Last weekend, I pulled up my zinnia garden - they were about ‘shot’ ... very few buds for future flowering. I cut off the flower heads and salvaged the seeds.
As of yesterday, my new ‘fall’ zinnia bed is planted. I waited until after Isaias passed through - was afraid heavy rains would move my seeds around because they aren’t planted very deep. It then took another couple of days because I wanted to get some Flower Tone to put down to help with the blooms. The weather called for T-storms last night, so I didn’t water - the garden soil was pretty damp from 1” of rain (storms!) the night before. No storms happened so I watered everything in this morning.
It looks like I’ll have to can some tomatoes today - we have a roasting pan full of ripe ones that there is no chance of eating before they spoil. I use a method of canning where I can put up 2-4 quarts or do a large batch. I make my own marinara/spaghetti sauce, so canned tomatoes come in handy (also use them for my dad’s favorite veggie soup). Below is the tomato canning video - no hot water bath needed. Also, I now sterilize all my jars (including jelly) in the oven, rather than messing with having to put them in boiling water. I have never had a jar fail to seal & I’m using canned tomatoes from 2 years ago (1 jar left that’s about to go into marinara).
How I Can Tomatoes Easily - NO Water Bath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kmTH_q1usI&fbclid=IwAR1q3Xh_FT5Rj92yEFQqM_cWkX018t842nzhm_vF1MZgk1Hw3yaM5THM12s
Notes from Linda:
This is how I can 40-70 quarts of tomatoes every year, WITHOUT a WATER BATH. I have been canning this way for about 40 YEARS (including helping my mother when I was young). I also use this method for canning salsa (with fresh garlic, onions, & hot peppers), dill pickles & sweet lime pickles. My mother also canned tomatoes, salsa & high acid vegetables with this method for decades. Some varieties of tomatoes need citric acid added to be high acid for this method (or water bath method). Test strips can be used to check for proper acidity (4.6 or lower pH). Check out my video using test strips: https://youtu.be/BatLeYpDS_c
Always bring vegetables to a FULL BOIL for 20-30 MINUTES & keep boiling until ladling into the CLEAN HOT (215 degree) jar; Then cap with a hot lid & band (very near 212 degrees).
Please only use this method of canning for high acid fruits & vegetables OR Jams & Jellies. DO NOT use this method for foods with meat in them!
In the video I mentioned boiling for a minimum of 5 minutes, but in reality, it’s better to have it at a full boil for 20-30 minutes to not only soften the tomatoes, but to be sure all germs are killed.
I use that method only for cranberry sauce and canning off maple syrup.
The maple syrup lasts indefinitely in canning jars.