question about preserving food

**UUMomof3** · 11-13-2008, 08:18 AM

This summer we had a small garden that produced a little bit of food, and a lot of big huge pumpkin vines. Since we're absolute beginners at gardening, we consider this to be a reasonable success and are going forward next year with more edibles.

Now DH suggests that maybe we should consider getting one of the rental plots from the city and doing some canning and perhaps freezing. My Mom used to do this but I don't remember much about it. By the time I was old enough to help my folks divorced and she didn't have time for canning.

Part of me thinks this is just one more thing to put on my plate, but part of me thinks it could be a great thing for all of us. Healthier, family time, all that. I just don't know if it's going to be that much more affordable, once we factor in the equipment I don't own.

Are there any good books I should particularly look for? Any great resources out there? Primarily I am thinking about canning, because I don't own a chest freezer.

**staceyy** · 11-13-2008, 08:40 AM

There is a website called mrssurvial.com that addresses canning and other methods of preserving foods.

**ladytoysdream** · 11-13-2008, 09:01 AM

There is a lot of good books out there, and also a lot of information online.
Used books can be found at thrift shops, garage sales, and online.

One thing I would suggest is keeping your eye out for some used equipment.
I found a water bath canner this summer for $ 5 that I am using now. I also found a bigger one for $ 5 this summer, that I let a cousin buy from me. I did buy a new pressure canner in the box for $ 12 at a garage sale. But I resold that one, because I did not like the weight on it. It was a Mirro.
I ended up digging out my old National ( now Presto ) pressure canner. One I can't use as I can't get the gasket for, the # 5, but the # 7, I did find a gasket for.
I had to buy some canning lids and also some new collars . My old collars just had too much rust/use on them. And they had been stored in the house, in the closet.

Once upon a time, I had close to 800 jars plus. When I moved, I got rid of quite a few of them. I had some still left, but this year, had to find some more. I got lucky as one of my sons, gave me about 150 of them. He had bought a house last year, that the past owner had done a lot of canning and left the jars there.

I think a garden and some canning or freezing next year would be a very good idea for a lot of folks. Maybe one could do some swapping too. I ended up with quite a few potatoes this year, because of a swap deal.

**madhen** · 11-13-2008, 09:11 AM

Get the Ball Blue Book and read it from cover to cover.

Seriously, it will teach you what is involved in all types of storage and give you a preview of the labour involved in preserving each and every type of food.

Don't go overboard next year on the garden. It is easier to maintain a couple of plants than a whole garden full of plants, and your yield will be about the same, as neglected plants produce less than well-tended ones. Think seriously about what you eat a lot of, and plant two or three at most (unless it is corn) of those. If you find it was a piece of cake, you can expand next year. Considering that you are thinking about renting a piece of land, also figure out if the overall production is going to offset the cost of the rent. We have a community garden in my city, and I see a lot of beautiful plots every year that look like crap come summer, because people weren't able to come deal with their plants on a daily basis. If you plant squash and such, you will have to be able to pick your plants pretty much daily, because if you let squash go, you: a) get huge monster squash and b) send a message to the plant that it has successfully reseeded and can stop producing.

Keep in mind, too, that most community gardens provide the land and access to water, but it is up to you to come water the plants. You may have to buy drip line, emitters, etc. You will also have to bring your own tools, many of which you may already have, since you had a garden this year.

That is about all I can think of to consider, off the top of my head.

Also, keep in mind that many vegetables cannot safely be canned via water bath canning. Tomatoes are one of the few that you can, but green beans, carrots, potatoes, etc. have to be pressure-canned or dehydrated, if you are not going to freeze them.

**TexasPeanut** · 11-13-2008, 09:15 AM

Even a fraction of home grown vegetables eaten fresh, frozen, canned or dehydrated can save a family money at the grocery store. We took on vegetable gardening last year ourselves and preserving, we are now looking to expand our garden to be able to preserve even larger harvests.

I would suggest purchasing the Ball home canning book, it's usually sold where canning supplies are sold (usually kept right next to them) or any bookstore for about $5.00.

I would also suggest you research the internet and read up on preserving. Any information you can soak in will help you in the long run. You can go to the following web sites, they have some great information on ways of preserving food, some recipes, and other helpful information.

The first link is the National Center for Home Food Preservation.
http://http://uga.edu/nchfp/

http://www.freshpreserving.com/pages/home/1.php

**UUMomof3** · 11-13-2008, 11:42 AM

Originally Posted by madhen

Considering that you are thinking about renting a piece of land, also figure out if the overall production is going to offset the cost of the rent. We have a community garden in my city, and I see a lot of beautiful plots every year that look like crap come summer, because people weren't able to come deal with their plants on a daily basis.

Keep in mind, too, that most community gardens provide the land and access to water, but it is up to you to come water the plants. You may have to buy drip line, emitters, etc. You will also have to bring your own tools, many of which you may already have, since you had a garden this year.

Also, keep in mind that many vegetables cannot safely be canned via water bath canning. Tomatoes are one of the few that you can, but green beans, carrots, potatoes, etc. have to be pressure-canned or dehydrated, if you are not going to freeze them.

Yes. I'm hoping that there will be an opening in the limited number of plots available because people realized they couldn't keep up. It's walking distance from our house, and we've got one wagon for hauling stuff. A second one would be worthwhile. The city provides access to water which is nice, but what I'm really wanting is the 10 foot fence! We lost the peas to hail and the beans to critters this year.

In the house garden I figured on doing tomatoes, cucumbers, chili peppers, and perhaps beets. Everyone here loves pickled beets! We use a LOT of canned tomatoes and sauce for spaghetti and chili. I'd love to make salsas too.

**fixer** · 11-13-2008, 11:57 AM

I think canning and preserving provides excellent family time. We enjoy the process as much as the product. When starting just be careful and start with small batches. DW and I once spent from 8:00a.m. to 3:00a.m. canning tomatoes. That will burn you out in a hurry. Canning and preserving can become a great family tradition.

**RetiredVeryEarly** · 11-13-2008, 11:34 PM

The Harvest forum on Gardenweb is a great place to read about canning. You can ask questions, or just read the topics of interest. I don't think of canning and gardening as costing money simply because I buy almost nothing to do either. People in our society throw out so much stuff. I have occasionally bought the half-pint or pint jars, but quart jars are generally available free from freecycle, older relatives and neighbors, etc.

I have gotten all my pots, tomato cages, bamboo poles, watering cans, wheelbarrows, etc. free. I make a lot of compost and never buy fertilizer. You certainly don't need to buy fancy watering equipment when a bucket will do. In other words, you can grow lots of nice organic food for very little cost. Seed and plant swapping is also common among gardeners, make the most of it. We can mostly tomato sauce, salsa, jam, fruit sauce, and pickled peppers and pickled asparagus, only boiling water bath canning. Got the canner free from relatives. Ask around for what you need, lots of older people used to can but don't anymore.