New England, July 2015

sanderson wrote:... I don't have the nerve for the pressure canner yet.  

A lot of people feel that way.  When we were teaching ourselves, my wife put on a full-faced shield and a leather welding apron!  (And I stood behind her!)

After the second batch, I said, 'this is silly'.  A pressure cooker works at less pressure than a car's cooling system, and I've taken off hundreds of radiator caps when the motor was hot.  Instantly, the apprehension was gone, and replaced with the healthy respect for any tool that has a remote chance of injuring.

It was my wife's idea to try canning, and she did it all the first year.  The next year, she had no time, so it was up to me.  I hadn't paid much attention to the details of the canning process, so I invited my 80 year old neighbor over to hold my hand.  The hardest part was using the jar tongs to remove the hot jars from the canner.  It just didn't feel right; I was sure I was going to drop a jar.

It wasn't until the third batch when she nonchalantly said that, in her experience, most people hold the tongs by the other end.  I'd been using the tongs backwards!    I asked why she didn't say something sooner, and she said, 'You seem to know what you're doing, so I thought I might learn something new!'  

I've had a number of gardening related DUH moments, but that one tops the list!

Great story, boffer!

Why do so many of us suffer from canningphobia?

If the hot water and glass don't get ya, the botulism will.

I transplanted out my Broccs on April 27th and haven't had any cabbage moth issues at all.  I had my light-weight row cover ready in case it was needed, but now I'm happy to report I wasn't.   Usually I lay cover over my broccs to defeat the moths.  This particular variety, Premium Crop, didn't grow as tall before forming heads so its earlier.


CAgirl........Seed Saving for tomatoes is simple.  Make drawstring net bags or cut some light-weight row cover to make them.  When buds just start to form in a cluster at the top of your tomato plants, or peppers for that matter, place a bag over them and close snugly around the branch stem to keep out any insects.   You have to cover them BEFORE they fully form so you know the insects haven't pollinated them before you.
You want to cover the earliest tomatoes so they get a chance to ripen fully.
Keep the bag fluffed so there's room in there to grow and its away from the blossoms so bugs outside the netting can't pollinate.  Tap those unopened buds inside the bag a couple times a day to pollinate them since the bugs can't do it for you.   The bag lets in sunshine and rain so the fruit will grow when ready.
When the little tomatoes start to form, remove the bag.  The tomatoes on that particular branch will breed true next year.  I usually save seeds from the biggest of the tomatoes on that branch, only one or two.   Mark that branch with something so you know which tomato/tomatoes to save when the time comes.  I use a red strip of fabric tied to the branch near the stem so its easily found among the greenery.
Let the tomatoes ripen fully.   Harvest when fully ripe and take the next steps. 
The same method works for peppers, too.
I'll probably be posting pics on the Tomato Tues so folks can follow the method.

Above I've bagged a Mountain Gold.  This one is supposed to now be open-pollinated having been bred down from a hybrid several generations ago but who knows if it will breed true.  I'll find out next year.

quiltbea wrote:
Does anyone have broccoli to harvest yet?  I'll be harvesting mine tomorrow and then await the new little ones that form on the outside stems.  I was waiting for the family to all get home from the Holiday trips.

Nope, all I have are leaves on bolted plants.  Guess I should add broccoli to my 'do not bother ever again' list since I've tried 3 times now.  Maybe it would work better as a fall crop here.

Those are beautiful, QB!

That's a really funny canning story, boffer! You can also use the tongs sideways to move them around on the counter when being placed for cooling.

Boffer, Great story. I think gardening and associated activities provide funny stories. This Forum provides an opportunity to share these little stories. Sometimes, friends or family are just not into gardening, etc., and have no appreciation for the subtleties.

I opened my mother's pressure canner to check on dinner and sent the lid flying. At this age, I don't want to have a senior moment like that, at least not without husband in the house.

OK, I  think it is time for the "2015 Challenge Your Fears Pressure-Can-Along".  We talked about it earlier this year (I think it was in Feb), so maybe it's time.  I'll start a new thread.

Uh oh! I hope you didn't get yourself or your kitchen decorated with hot splatters.

mollyhespra wrote:OK, I  think it is time for the "2015 Challenge Your Fears Pressure-Can-Along".  We talked about it earlier this year (I think it was in Feb), so maybe it's time.  I'll start a new thread.

I love that idea & pressure canning. Maybe we could also touch on water bath canning, which terrifies me.

CapeCoddess wrote:

mollyhespra wrote:OK, I  think it is time for the "2015 Challenge Your Fears Pressure-Can-Along".  We talked about it earlier this year (I think it was in Feb), so maybe it's time.  I'll start a new thread.

I love that idea & pressure canning.  Maybe we could also touch on water bath canning, which terrifies me.

CC, what about the boiling water bath scares you?

I'm afraid I won't kill all the pathogens. Also, I'm a klutz and I always get burnt when cooking, so messing around with boiling jars and lids would bite me fersure. I know with pressure canning the temps are so high that everything dies and I feel safe with it. And there's no boiling of the jars.

My fears exactly, CC! CADS (Canning Anxiety Disorder Syndrome) We need a canning therapist.

CapeCoddess wrote:I'm afraid I won't kill all the pathogens.  Also, I'm a klutz and I always get burnt when cooking, so messing around with boiling jars and lids would bite me fersure.  I know with pressure canning the temps are so high that everything dies and I feel safe with it.  And there's no boiling of the jars.

If you can drive a car you can operate the basic elements of canning.


You need practice. And to follow the recipe and processing time.

I believe in you!

I've discovered two zucchini, a whole bunch of spiny (who knew?) pickling cucumbers, a couple of eggplants, and teensy Bell peppers!

So, even though I hate it, hooray for hot, hazy, and humid.

Thanks for the advice to calm down.

Yay point! Glad to hear!

We had some nice showers this afternoon. I have to say, after that dry May, it's been pretty great weather.

So, after a supper of splendid garden fresh frittata and cream of fresh celery soup, I want peanut butter hand chocolate chip cookies. Those won't be from the garden.

Yum, camprn! Your own celery? I don't know that mine's big enough yet, altho I haven't looked too closely.

For the past 2 nights I've had vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries. Heavenly!!!

Tonight I passed by the garden and looked at the thriving potato plants, and what did I see in this humid weather but slugs all over those potato plants! So I donned the mosquito netting and sweatshirt and non-latex gloves and pulled probably 200 off into dishwashing liquid. I really need ducks.

Don't tempt me! Doesn't take much.

One gardening guru, I forget who it was, said you don't have a slug problem, you have a duck shortage.

I bought a 6-pak of these, sold as radicchio.  As they've grown, there's no hard center to the plant, and absolutely no red-and-white veining.  The leaves are somewhat tough, and are slightly bitter, like arugula or bolted lettuce.

Looks like butter lettuce to me, nothing like radiccio(sp?).

Well, thank you.  Now I can just have a nice salad.

point wrote:I bought a 6-pak of these, sold as radicchio.  As they've grown, there's no hard center to the plant, and absolutely no red-and-white veining.  The leaves are somewhat tough, and are slightly bitter, like arugula or bolted lettuce.

My radicchio looked just like that...so pretty After some more time it did head up and became very red. And it tasted awful! Apparently it doesn't like my garden so I'll never grow it again. I have a package of seeds if anybody wants to give it a try.

I just finished planting a bunch of zuke, spaghetti and pattypan squah seeds. I'm hoping it's late enough in the season that s VB won't be around when they mature. Also I have a volunteer squash that I'm letting grow. It may be a spaghetti squash, which SVb loved so I picked a bunch of mint and placed it all over the base of the squash. Do you think that will help?

Mint never seemed to keep any bugs away from what I can tell. I have lots of mint and all kinds of bugs all over the place.

Re pattypan squash and squash vine borers, when I grew a mix of different colored patty pan squashes last year, they had solid stems. So yours may be safe.

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with my harvest today. Not sure who's going to eat all this lettuce & sweet peas. I've frozen so much all ready.

CAgirlinMA wrote:

I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with my harvest today. Not sure who's going to eat all this lettuce & sweet peas. I've frozen so much all ready.

Wow! That's fantastic! Looks like you don't have to worry about the squash vine borer. What kind of squash is that in the lower right corner? Is your lettuce starting to bolt yet? Or do you have it covered?

CC