- Bringing in the Sheaves

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Bringing in the Sheaves

Fall is in the air and that means many of us will be increasing our efforts at preserving the bounty of the harvest. With that in mind I've gathered several sources of online information on 'How To'. Enjoy!

Ball (canning jars and lids) has a great website found at www.freshpreserving.com
They also have an online canning forum where wonderful questions are asked and answered: www.freshpreserving.com/phpbb/phpBB3/index.php?sid=a7e74acf8609e69f61e2667b1f3053c1

Below are a couple ideas from the Ball forum I want to bring to your attention:

I have just started canning for this season and am so excited. I love canning. I had thought I would not be able to can as much as last year, the financial crunch has hit my house very hard. Green beans are expensive so I called a local farmer hoping to get some better prices. He offered to let me into his field for all I wanted since the workers had moved on to a different crop. It was amazing the amount that was left. The bushes were full of blooms so we'll be going back. I was also able to get corn. All well within my budget, free!! (posted by djbrown)

ALSO in reference to the topic of the inadvisability of saving hybrid seeds:

You can limit the 'hybrid' problem by doing what nurseries do....work from plant clippings instead of the seeds. A tomato plant is a good example. Buy one plant and let it grow a little to get some good branches. Cut off and plant the branches -- just stick in the dirt, maybe dipping in some root starter to help them -- and they will all grow. It works for just about any plant, even the woody stock of roses.

What do you think they do with seedless watermelons and other seedless fruits? They have to have a master planting that they take clippings from. (posted by canned nerd)

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For additional information and instruction on how to preserve food you can also go to the University of Georgia website where you'll find loads of information from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

Here's a bushel of links:

How do I can?
How do I freeze?
How do I dry?
How do I cure and smoke?
How do I pickle (ferment)?
How do I make jams & jellies?
How do I store?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeSQmYK8uE4

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke-iE6rTWvw&NR=1

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Granny Miller's Blog

Here's a link to Granny Miller's blog. Even though, as of May 2009, she's no longer adding new posts, you'll find a wealth of information in the archives.

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President Spencer W. Kimball

We hope you are making this [gardening project] a family affair, with everyone, even the little ones, assigned to something. There is so much to learn and harvest from your garden, far more than just a crop itself.

~ Ensign, May 1978 ~

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