BarredBuff
El Presidente de Pollo
9 pints of tomatoes yesterday. One more canning of tomatoes and it will be finished. The blight finished the tomatoes off, but they did so good.
Carrots, today.
Carrots, today.
So very sorry you had that huge loss. Welcome to the Homestead! Have you done an intro on the newbie page to tell us who you are? Central Maine, here. Zone 4B. 4.3 acres, 2 acres usable, the rest is glacial rock, dying trees, weeds, a bit of clay soil, high water table. Chickens, ducks, fair sized garden, permanent mulch, some raised beds, hugelkulture, sheet composting, Back to Eden small orchard. LOTS and LOTS of weeds. Reliving my early granola years. Working smarter but with a much older body. You'll find lots of varied experience. I'm sure we'll benefit from what you have to add!!!I spent all Sunday two weeks ago cooking down 30 pounds of tomatoes and made 9 quarts of spaghetti sauce. Four jars didn't seal after repeat processing, and two seals were lost and I had to toss the contents. I've never had such a huge loss. It was devastating as my tomatoes have been really struggling this year.
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.So very sorry you had that huge loss. Welcome to the Homestead! Have you done an intro on the newbie page to tell us who you are? Central Maine, here. Zone 4B. 4.3 acres, 2 acres usable, the rest is glacial rock, dying trees, weeds, a bit of clay soil, high water table. Chickens, ducks, fair sized garden, permanent mulch, some raised beds, hugelkulture, sheet composting, Back to Eden small orchard. LOTS and LOTS of weeds. Reliving my early granola years. Working smarter but with a much older body. You'll find lots of varied experience. I'm sure we'll benefit from what you have to add!!!
Welcome to Sufficient Self!I spent all Sunday two weeks ago cooking down 30 pounds of tomatoes and made 9 quarts of spaghetti sauce. Four jars didn't seal after repeat processing, and two seals were lost and I had to toss the contents. I've never had such a huge loss. It was devastating as my tomatoes have been really struggling this year.
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!Welcome to Sufficient Self!
How did you process your spaghetti sauce?