>>>>Sustainable Living PLUS Canning and Dehydrating Food<<<<

Around 125 degrees c (52 f) for about 11 hours for peas and corn. The onions have been in for 12 hours now and probably need another hour or so. Next time I'll chop them finer and separate the layers better (I'm lazy).

i'm sticking with mom saying no. i can't get sick. i've got too much on my hands right now.

i'm going to make jerky when it cools off. good thinking about waiting until the heat is welcome.

the weather person said this morning we may have frost tonight. so, we go from 95F yesterday to 78F today then frost tomorrow morning. just insane weather. my sinuses will be hurting for sure.

Just finished my onions. I've never dried them before (or even seen them dried). They came up perfect! I think they'll go great in a sauce or stew. Next time I see them on sale or drive past a farm gate sale I'll buy heaps!

i'm so glad they came out perfect!

i have onions i'm storing at our farm in the basement root cellar.

i may try your method and dry some of them also.

great job!! see, even us radicals can be considered just fine, thank you so much to the haters!!

I'm thinking they'll be great to take camping! Much easier to handle on a campsite (probably no good for frying though).
I just get the tiny violin for the haters!

Tinygreen since you're in Michigan also you migh find some use with this

[link to www.destinyfarmgardens.com]

bump to read later for tips

I just watched a bunch of youtube videos about canning meat. I learned alot. I also learned that I screwed up, nothing big, but heres what I learned

If you raw pack meat dont add any water
If you cook the meat first or brown it than do add water or broth.

The reason is the meat makes juice as it cooks in the canner.

Also watched a video on canning bacon, although I will use the peices rather than the full strips of bacon and parchment paper.

Another one was doing butter, I have seen them before, but this guy said he melts the butter, puts it in the jars, puts one marble in each jar, and shakes the jars every 30 mins till butter is hard. He doesnt put it in any canner, says it seals from the heat??? He says he makes about a yrs worth at a time in half pint jars.

there, now it's perfect!!

thank you VERY much! omg they are after the farm markets, aren't they.

this paragraph is very revealing..

4. “Commercial” or “for commercial purposes” does not have any minimum level of sales, so it can include even the smallest amount of commercial
activity (Shelby Township v Pepesh, 2005), but must be at least partly commercial in nature (Papadelis v City of Troy, 2006) and M.C.L. 286.472(b)
and (a), (Section 2(b) and 2(a) of the Right to Farm Act, P.A. 93 of 1981, as amended.).

so, if you 'sell' a bushel of sweet corn, you would be in violation of this 'act'.

unbelievable.

this is valuable, i thank you so much for bringing it to our, and my, attention. makes me glad we just give our extra stuff away to the senior center and friends and family.

i have a headache now, but, i'm glad to have seen this.

valuable information for all who want to preserve food for their family.

it's better for all if the food is homemade.

thank you for the tips from the video's. you're getting the trick of canning meat down!!

i'm going to use the pieces myself, as it really doesn't matter and it's much cheaper to buy the pieces.

i have to watch the butter video again. did he say how long it usually takes for the butter to harden?

i have to get the tomatoes done today. with or without my mom. it's 48F right now. i don't want the rest of the garden to go bad before i lose my chance to get it all on the shelf.

I think he said at least 12 hours, I guess it would depend somewhat on the air temp. The video I watched last yr was done in an oven. They melted the butter than put it in the jars in the oven at 250 for I cant remember how long maybe half hour, than took them out and set them on the counter on a towel. In that video she skimed off the bubbles while it was in the pot. She brought it to a boil than skimmed. It seemed like she lost alot that way but it didnt separate. This marble way is a different way of having it not separate I guess.

How much of a garden do you have? You seem to have a lot of stuff to can.

we have almost an acre of garden. this in my dad's opinion is small. i've worked like hell to keep it up as he is still too weak to do the hard work.

we still have beets and lima beans to do. then the acorn squash and potatoes. beets and potatoes are still in the ground and i need to get them out of the ground soon.

my worse problem is my parents still want to control what i do as far as working in the garden and canning. if they can't work that day, neither can i. makes me so mad. i've tried to sneak out the the garden but the fuss it causes upsets my mom and then hell breaks loose. sorry, i needed to vent. it really upsets me.

yes, I can see where that would make ya nuts. I only have a small garden patch in my yard, about 30x50.

I am in Florida so our seasons are a little different. I am just planting potato today along with other stuff for a fall garden. It doesnt get below freezing till Jan/Feb here and only a few times. Most days are between 50-80 although now its still hitting 90's.

what is an oxygen absorber? i have a food saver for vacuum sealing, but not sure about the oxygen absorber.

Me, too. I lived in Africa for a couple of years and learned that food really is precious. I've never been a food waster, but I've certainly become frugal with it.

So far, all of the canning I've done (and I now have shelves of it!) has cost me less than $30, including the produce. Most of the supplies were given to me and I caught cucumbers at a good price from a road side stand, which was nice because the plants in the garden aren't faring very well. The best investment, and $12.00 of what I've spent, was a Ball Starter Kit. It has a basket that has a handle on it, and the whole contraption can be submerged into hot water. It comes with three jars and lids/bands, and a book that isn't of much use except it has a handy ruler inside for measuring head space.

Canning has expanded what and how I preserve food. So far it's just been what can go in a water bath.

Has anyone canned squash in a hot water bath? Someone gave me some beautiful yellow squash and zucchini, and my google-based research says to do it in a pressure canner. Anybody?

i try to stay in an even temper, but i have to go beat my head on my pillows every once in awhile.

i wanted to do a series of boxed planters and do companion planting, but dad wanted to have it done his way. so, it's a great deal of work, but it has it's own rewards!

it's true about the growing seasons. i can leave the potatoes and beets for a while longer, they'll be okay. but the lima's need to come in.

we just canned 17 pints of tomato juice. i'll take a pic when they oome out of the canner.

i think the ac meant that all the oxygen was vacuumed out with the vacuum sealer. i wondered about that myself. but, i believe that what was meant.

I do believe it is saying as long as you grow and sell something at your residence that is a farm product, then you are protected by the "Right to farm" laws.

If you don't sell it then you are not protected by those laws.

wow, sounds like you have been very lucky with your produce. i wish more people understood how precious food is. there is way too much waste in developed countries.

if you go to this website, it has invaluable tips on canning... [link to www.freshpreserving.com]

you have to do squash under pressure. 60 minutes for pints, 80 minutes for quarts @ 10lbs of pressure.

did you like living in Africa? i imagine some things are the same the world over.

so, basically i had it backwards and if we give our stuff away we can get in trouble?

Not sure about getting in trouble, but if you sell a product you grow, then you are protected by the law.

It seems as a protection from someone telling you that you can't garden or farm. I'm sure you've seen the stuff about the federal gov wanting to make you have your gardens inspected. Kind of a state protection law against something like that.

Hi Tinygreen! Great thread you have going here!!

You are a saint, and you need the patience of a saint with your folks...would they let you have your own "private" garden? That's what we had to do at the hippy commune when the garden managers got all control freaky...several people got one raised bed each to call their own and they were allowed to do anything, anytime. Worked for us!



Last Edited by Larrupin’ Good on 09/05/2011 02:00 PM

it seems like farms are really getting socked with proposed new legislation. having a cdl to drive farm equipment is just a way to raise money for the state/federal government.

i hope the day never comes when they want to inspect home gardens. that will be just awful. i'm sure they will want people to pay for permits and whatever else they can come up with to make it harder for people who don't buy everything from a store.

i truly appreciate your knowledge on this point. very much appreciated.

omar!!!! i'm so happy you dropped in to our thread!!

i tried to get dad to let me do a few of the box planters, but he said no. it's a his way or the highway with my dad. he does not love me good, as my kids and i put it. too long a story to go into, but i have stuck a stick in his wheels a few times and he is still mad. i say, 'if you act like an fool, you get treated like a fool'.

i'm so happy to hear from you!!

Durned parents! Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em...

I dedicate this song to your mom and dad:

too funny!!

i almost chocked on my lunch!

love those kittehs!

this is the tomato juice we pulled out of the canner about an hour ago.

That looks delicious! Are you making any hot salsa?