WHAT ARE YOU CANNING TODAY?

[BarredBuff]

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.

 

[Mini Horses]

@BarredBuff you've had a pretty good year there!

@wyoDreamer use that cinnamon sauce to cook with. Bake a couple cakes, dump it onto pork and bake, into pancake batter. Mix a jar with fresh and fill some fried pies....yep, use it. Maybe other will have ideas. Can't let that work go to waste.

 

[wyoDreamer]

My tomato plants are loaded with green tomatoes, but they are also suffering from fungus infection. I need to stop and pick up a fungicide and get them treated before I loose the whole crop. Three ripe tomatoes so far.

Our apple trees are ancient. The farmer next door grew up in our house and he says they have been there as long as he can remember, and they are worthless mushy apples. I think they are old fashioned Cider apples. I have never heard of apples ripening at the beginning of August, but they are ripe now. If I were to wait another week, they would be too soft to really do anything with. Most apples around here won't be ripe for another month at least.
A friend is getting into making apple cider, so he came and picked a couple bushels of apples. He says they get 2 gallons of apple cider for each 5 gallon bucket of apples that they press. It is good stuff too!

 

[8710]

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.

 

[BarredBuff]

@Mini Horses Yes, the Lord has blessed us for sure.

I did 32 pints of carrots yesterday. I am running out of space lol.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

Not canning, but I found Broccoli at .39/# and corn at .10/ear. Late getting them processed, but doing last of the broccoli and processing 6 ears of corn for the freezer. We had to sample the rest of the corn to be sure it was fit to commit the freezer space. So... 7 pkg. of broccoli processed! Will be looking for more bargains in fresh produce.

 

[Lazy Gardener]

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.

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!!!

 

[8710]

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!!!

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.

 

[BarredBuff]

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.

Welcome to Sufficient Self!

How did you process your spaghetti sauce?

 

[8710]

Welcome to Sufficient Self!

How did you process your spaghetti sauce?

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!