Posted on 01/06/2012 9:53:54 AM PST by JustaDumbBlonde
I'm sure that if I asked the manager, I could probably have the old stack every Wednesday when the new sale takes effect, but taking a few at a time does the trick.
Oh, my goodness, King Bender. I pray that you don’t get too sore from the fall. Please don’t do that anymore.
If you have a plastic or fabric barrier at the bottom of your raised bed, they would have a more difficult time moving, but the worms will leave if the conditions are not favorable.
I know!!! A couple of others are sky high too. I'll be saving more seeds this year for sure.
Okay, what can I do to help your canning? Were you following recipes from a book? Do you have the Ball Blue Book? I’ve got some pickle recipes that produce beautifully.
Thank you for pointing out what it is that is killing me! My sinuses have been miserable since before Christmas, but I finally got a prescription antihistimine that is working. I have both cedar and live oak, so the mystery is not so much now.
LOL - I believe I am beyond help.
Yes, I have the Ball Blue Book. I think I erred in processing the pickles a few minutes too long.
The point of processing them is just to make certain the lids are correctly sealed, right?
Well, I had heard that one should be careful about overdoing it, because the pickles would be mush - but I went and did it anyway.
I am pretty sure I will not make the mistake again. Soon I will bring those jars up and discard my pickles. **pout** I did can some whole ones, so they may be fine - haven’t had the heart to check.
Can pickles go into the compost?
Actually, you are raising the temp of the contents of the jar, all the way through, and you are removing the air and sealing the lid.
You definitely don't want to overdo it or you will overcook whatever you are canning. Kinda like boiling pasta way too long, it will be yucky.
If I could offer you any advice, I think the most valuable would be to keep your canning to one or two things a growing season, until you pretty much master the art of water bath canning are are comfortable with what you're doing. Confidence in what you're doing really goes a long way with canning.
I learned to make jelly and jam from the instructions on a box of Sure Jell. In fact, I keep one of those instruction sheets taped to the inside of a cabinet door by my stovetop. Helps me check ratios of juice and sugar for fruits. If the particular fruit isn't mentioned, I choose something similar.
Taught myself the art of pickles from an old worn recipe on a brown piece of paper that my husband's grandmother wrote back in the 40's. It took me a couple of years to get it right, but I have gone on to pickle just about anything I can get my hands on.
Now I ventured deep into pressure canning stuff. I'm getting ready to put up some sweet potatoes ... got 80 bushels of them to feed deer, but they are too pretty for the deer to eat them all. Then I have some turnips to do.
I don’t see why pickles couldn’t go into the compost.
JADM, What is corn ash? Is it what I think it is??
I used to get allergy shots, but they haven't been helping much for the pollen lately. I'd usually get the shot in mid Dec but not this past year. People actually call 911 thinking the trees are on fire.
I was looking for those newspaper pot instructions. Is that just one layer around or more in thickness?
I just bought a couple of packages of strawberries from WalMart yesterday and plan on planting them in my pvc tower.
Just trying to help salvage some of the pickles. You can always use the pickling juice to clean your drains by substituting it for the vinegar in the vinegar and soda method.
It’s also very good (a cup or more) added to a beef roast that being cooked in a crockpot. Don’t add more salt because the juice is already salty. It’s give the roast a nice flavor and help tenderize it. No, it doesn’t taste like pickles, lol.
There are also recipes that call for placing pickle spears in a thin slice of beef and rolling it up. I’m thinking there’s french dressing added if you cared to do a recipe search.
I covered my banana's with a cheap plastic drop cloth and placed a 40 watt drop light under them for warmth. Most of the leaves are still green and the major part of the plant was unaffected by the freezing temps.
This was my second year doing canning, so I had added about three things. The pickles I did last year I did only as refrigerator pickles, no worries with that of course.
And I hot pack the pickle jars, so I wonder if that affects the canning time?
The jars I put into the fridge always seal on their own. I’ll get it figured out. :) I think my stove is a big player in this too - it’s an ancient electric stove with horribly uneven heating elements.
The jelly just takes a bit more focus on my part, I’m not too worried about that now. (Sure-jell box here too) Taught myself what not to do right along with what works this year. Mostly with the whole “sheeting” thing - takes a practiced eye - and I got panicky about it this year, LOL.
I may try to pressure can one thing this year. I might wait though until I work the bugs out of my water bath efforts. We’ll see how it goes. I feel very determined to get it right.
If the only problem is they’re mushy, could you blend them and use as a sandwich spread? Then they wouldn’t go to waste.
Hey, that roast beef suggestion sounds like a good idea - I’ll tell the husband - I’m way worse at cooking beef than I am at canning, so he won’t let me touch a roast! Heh.
Oh, like with ham? To make a deviled ham spread....that could work well. I’ve just brought a chunk of ham to do a ham and bean soup in the dutch oven, going to cook it in the fireplace tonight. I was wondering how to use up some of the extra ham, so I’ll give that a try. TY
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