Is canning veggies cost effective?

[moolie]

Okay, you sold me, now I gotta try canning beans. I suppose there's a couple threads buried here somewhere?

Yup, just did a quick search on "canning beans" and found tons of info!

It's pretty basic though, I soak mine for 18-24 hours, bring to boil, then pop into jars and process. I only fill my jars 2/3 full of beans then add liquid or sauce (as for baked beans), as they will soak up more liquid.

I process pints for 75 minutes (instructions say quarts for 90 minutes, but that's too big for our uses) after venting the canner for 10 minutes then letting it come up to full pressure (as recommended for your altitude).

 

[justusnak]

I was thinking of getting a little calf to raise for the table. Around here, the little ones are going for $150 AND UP! We don't really have a "pasture" more like 4 paddocks. They are all about 60x80.My 3 sheep can not keep the grass down in ONE of them...so, maybe I could get a cow and rotate through the paddocks? Would there possibly be enough grass?? We have never raised a cow, what else do they need, other than grass? Salt? Mineral blocks? I really want to get one...while they are cheap. sorta. LOL

An all stock mineral block works for a cattle. We get them at the local feed stores.
E said in his opinion, if you want to raise out a calf to eat since your bottle ones are so high out there, try to get your hands on one that's alreay weaned - what we call a feeder calf. that way you only have the initial investment of the feeder calf and not milk replacer as well on top of that. If you're thinking of butchering by this fall, that is.

He said it should be fine to rotate it through the paddocks. Our one cow can't keep up with the 3 acres of pasture she has to herself. It looks like a beautiful hay field right now

if your calf did eat through the paddocks faster than planned, you can feed them hay until some grasses grow back in, or until you butcher, whichever suits you.

QA, Thanks so much. I feel much more confidant about getting one now. Yup, we want to butcher this fall/winter...being its just the 2 of us, we dont need a 1000 pound bull! LOL

 

[Icu4dzs]

Out here on the high prairie we let them eat grass for most of the time after they are weaned. The two weeks before we send them to the butcher I feed them some corn just to encourage a little fat production. It seems to work very well but now that corn is getting really expensive (over $6/bushel) that may or may not be financially feasable for you. That isn't a problem, though. Grass fed cattle are the best tasting meat and they don't get any "hormones" or other stuff in their system to cause problems.

Hope that calf works out for you. I agree salt, water and grass are about all they need after weaning. Salt is cheap but if you really want to make them happy, you can get a protein lick which in the winter is very much appreciated by them. (they told me so...)

Good luck and enjoy your calf. Just don't get too emotional when you have to send them off. Be very good and kind to them, give them a good life and tell them what their purpose on this world is so when the day comes, they won't panic. Be certain that the butcher who has to slaughter them does it respectfully and not cruelly. There IS a difference!

//BT//
Trim sends

 

[justusnak]

Out here on the high prairie we let them eat grass for most of the time after they are weaned. The two weeks before we send them to the butcher I feed them some corn just to encourage a little fat production. It seems to work very well but now that corn is getting really expensive (over $6/bushel) that may or may not be financially feasable for you. That isn't a problem, though. Grass fed cattle are the best tasting meat and they don't get any "hormones" or other stuff in their system to cause problems.

Hope that calf works out for you. I agree salt, water and grass are about all they need after weaning. Salt is cheap but if you really want to make them happy, you can get a protein lick which in the winter is very much appreciated by them. (they told me so...)

Good luck and enjoy your calf. Just don't get too emotional when you have to send them off. Be very good and kind to them, give them a good life and tell them what their purpose on this world is so when the day comes, they won't panic. Be certain that the butcher who has to slaughter them does it respectfully and not cruelly. There IS a difference!

//BT//
Trim sends

Thanks for that! We have a great butcher, I have seen the process, and they are quick, yet gentle. I am going to go looking for my calf next week. There seems to be so many out here, weaner calf's....so I am hopeful! I will update on my journal, when/if we get one.

 

[KevsFarm]

Thanks...Quail_Antwerp and the others for sharing your knowledge. This is great stuff to know.It's amazing really, that it could be so inexpensive to raise your own beef, and be better for you than store bought...! I sure wish i had the land to give it a shot.Oh well, when i do get my little hobby farm, i'll certainly want to try raising a little beef for canning and the freezer...

 

[chrissum]

Wow, 6 pages! I have read all of them and now have some more things to think about! I've also got a large freezer, a dehydrater, so now there are other methods with which to preserve food to think about. I only used the dehydrater for deer jerky! Does anyone recommend a book(s) that can explain in detail canning? I bartered with a fellow to cut down a large tree, he gets to keep it for the firewood, than I can expand my garden. This is why I asked for the info of price of canned/store bought. I will have a lot more room for more garden.
Meat is taken care of, its veggies/fruit I want to get into preserving. Thanks again everyone!
Any other input is greatly appreciated!

In the US it would be the Ball Blue Book, in Canada it's the Bernardin Guide to Home Preserving (same company, different brand names).

You can usually find them wherever you buy your canning supplies, and most libraries have them as well.

Thanks moolie, I'll have the wife or kids check in the library next time they are in town!
There is a lot of info to absorb here about canning!

 

[freemotion]

I found that watching youtube videos and some from canningusa helped me get over my fear of my pressure canner and help me to actually take it out of the box and fire 'er up!

 

[justusnak]

I wouldn't say I "fear" my pressure canner..its more of a respect between us. If I treat it right, it wont blow! LOL
I have been around canners when they exploded. My mother had one explode once, doing green beans. Luckily no one was in the kitchen when it happened. We picked up green beans for a week! I swear, it sounded like a bomb went off, and glass was sticking in the ceiling. They CAN be dangerous....however, if you learn your canner, you will learn to love it! Like I said...respect..just like you would have for a large piece of farm machinery.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

Just my two cents, but I don't like many canned veggies, whether done at home or bought in the store. But I **do** dehydrate almost everything we grow: tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, corn, berries, eggplant, etc. I have 2 or 3 dehydrators going in the summer.

Put them in jars. Label with construction paper (thick, keeps out light, great art project for the kid), and store in cool dark place (my basement pantry). Takes up less space.

I make a lot of stews and soups during the winter, but my son is a picky eater, as am I. We don't like most veggies, and he doesn't like my soups and stews but LOVES my crockpot baked beans so when it's time to serve, I sprinkle in some powdered dehydrated veggies and mix them in. Sssshh!

 

[KevsFarm]

I would think if a pressure canner was gonna blow its top, you'd likely get a heads up. Unless of course it was knocked of the stove by accident. What i mean is,if your pressure canner is really cranking, sounds like a roaring jet taking off,i personally would turn the flame down some.I like the sound of a pressure canner with a good head of steam, but not one that sounds overly contained, if you know what i mean.I guess the more you use one, the more you know what sounds about right.IMO, once you get up to crusing speed with a pressure canner, you adjust the heat source, to level off the intensity.I would never keep the flame going/heat source going full tilt once you have a strong head off steam going, thats asking for trouble...! Yes, respect and common sense, not fear...Sometimes accidents do happen, but if you use common sense and guidelines, and get more experience, pressure canning is pretty safe.You have to take care of your canner.You must have a good rubber seal, replace old woren ones. Your canner is only as safe as the condition its in..Steam has to have a unclogged exit and you have to learn when to lower the heat source.Thats my two cents from over 40 yrs off pressure canning..Take some classes on canning if you can, learn the basics, you will gain confidence over time.If you have a gut feeling something is wrong, not right, when your canner is going full steam ahead, turn off he heat sourcea and leave the kitchen, until the canner has calmed and pressure is gone.Assess the situation, ask fellow canners for advice,but don't give into fear.