# Canning, Pickling, and Dehydrating!



## HomesteaderWife (Sep 29, 2015)

Since I am a bit newer here on BYH, I wanted to ask and see how many others here are into canning, pickling, or dehydrating food. Many of my family members used to can, but I finally got into hot water bath canning this year. It's been a great experience, and it is so rewarding to be able to use all the things that you've made. Now that we finally have chickens, I just made a dozen spicey pickled eggs last night for my husband as well. 

We have jalapeños, pepper sauce, blueberry jam, and tabasco sauce canned. I dehydrated this year's habaneros and have them in a shakes to season food with. And late season okra we didn't cook is now bagged and in the freezer. 

(I have to take a moment to stop and laugh as two hens play "Queen of the Hill" and try to get as high as they can over one another, fluffing up and trying to see who is boss)

I would really like to talk to anyone who stores up their foods like this, because I've learned what I have by asking questions and talking to experienced folks. Please share what you've put up this year, any tips or tricks, and just have a good chat. BYH and BYC both have been great groups of people, and I thank you for all the kindness here!


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## Ferguson K (Sep 29, 2015)

Yum! We can/pot a lot of meat. Limited on freezer space. I wish I could do veggies!


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## babsbag (Sep 29, 2015)

I didn't can much this year. Peaches and all things peach, fruit cocktail, and tomatoes are all I did this year. Life has been just too busy. I have not ventured into pressure canning, only water bath. I do dry onions, beef jerky, persimmons, and tomatoes (Just reminded me, I need to do the tomatoes still for my cheese next year).  I usually freeze corn and butternut squash but didn't even do that this year.  Building a dairy is pretty time consuming so I am a little off my game.

I might still do applesauce.


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## mcjam (Sep 29, 2015)

After 25 years of homesteading, we have finally gotten to the point where we only go to the grocery store for toilet paper and ingredients to make our own cleaning, laundry and health/hygiene products. Step by step, loving the learning all the way. We grow our own meats, dairy, eggs and veggies. I do purchase spelt berries for flour, and dry beans and grains in bulk. It is indeed a wonderful feeling this time of year when the freezers, pantry, and canning room are full. 

More specifically, this year
Canned:
40 quarts lacto-picked cucumbers
12 quarts lacto-sauer kraut (so far, planning at least another 35 when cabbages are ready)
15 pints lacto-kohlrabi
20 pints salsa
35 quarts tomato chunks
14 quarts tomato sauce
18 half pints tomato paste
25 quarts apple sauce (so far)
100 quarts peaches
35 quarts pear slices
21 pints pear sauce
40 half pints assorted jams
14 quarts blueberries
50 pints sweet corn
18 pints chicken broth

Frozen:
30 quart bags blueberries
2 gallon bags wild and domestic raspberries
2 gallon bags sweet cherries
8 quart bags canteloupe
10 gallon bags summer squash (zucchini and trumpet)
3 gallon bags chunked yellow summer squash
20 quart bags sweet corn
4 gallons corn on the cob
10 gallon bags kale
6 gallon bags (5lb each) green beans
4 gallon bags broccoli
6 quarts bags swiss chard so far
40 chickens including hearts, livers, necks and feet (for broth)
13 ducks and parts

Dehydrated:
2 bushels pears = 4 gallon bags
2 gallon bags parsley
3 quarts dill weed
1 quart sage
1 gallon basil
will do apple slices yet

Butchering time is coming. Up on deck waiting for cold weather:
1 beef steer
1 hog
1 turkey
2 geese
12 old laying hens to be canned for soup (once the young pullets start laying)

Still in the garden, waiting for frost:
Winter squash, Acorn, butternut, delicatta, carnival, Musque de Province, crookneck, Rouge Vif d'Etampes, and what looks like hubbard, but not sure.
popcorn
brussels sprouts
leeks

Root cellar storage:
4 bushels assorted potatoes
1 bushel onions
200 bulbs garlic
1/4 bushel beets
Carrots still in the garden

Not to mention over 20 varieties of hard, soft, and blue cheeses in various stages of ripeness in the "cheese cave" refrigerator down basement, and unlimited milk, yogurt, kefir and ice cream.

WOW! writing it all out makes me tired just thinking of all the work we did, but step by step, it really is not unpleasant. I am convinced, however, that it is much more enjoyable puttering in the garden and kitchen, than having to go to some mundane job, just to earn the money to pay for the food, if even food of this quality were available for purchase, which I doubt.

Good luck and keep on going, step by step. Homesteading has its ups and downs for sure, but I wouldn't have it any other way.


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## frustratedearthmother (Sep 29, 2015)

@mcjam - that is impressive!


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## norseofcourse (Sep 29, 2015)

@mcjam - WOW!!!

Do you use a dehydrator to dry the apple and pear slices?

I eventually want to learn to can and preserve more of my own food.


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## babsbag (Sep 29, 2015)

@mcjam   I would take my hat to you too but there isn't an icon for that. 

Is the cheese from cow milk or goat?


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## mcjam (Sep 29, 2015)

norseofcourse said:


> @mcjam - WOW!!!
> 
> Do you use a dehydrator to dry the apple and pear slices?
> 
> I eventually want to learn to can and preserve more of my own food.




Yes, I have a 25 year old Excalibur dehydrator (which I bought new) and it gets quite the workout several times each year.


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## mcjam (Sep 29, 2015)

babsbag said:


> @mcjam   I would take my hat to you too but there isn't an icon for that.
> 
> Is the cheese from cow milk or goat?




Cow. We have three family milch cows which are my two eldest daughter's responsibility. They milk them twice each day, with most of the milk going to feed our 2 pigs and the poultry. They are the cheese makers here, and if I may paraphrase Monty Python, "Blessed are the Parents of cheese makers!"

It is truly a family effort to get all the food grown, harvested and stored and then eaten!. My husband and I have 5 daughters ranging in age from 19 down to 5 and they all are important assets to the homestead, each doing their part to make it all run smoothly. We like to say that we are poor as church mice but eat and live better than kings!


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## Hens and Roos (Sep 29, 2015)

that's great all the food items you put up!  We do some but haven't had much time the last few years.


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## mcjam (Sep 29, 2015)

Hens and Roos said:


> that's great all the food items you put up!  We do some but haven't had much time the last few years.



Yes, it does indeed take a lot of time. I do not work out of the home. Putting up food is my job, and it started one project at a time over many years. Sometimes it feels like re-inventing the wheel! So much research, so many elderly brains to pick, so much trial and error. Next will be soap making.....


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## Ferguson K (Sep 30, 2015)

Wow! I hope to be where you are one day. We have blackberries, cabbage, fish, six or seven kinds of beef, and a BUNCH of blueberries in the deep freeze. I'm sure I'm missing something...

We have pears and plums canned for pies and desserts. Thus year we plan on milk from our goats. Maybe cheese, maybe soap. Haven't decided yet. 

We have persimmon and.... Some other winter fruit I can't remember ripening right now.

Our summer garden was destroyed by rain this year. Supplies ran out. Having to buy tomatoes and veggies is a bummer.


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## HomesteaderWife (Sep 30, 2015)

babsbag said:


> I didn't can much this year. Peaches and all things peach, fruit cocktail, and tomatoes are all I did this year. Life has been just too busy. I have not ventured into pressure canning, only water bath. I do dry onions, beef jerky, persimmons, and tomatoes (Just reminded me, I need to do the tomatoes still for my cheese next year).  I usually freeze corn and butternut squash but didn't even do that this year.  Building a dairy is pretty time consuming so I am a little off my game.
> 
> I might still do applesauce.



I too just use the water bath canning- it is a bit expensive for us right now to get into pressure canning (from the prices I have looked up). I really want to get into making jerky at some point, as it will be a new experience for me. Any tips on freezing corn? We will be putting up ALOT next year, as we are clearing off a huge plot for nothing but corn for seed, meal, grits, and eating.


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## HomesteaderWife (Sep 30, 2015)

@mcjam - Whoa. What you described is the way my husband and I want to be- self sufficient as much as we possibly can be. It's going to be a long road, as our only income is small art projects and occasionally milled lumber. We currently have 2 female ducks, 1 rooster/4 hens, 2 bucks/1 doe rabbits.
We want to add on a pair of goats, two castrated steers to train for plowing/log pulling, and pair of cattle to breed. If our trapping season goes well this year, the goats will be next.

You have to tell me more about your experience making your own cheese! This would be a very valuable project to take on for us.
(My husband picks at me constantly on my addiction to cheese)

I also have to mention that it was very nice to see that your daughters help you around the homestead. My husband and I want to have children after we finish our cabin, and he naturally wants to have boys. BUT, it is all up to God!  What has it been like raising your girls to take on such responsibility?


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## Ferguson K (Sep 30, 2015)

As far as freezing corn ... Just like any other vegetable you need to cook it first. Cook it thoroughly then drain it then immediately put it in a cold bath. Bring it to room temperature slowly ( let the ice melt ) then bag/jar/however you want to freeze it. If you don't it will dry out in the freezer unless you have an industrial freezer that will freeze it instantly. All of the moisture and sugars will make it rigid and hard.


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## mcjam (Oct 2, 2015)

HomesteaderWife said:


> @mcjam - Whoa. What you described is the way my husband and I want to be- self sufficient as much as we possibly can be. It's going to be a long road, as our only income is small art projects and occasionally milled lumber. We currently have 2 female ducks, 1 rooster/4 hens, 2 bucks/1 doe rabbits.
> We want to add on a pair of goats, two castrated steers to train for plowing/log pulling, and pair of cattle to breed. If our trapping season goes well this year, the goats will be next.
> 
> You have to tell me more about your experience making your own cheese! This would be a very valuable project to take on for us.
> ...



Raising my girls has been and still is an awesome experience. We are HOME-steaders to the core. Home grown food, home births, home school, home church, home health care, home business. I think family is the most important thing there is, and we are not content to pawn off our responsibilities to "the experts". Raising children, girls or boys, is all about including them and expecting them to be responsible and helpful right from the get go. It means having them help at an age when they still a hindrance to efficiency. My eldest daughter became a sister two days after her 2nd birthday. We taught her that her baby sister was indeed hers! She was encouraged to care for the baby, including helping with diapers, clothing, laundry and snuggling of course. And of course, it took much longer than if I had just done it myself, without her "help". Now, at ages 19 and 17, they are indeed each others best friend. The same goes for the other three. Does that mean there were no issues or strife? Certainly not, but trials and strife are where we learn forgiveness, compassion, and true love. 
Listening to the news, or reading history, my kids inevitably will ask, why are there wars? Why mass shooting, why prejudices and race issues, and my answer is always this: You know how difficult it often is, just to keep peace in our own house, with the people you love most in the world. How can we be surprised when governments, and strangers argue and fight. Let us first keep peace in our own family, then extend that to our friends, neighbors and strangers, and every time you feel anger at someone, understand how those other atrocities happen. 

As far as the cheesemaking, I cannot really help. Daughters 1 and 2 took that on themselves, do the research and make the cheese. Lots of online research, a few good books and lots of trial and error, and a passion for it that does not let them give up when the errors happen. (pigs and chickens are very greatful for the errors however)

I encourage you heartfully to keep going, step by step. Try not to get too overzealous that you bite off more than you can chew. It has taken my husband and I over 25 years to get where we are and are still learning more. It is all about the journey!


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## Baymule (Oct 6, 2015)

I like to make cream corn. I blanch the corn on the cob for several minutes, drain and dump in ice water. I cool it off, then pile it up on cookie sheets. When cutting cream corn, it is important to spread lots of papers on the table, as it spatters and hardens to concrete. Good luck scraping it off!  Soooo much easier to just wad up the paper and throw it away. I use a big roasting pan to cut the corn in. I use a sharp paring knife. Cut the tops of the kernels, from top to bottom, turning the cob as you cut. Cut off another layer, then another. I try to make 3-5 cuts on each cob. Then scrape it in a downward motion to get all the "milk" out. Pack in zip-loc bags, squeeze all the air out and flatten it out for easier stacking in the freezer. 

I like to fry a skillet of bacon and drop a bag of cream corn in it. Crumble the bacon over the top and bake in a hot oven until the edges of the corn turns brown. It's yummy!


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## frustratedearthmother (Oct 6, 2015)




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## Latestarter (Oct 6, 2015)

I'm not a cream corn fan, but that does sound rather tasty. Maybe it's the mere presence of bacon...


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## Baymule (Oct 6, 2015)

Latestarter said:


> I'm not a cream corn fan, but that does sound rather tasty. Maybe it's the mere presence of bacon...



Not a fan of cream corn??? Are we talking store bought canned nasty gook? Or home grown, home made, delicious food for the Gods?? (and us pore folks)


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## Latestarter (Oct 6, 2015)

never had "real" creamed corn I guess... just the nasty canned "stuff" my dad used to try to force us to eat as kids... Didn't happen then and hasn't since. Kinda like my mom trying to force us to eat sauerkraut... that didn't go over well either and to this day, even the smell makes me nauseous.


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## Latestarter (Oct 6, 2015)

Oh, and before I forget and move on, @mcjam all I can say is wow!! I'm impressed and wish I were even close to where you're at with self sufficiency!! No "pat on the back" imoji or you'd get several! I guess  is as close as I can get.


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## Baymule (Oct 6, 2015)

Pore @Latestarter you have really missed out on some fine eating! I like putting cream corn in the freezer, it saves lots of room and it is so good! It's also good cooked with lots of butter.......a little garlic......MMMMMMM...........Baymule goes to check freezer, lays out package of cream corn for tomorrow...


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## Latestarter (Oct 6, 2015)

I love corn on the cob and kernel corn with butter and salt. Just the canned cream corn was so nasty... OK, so I'll reserve further judgement till I can sample REAL cream corn, done right.


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## SkyWarrior (Oct 6, 2015)

I can and dehydrate.  Pickling sometimes.


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## Poka_Doodle (Oct 7, 2015)

We go simple and use a dehydrator


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## HomesteaderWife (Oct 7, 2015)

I love all the replies here!


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## Baymule (Oct 7, 2015)

I can, freeze, dehydrate, and make jelly and jam. I butcher chickens, clean wild game and process it. I don't like cleaning fish, but i can. I would rather catch fish, cook and eat, and let somebody else claim the glory of fillet.


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## goatgurl (Oct 9, 2015)

i butcher a steer every other, a hog, a lamb, a couple of goats every year and rabbits, chickens and ducks as they are ready so I'm pretty well covered in the meat department.  i either freeze or can the meat.  i raise a garden, which was a failure this year due to rain and cold, then hot and dry and either freeze, can or dry that, make jellies and jams and put up fruit as it becomes available.  i would like to dehydrate more than i do and will have to practice some.  and like Baymule I'd much rather catch fish than clean them.   have the goats for milk and make cheese, yogurt and ice cream  with that.  never tried hard cheese because we've always eaten it to fast


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## Pamela (Oct 21, 2015)

I have canned 100 quarts and 24 pints of peaches, several qts of plum juice, and about 100 pints of different types of jellie/jams (strawberry, raspberry, elderberry, chokecherry).  This has kind of been a slow year for me.  We have several qts of applesauce from years past, so I just can't get in the groove to do that.  Currently, we have our dehydrator full of venison jerky.  We also glean russet potatoes out of local fields when invited to do so, probably equaling 600 lbs of spuds stored.  I planted a 'feed' garden this year.  I planted mostly squash and other things to feed to our animals, sunflowers (seeds for chickens, something to peck at through the winter), turnips, beets, pumpkins, zucchini, banana squash, spaghetti squash.  We will eat and harvest what we want, but most of it is for the pigs, goats, chickens and ducks.  I just found a dehydrating book in my bookcase that belonged to my mother, so I am excited to try many things out of that.  I love harvest time.  All that hard work finally turning into something.


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## Scooby308 (Oct 21, 2015)

mcjam said:


> After 25 years of homesteading, we have finally gotten to the point where we only go to the grocery store for toilet paper and ingredients to make our own cleaning, laundry and health/hygiene products. Step by step, loving the learning all the way. We grow our own meats, dairy, eggs and veggies. I do purchase spelt berries for flour, and dry beans and grains in bulk. It is indeed a wonderful feeling this time of year when the freezers, pantry, and canning room are full.
> 
> More specifically, this year
> Canned:
> ...



So sounds like my parents. Every year since I can remember we had gardens that were the envy of most folks. Always used a hotbbath canner. I kept telling them to try a pressure cooker, no dice too dangerous. 10 years ago they got one and haven't looked back.

Let me tell you about the year dad decided to raise 300 tomatoes plants...tomatoes soup, katsup, salsa, diced, whole, spiced tomatoes, paste, sauce...on top of the regular garden. 

Did I add there were just the 4 of us in the family and my lil brother is lazy? That was over 20 years ago and I bet they still have a jar or 20 of something tomatoes from that year on a shelf somewhere.


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## Poka_Doodle (Oct 22, 2015)

What do people do with their zucchini?


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## norseofcourse (Oct 23, 2015)

Poka_Doodle said:


> What do people do with their zucchini?


I love zucchini!  I cut them in chunks, add onion and herbs, and bake in the oven till tender.  Cut in chunks and grill as shishkabob, with meat and other veggies.  Zucchini bread, yum.

I've also taken them in to work to give away, did that quite a bit this year and never had any left to take back home.  I give them to friends who stop over, and take them to meetings to pass out.  I haven't yet had to resort to leaving them in unlocked cars...  If the frost hadn't already killed my plants, I'd probably be giving them out to Halloween trick-or-treaters


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## Hens and Roos (Oct 23, 2015)

Poka_Doodle said:


> What do people do with their zucchini?



we grated and frozen in 2 cup packages so that we can make zucchini bread


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## Baymule (Oct 23, 2015)

Poka_Doodle said:


> What do people do with their zucchini?



PLAY ZUCCHINI BASEBALL!!  Use the really big ones, play ball! Yes they splatter on contact, just pick up the biggest piece and SWING!!


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## HomesteaderWife (Oct 23, 2015)

@Pamela - Whoa, you have a lot of thing canned and stored! I am very curious as to your canning of applesauce. We recently were gifted a bunch of fresh apples, and I found a simple recipe that I used them with and canned. Not sure how it will taste. What recipe do you use for yours?


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## HomesteaderWife (Oct 23, 2015)

@Hens and Roos - I noticed that you said that you make zucchini bread. I have thoroughly enjoyed eating it, but never tried my hand at making it. Do you have any recipes, tips, or tricks for this? I would really love to make some up next year, as we grow a few with each garden (but are looking to double the size of our garden next year).


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## Baymule (Oct 23, 2015)

I have used grated zucchini in chili. It cooks to nothing, put in frige overnight and it is dissolved when heated back up.

Zucchini cobbler

http://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/zuchinni-cobbler.13418/

Zucchini lasagna

http://www.theeasygarden.com/threads/squash-lasagna.13443/


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## Hens and Roos (Oct 23, 2015)

HomesteaderWife said:


> @Hens and Roos - I noticed that you said that you make zucchini bread. I have thoroughly enjoyed eating it, but never tried my hand at making it. Do you have any recipes, tips, or tricks for this? I would really love to make some up next year, as we grow a few with each garden (but are looking to double the size of our garden next year).



Here is the recipe that we use(handed down from my mom):

1st Mixture
1 egg
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup salad oil

Combine and Beat this together until mixed good.  Then add 1 cup peeled and grated zucchini to the mixture.

2nd Mixture
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Add to 1st mixture beating well

(1/2 cups chopped nuts- optional)- we don't put nuts in

Put mixture into 2 small or 1 large greased and floured loaf pan

Bake 1 hour at 325 *F

Cool and remove from loaf pan(s); Enjoy!


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## Latestarter (Oct 23, 2015)

Cubed Zuchinni is also excellent in stir fry


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## Pamela (Oct 23, 2015)

@HomesteaderWife - for applesauce, I use a victorrio strainer.  I quarter the apples, (don't worry about coring or peeling), boil them in a large pot until fork tender, then run them through the strainer.  The strainer separates the cores and peels from the pulp. We collect the pulp, boil it in a heavy stock pot for a couple of minutes, then pour it into hot quart jars.  Wipe off the jar rims, fit with two piece lids, and process for 35 minutes in a hot water bath.
I collect the pulp in a 9x13 cake pan since that is what fits under the strainer.  I sometimes will add 1 cup of sugar to every stock pot full of sauce before I boil it. Sugar is an option though.  If your apples are sweet, you don't really need it.  You can add powdered spices or even red hot candies to the sauce.  
When we have an 'applesauce day', we all get busy.  Each helper (I have 8 children-although not all are capable or old enough to help) has a specific job.  I can generally do about 100 quarts in a full day of applesaucing, if I have a crew.  If I am on my own, things go much slower!


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## Poka_Doodle (Oct 23, 2015)

We make zucchini bread mainly and have had contests about who has the biggest, I don't have any competition this year but intentionally saved two and found another big one. The first freeze is expected tonight and I think it will get our plants


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## ldawntaylor (Oct 28, 2015)

Hi,

I must say this thread brought back a lot of memories.  I spent my teenage years in Illinois and made frequent trips to Michigan.  I still miss all the fruit so readily available.


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## babsbag (Jul 12, 2016)

Does anyone have a recipe for small sweet pickles that are fermented in a crock? Or are all sweet pickles vinegar based ???


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## ldawntaylor (Jul 12, 2016)

Let me check my books.  I might be able to find something.

Also, you might check allrecipes.com .  I might not have spelled it right but they have a lot of recipes there.


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## ldawntaylor (Jul 12, 2016)

Another possibility is cooks.com if you search for crock sweet pickles you might find something.  Another site I go to is recipesource.com .

Looking through my cookbooks will take some time as I have several.


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## Poka_Doodle (Jul 12, 2016)

All recipes is a great source! Check there is my recommendation.


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## babsbag (Jul 13, 2016)

Thanks for the tip...I was searching for fermented sweet pickles and coming up blank, but as soon as I tried "crock" I found quite a few. Now to figure out which one to try. I know I want sweet, and I want whole...like the little midgets or gherkins. I just ordered a fermenting crock so excited to try something a little different as I have wanted to brine pickles for the last 25 years...seriously....and just never did it. I found a produce place here that will pick cucumbers a certain size for me as that was always one of the problems...growing enough cucumbers to get enough to pickle that are all the same size. 

I have made all kinds of pickles with just the cold pack but never in the crock. I also have a neighbor with olive trees that told me I could have all I want and my DH has his eye on sauerkraut which is not one of my favorite foods but he likes it so I might try it. This should be fun.


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## Latestarter (Jul 13, 2016)

If you don't make him some sauerkraut  he may go out and start counting goats... justsayin. Hmmm I wonder if counting goats would have the same effect as counting sheep...


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## babsbag (Jul 13, 2016)




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## Baymule (Jul 13, 2016)

Latestarter said:


> If you don't make him some sauerkraut  he may go out and start counting goats... justsayin. Hmmm I wonder if counting goats would have the same effect as counting sheep...



*OH NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!*  don't count the goats!


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## Mike CHS (Jul 25, 2016)

We froze a bunch of squash yesterday almost out of self defense since it seems we have it in every meal for awhile.  We only planted 4 hills but we could have gotten by with one the way it is going.  I'm not griping though since in South Carolina we had given up on squash because of the squash vine borer.

We dehydrated and froze around a half bushel of peaches.  We didn't leave much fruit on our trees but it is peach season around here and we have several nice orchards.

I have a new favorite in dehydrated peaches in the Georgia Belle white peach.  They are super tender and have to be handled gently but man are they super sweet.

This picture has nothing to do with canning but shows a good tip that may help some in getting tomatoes ready to plant that will get canned later.    We are getting ready to plant our fall tomato crop from seeds we started last month. We like to lay them flat in a trench when planting but occasionally break some turning them up in the trench.  The solution is to lay them on their sides the day before you plan to plant and they will turn up on their own.


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## Latestarter (Jul 25, 2016)

OK... I have no green thumb at all. Why do you plant them on their sides? in a trench? I've never seen or heard of anyone doing that.  You're doing it, so it must have proven beneficial to you in some manner...


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## Hens and Roos (Jul 25, 2016)

we ran out of time to put a garden in this year but a friend gave us some beets


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## babsbag (Jul 25, 2016)

Tomatoes will form roots all along the stem so you either plant them deep or lay them on their sides.  The more roots the healthier the plant.


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## Rescuechick76 (Jul 25, 2016)

HomesteaderWife said:


> Since I am a bit newer here on BYH, I wanted to ask and see how many others here are into canning, pickling, or dehydrating food. Many of my family members used to can, but I finally got into hot water bath canning this year. It's been a great experience, and it is so rewarding to be able to use all the things that you've made. Now that we finally have chickens, I just made a dozen spicey pickled eggs last night for my husband as well.
> 
> We have jalapeños, pepper sauce, blueberry jam, and tabasco sauce canned. I dehydrated this year's habaneros and have them in a shakes to season food with. And late season okra we didn't cook is now bagged and in the freezer.
> 
> ...


I am a canning freak!!
I've done lots of different things. Jams, jellies, pickles, sauces, pie fillings, veggies, soups, stews, chilis,salsas...I love trying new things and I love being able to make meals that we can just open up and serve. I'm definitely not an expert, but if you have questions I'd be glad to help if I can. 
*I just realized this post is from 2015 :/
Sorry


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## Mike CHS (Jul 25, 2016)

Babs hit it.  About half of those tomatoes were cuttings and the rest were started from seed.  I use a good bed of mulch so shallow rooting works good for me.  This is my 1st season planting in Tennessee and our 1st batch of tomatoes did so good that we will keep doing it that way.


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## babsbag (Jul 25, 2016)

@Rescuechick76  That's when the thread was started but I revived it a few weeks ago when looking for a sweet pickle recipe so you're good.

I received my fermentation crock and the produce stand owner says the cukes should be ready soon. He got a late start this year as he had pneumonia. We have a super long growing season...no frost usually until Nov so he is running late but still in business. I just planted corn last week so he isn't the only one running late.


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## babsbag (Jul 25, 2016)

@Mike CHS  I never thought of growing tomatoes from cuttings. My plants will usually produce right up to our first frost in Nov. Did yours stop producing?


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## Mike CHS (Jul 25, 2016)

Babs- mine are still producing but since we were starting our garden at the same time we were moving in, we didn't put in nearly enough to be able to can what we want for the season.  It has taken me this long to turn a rock infested hill into a decent planting bed.

I like to get a bunch of green tomatoes harvested before the first frost plus there will now be enough plants to get us what we want for canning.  We put the first bunch in a bed that was less than ideal but all we had at the time we moved into our place.  As I'm building more beds, we are getting more into what will be our permanent beds.  To top it off, the temp tomato bed is where one of the main pasture gates needs to be placed. 

I said something quite awhile back about getting everything set up until I figured out it wasn't going to work the way I needed it to be.


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## babsbag (Jul 25, 2016)

I too live on a rock infested hill, I tell everyone that I grow rocks. Run the tiller through the native soil and I will pull out buckets of softball and smaller sized cobble and sometimes bigger ones that require a rock bar to unearth them. And the soil does not hold water at all. I can water my orchard which is on a slight slope and use drip, 2 gallons per hour emitters, and have it show up as a puddle 50' away. I water slow and I water every day.  My vegetable beds and blueberries are all raised beds, about 12-18" deep.  Flower beds I built out of rock, imagine that, and they are about 12" deep. The native soil is good for absolutely nothing but growing weeds and oak trees. 

The new orchard is going to be all dwarf trees either by root stock or by pruning but I have a tractor now with a tiller and a HUGE pile of goat manure and wasted bedding. So before I plant the new trees I will be tilling this manure into the dirt and running a rock rake through it. Hopefully it will a little more water retentive. 

I have a nice sized area near the dairy that the goats can't use as pasture anymore, that is the reason for the new orchard; can't leave any land vacant.


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## HomesteaderWife (Jul 25, 2016)

Glad to see this thread up and going again- we have been busy this season! Lots of pickles put up and tomatoes, along with some more jalapenos. Wish I could get my hands on some apples again!


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## Mike CHS (Jul 25, 2016)

@babsbag- your place sounds like ours.  We had a ditch running right down the middle of our main pasture that was a little over 3' wide and from 1-4 feet deep and ran about 1000'.  The rock from what is now our main orchard bed filled that ditch and I finished it off with topsoil that we got from our shop excavation.  I am leveling off the orchard (sort of) and literally replacing much of the rocky soil with some good river bottom loam that we got for a pretty good price.  Bummer is that we have a pretty good  garden spot on level soil at the edge of our place but that is going to be pasture for our dairy goats (this fall).  I really want to turn a lot of "lawn" that serves no purpose into garden beds close to the house. 

We are using mostly standard fruit tree varieties but we will keep them pruned to dwarf size.  Most of the local orchards do that here and it works really well in our soil and climate.

Sorry for the book but I like this topic.


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## Rescuechick76 (Jul 25, 2016)

babsbag said:


> @Rescuechick76  That's when the thread was started but I revived it a few weeks ago when looking for a sweet pickle recipe so you're good.
> 
> I received my fermentation crock and the produce stand owner says the cukes should be ready soon. He got a late start this year as he had pneumonia. We have a super long growing season...no frost usually until Nov so he is running late but still in business. I just planted corn last week so he isn't the only one running late.


Lucky you! We're from Minnesota. Very short growing season :/


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## babsbag (Jul 25, 2016)

My semi-dwarf trees are anything but and since I am a stickler for not picking green fruit the birds and compete a lot. Plus the apricots and some of my peaches can be iffy depending on frost so it will be nice to have a few of each that I can cover with frost blankets if needed. So this time I am going to prune heavy and hope to keep them all below 6 feet. Might mean less fruit but less every year is better than none some years. We will see...best laid plans.


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## babsbag (Aug 24, 2016)

I learned a tip the other day for using peaches and nectarines that cling to their pit. Instead of cutting them in half with the groove, cut them the other way..around the "equator" and then just twist. Half of the fruit will pop right off of the pit. Now take the half with the pit and cut if in half again and twist again...pop. Now you have a quarter of the fruit stuck to the pit and not the entire thing. Cool trick and so far it has worked on my nectarines and peaches. The peaches are on a sucker from my Early Elberta tree and they taste pretty good, but I usually toss them to the chickens as I refused to work with the cling fruit. The nectarines are good and I had no idea of variety when I bought it. Happy to not waste the fruit anymore.


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## Mike CHS (Sep 14, 2016)

Cherry Tomato overload - We have done the sun dried (dehydrator method) tomatoes before but always with sliced tomatoes.  We have an over abundance of cherry tomatoes and decided to try some of them.  It took almost 48 hours but they turned out wonderfully.  All we did was drizzle some olive oil on the whole cherry tomatoes and toss in some basil and oregano.  We have been keeping some on the counter to go along with our dried peach slices.


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## Latestarter (Sep 14, 2016)

Trying to imagine cherry tomatoes with olive oil and peaches...Sorry, not a combo I would have tried.


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## Mike CHS (Sep 14, 2016)

They give you that Sweet & Sour affect don't you know.


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