What are you canning!

[marty bradbury]

Originally Posted by mc1

Hi Marty, this year was a good year, the spring had good weather and enough rain, no late frost, and I weeded a lot. Maybe I'll post a picture of my weed pile, I'm quite proud of it. It's about the size of an suv.

Tomatoes, beans, turnips, blueberries, and numerous other things grow really well here. But other crops are a real problem for me, either because of pests, not the right climate, or other issues. I've given up on a lot of those. But tomatoes are a favorite of mine, I think I grew 8 different varieties this year. I pruned out all the suckers which helped the yields. They're turning brown and dying back really fast now, but there are still a ton of tomatoes hanging there to ripen.

I somewhat envy the Washington climate, although I don't know it so well.

But we can always use fine people such as yourself in Nova Scotia!

Hi Morgan. Really pretty mild here in the PNW. I have a gardening book from 1994 that emphasizes mulch and fertilizer. Something I need to do more of. Already planning next years crop, lol, Have a great day,

[mc1]

Normally with the tomatoes I wash and cut out the stem, then cook them for a couple of hours, let them cool, then run them through a food mill, discard the skins, bring that back to a simmer then jar/can them.

But last night I decided to wash and remove the stems, then use a blender to pulverize them, then cooked that and jar it. There seems to be the opinion that the skins can be bitter, but also have nutritive value. Anyway, they seemed to have turned out well.

[mc1]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

Hi Morgan. Really pretty mild here in the PNW. I have a gardening book from 1994 that emphasizes mulch and fertilizer. Something I need to do more of. Already planning next years crop, lol, Have a great day,

Hi Marty,

I don't tend to use fertilizer, but I do try and work as much organic matter into the soil as I can. I used to be able to get cow manure, but that fellow retired. Now, believe it or not, I try and create a huge weed pile, turn it over, and work it back into the soil. I don't even mind the weed seeds, since its going into a concentrated area (my garden is pretty small) that I'll be weeding anyway. The weeds do great here! Gout weed, creeping charlie, chick weed, etc, etc.

I compost too, but some critters have been getting in there and having a great time. I'm on the lookout for some chubby varmints.

As for mulch, sometimes that can be a little bit of a moisture trap for me, and be a habitat for slugs and earwigs. I would use more leaves on my raspberries and garlic if I had them. I've also tried those sheets you can put over the soil like a decompostable weed barrier, and they work ok, but they aren't super cheap and still require some work.

I really should get cracking now.

Edit: I should add I also will plant fall rye or clover after I pull up the veggie plants, which I then turn back into the soil in the spring. I use one of these from Lee Valley to turn the soil:

[marty bradbury]

Today canning strawberry jam. Found some local at the market.

Morgan, I have never tried planting a cover crop but hear it is really good for the soil. Maybe clover this year. The tomato canning went well. 6 pints. Not bad for a couple of rookies lol

[Fogducker]

Shortage of canning jar lids--BIG TIME---here in N. Mich. I'm sure Wally will step up and cure this though. I've got enough for about 50 jars but I do a lot of tomatoes.

Fog

[ctgagnon]

Grape butter with Concord grapes.

[marty bradbury]

Originally Posted by ctgagnon

Grape butter with Concord grapes.

That sounds really good!

[ctgagnon]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

That sounds really good!

My all time favorite. Incredibly intense flavor. I use little sugar.

[marty bradbury]

Originally Posted by ctgagnon

My all time favorite. Incredibly intense flavor. I use little sugar.

Do you use the same process as canning berries?

[ctgagnon]

Originally Posted by marty bradbury

Do you use the same process as canning berries?

I cook the grapes them run them through a food mill. I'm left with juice and pulp minus seeds and skins. So it's neither juice nor jam. I have no recipe but go by guess which is a terrible way to go for jam or jelly making. I also don;'t like to use a lot of sugar. All recipes say follow precisely. I finally found an explanation on the web. Sugar is needed to allow the mixture to rise above the 212 boiling point of water. The first time I cooked down it didn't set. I filled 24 jars. The next day I re-cooked with a thermometer and ended up with 12 jars that set nicely. That's a lot of water that boiled out.

[mc1]

First frost last night.

Wiped out some string bean plants that had a chance. The tomatoes are all but gone, the plants have almost all been pulled up but still some tomatoes in the house to ripen. Storm coming tomorrow, maybe not so bad where I'm at.

So I've been canning/jarring/bottling some tomatoes. Also pickled some jalapeno and green peppers (backed up by red onion and mustard seed). And pickled a couple of turnips (with garlic and some beet slices) which is a tasty purple Mediterranean/Middle Eastern side dish.