delights. The backs of the bins face south into the garden, hopefully working as a windbreak against those chilly winter winds and a heat sink to help keep the garden just a few precious degrees warmer.

I think all the things I've been doing like this are helping- it seems like every year I get a little more out of the garden before the weather finally kills everything. Last year some of the beets made it through the winter and started setting seed in the spring. I would have harvested them through the cold weather, but the ground froze hard and I couldn't dig them up. So this year I want to pile a bunch of chips and pine straw around them and the carrots and daikons to see if I can keep eating out of the garden longer.

Elliott Coleman, IIRC has a deep compost/vermculture bin covered by pallet type walkway down the middle of his greenhouse. He fills it with (?) horse manure, and the worms happily turn that into compost, while this bin provides extra heat. He also utilizes passive solar with use of rocks, and black water tanks. I like your use of concrete at north side of the garden. Micro-climates can be used very effectively to increase the gardening season. Coleman has chapters in his book devoted specifically to micro-climate management. Also, chapters devoted to overwintering crops in the garden.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

I have lots of jars, don't like the regular mouth quarts, but I'll use them. I try to use those for stuff I give away. LOL That way if I don't get them back, it doesn't hurt my feelings. I need lids, both sizes. I've found some and bought them, but I want a 2-3 year supply.

Bay, I almost exclusively use small mouth jars. I find this makes it easier when buying lids. Only one size to need to stock. Yeah... it makes filling a bit more difficult with some products. But, I can make adjustments. Of course, there are times when large mouth MUST be used, and I have a few for that purpose. By re-using lids if they are in like new condition, I find that my supply of lids is not likely to EVER run out, unless they STOP manufacturing them altogether.

 

[Rammy]

What is Grand Solar Minimum? I looked it up, kinda the opposite of global warming, but it comes in cycles. The global warming scenarios for 2050 are alarming, it it comes to pass as predicted. It makes buying land in Montana with their -30F degrees look enticing!

I have lots of jars, don't like the regular mouth quarts, but I'll use them. I try to use those for stuff I give away. LOL That way if I don't get them back, it doesn't hurt my feelings. I need lids, both sizes. I've found some and bought them, but I want a 2-3 year supply.

The Grand Solar Minimum has something to do with the sun cooling down in a way. It is suppose to start making the Earth cool diwn too, making it harder to grow crops. The GDD( growing degree days), will be less, especially on being able to grow staples such as corn and wheat.
Look up The Ice Age Farmer on youtube. He talks about this in several videos.

 

[Mini Horses]

I use the small mouths for easy pour items...sauces, relishes, cut or small veggies like corn. Save the wide mouth for chunky stuff...meats, chunky fruits and such. All works out. I have to use what I have and there was a time when no wide mouths existed.

At coffee this morn a show was on about gardening in Nova Scotia. A raised, mulched bed with a row cover gave them access to root crops in winter. Layering and cole type crops.

As to the temps world wide. In 2050 I'll be 105 or so. That's the year I check out so not a concern suspect I won't be gardening heavy then.

 

[flowerbug]

...
I have lots of jars, don't like the regular mouth quarts, but I'll use them. I try to use those for stuff I give away. LOL That way if I don't get them back, it doesn't hurt my feelings. I need lids, both sizes. I've found some and bought them, but I want a 2-3 year supply.

lol @baymule we should set up jar exchange as we are about the exact opposite, we have wide mouth jars we gladly give away and hope they don't come back (most years, but this year is different, we are writing down all jars we give away so we can prod people into getting them all back to us). i think we have a few cases of empty wide mouth jars in the garage but it's a heck of a drive from here to Texas.

in checking local stores they're all still pretty bare on the shelves for any lids or jars, but we're all set for this year so i just hope by next season they start having lids on the shelves again.

 

[FarmerJamie]

Nothing in local Walmart canning section..only incidentals

 

[flowerbug]

Nothing in local Walmart canning section..only incidentals

been like that here since May... all stores. pretty rare to find anything on the shelves for long. lids are what we're keeping an eye open for right now, but nothing showing up or it is getting bought before we get there to pick it up.