Im proud of me!

[TheFatBlueCat]

So I just wanted to share my achievement today. I have a bumper plum harvest, got rained off work today, so I put on my apron and spent the day plumming! I have made jam, put 3kg (approx 7lbs) halved and blanched plums into the freezer, canned 6 jars (my first time canning as an adult, I know it's not much but I'm still proud.) And put another 1 kg into the dehydrator.

I've already been making jam, chipping away at it for the past 2 weekends. So many plums. Last year I lost nearly the entire crop to a hailstorm, so I'm pleased even if I feel like I'm drowning in them right now!

These are Black Doris plums.

 

[AntiqueB]

Nice! I wish I knew how to can, and had the time (and harvest) to do so!

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Nice! I wish I knew how to can, and had the time (and harvest) to do so!

I really wanted to can last year but it didn't happen. I bought a pressure canner and everything. Today was water bath canning in a big pot I went and rescued back from being used as a garden bucket. It wouldn't have happened if I didn't get the day off today. Was easier than I anticipated, although the jury is still out on if the jars have sealed!

 

[LaFleche]

Well done!

Can't wait for our side of the globe to become ready for harvest and all kinds of preservation!

 

[Happy hen lover]

So I just wanted to share my achievement today. I have a bumper plum harvest, got rained off work today, so I put on my apron and spent the day plumming! I have made jam, put 3kg (approx 7lbs) halved and blanched plums into the freezer, canned 6 jars (my first time canning as an adult, I know it's not much but I'm still proud.) And put another 1 kg into the dehydrator.

I've already been making jam, chipping away at it for the past 2 weekends. So many plums. Last year I lost nearly the entire crop to a hailstorm, so I'm pleased even if I feel like I'm drowning in them right now!

These are Black Doris plums.

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Good job you should be PROUD of yourself! It's a great feeling eating something you processed.

 

[WIchickMama]

They look beautiful! Congrats

 

[gbugg21]

So I just wanted to share my achievement today. I have a bumper plum harvest, got rained off work today, so I put on my apron and spent the day plumming! I have made jam, put 3kg (approx 7lbs) halved and blanched plums into the freezer, canned 6 jars (my first time canning as an adult, I know it's not much but I'm still proud.) And put another 1 kg into the dehydrator.

I've already been making jam, chipping away at it for the past 2 weekends. So many plums. Last year I lost nearly the entire crop to a hailstorm, so I'm pleased even if I feel like I'm drowning in them right now!

These are Black Doris plums.

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Congratulation on your accomplishment. You've got me curious, now - what other foods do you self-sufficiently grow? And, if you end up with too much, what do you do with the extra?

Background: I'm a 2-person, 1-cat, 1-dog household, looking to grow into Urban Homsteading. I figure I'll get into the Farmers Market scene, but would love to hear your perspective.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Congratulation on your accomplishment. You've got me curious, now - what other foods do you self-sufficiently grow? And, if you end up with too much, what do you do with the extra?

Background: I'm a 2-person, 1-cat, 1-dog household, looking to grow into Urban Homsteading. I figure I'll get into the Farmers Market scene, but would love to hear your perspective.

Right now I'm semi-urban homesteading if one can all it that. I've got 1/3 acre section but most of that is not in gardens. This year I will have provided all our tomatoes, cucumbers, summer and winter squash (we call them zucchini and pumpkins), all leafy greens, and all chicken greens (mostly weeds and summer grown brassicas I use as pest trapping crops). I grow strawberries but not enough, so I buy a lot of them in season.

Through winter I keep growing leafy greens, radishes, and carrots, but we still buy most of our carrots, potatoes etc. I grew enough peppers on one plant to make a bit of hot sauce, but i decided to double down on tomatoes rather than peppers this year. I buy canned tomatoes, beans, lentils. It was a bad bean year for me! I have grown beans before but didn't grow enough and also find them too much effort for something I don't actually like anyway! I just use beans to bulk out other food. I grow our popcorn

Clearly I have a large stash of plum related things. The plum tree is about 18 years old, it's fully mature. I also have a lemon tree that produces pretty much all year round. I dehydrate them when I have a whole lot, and use them for lemon tea and to make citrus fruit balls.

Extra tomatoes I dehydrate, I don't have the time to can them into sauces etc unfortunately. Maybe next year!

I work on a commercial apple orchard, so I dehydrate and freeze A LOT of apples. I still have dehydrated apples left from last harvest and we have just started this year's harvest. I had a go at making hard cider, but it didn't taste so great. It sure did get us all drunk though! It was fun, and I'll have another go at it in future.

The hens keep us in eggs most of the year. Winter is slow, just enough eggs for baking, but it makes us appreciate fried egg bagels when spring comes again! I haven't processed my own cockerals yet, maybe one day. I give away my extra roosters to people who want to eat them, and I sell extra pullets. I maintain our lawn more as a pasture, it's full of clover and all sorts of different grasses and plants. I'll let areas of it grow long, cut and dry it for hay that I use in nesting boxes. I still buy small bales of hay or straw a couple of times a year but I could probably produce all I need if I was a bit more organized in my planning.

I'm growing for a 3 person (and 11 chicken) family, but there are actually 9 people in my household so anything extra that I'm not going to dehydrate or freeze gets eaten up by them.

Thanks for asking if you have any questions about specific crops or strategies please ask, I love talking about this stuff. Most of my garden is in variable raised beds, grow bags etc.

 

[samanthaoverton]

So I just wanted to share my achievement today. I have a bumper plum harvest, got rained off work today, so I put on my apron and spent the day plumming! I have made jam, put 3kg (approx 7lbs) halved and blanched plums into the freezer, canned 6 jars (my first time canning as an adult, I know it's not much but I'm still proud.) And put another 1 kg into the dehydrator.

I've already been making jam, chipping away at it for the past 2 weekends. So many plums. Last year I lost nearly the entire crop to a hailstorm, so I'm pleased even if I feel like I'm drowning in them right now!

These are Black Doris plums.

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You have a right to be proud..canning is time consuming hard work (anyone that has done it knows)..and it's fast on its way to being a lost art..my mom did it all when I was growing up and taught me how. I'm still learning. Congratulations beautiful jam

 

[SusannasMom]

@ilovechickenliver OH MY GOODNESS