Preserving Your Harvest

[CedarLane]

Here's the aluminum steam canner so you can see the difference in style between it and the stainless steel.

https://vkpbrands.com/store/aluminum-steam-canner.html

 

[pennyJo1960]

I have antique steamer canner from Grandma camping blue metal.

 

[akroberts1085]

I am right there with all the new to preserving folks.

I got way more serious about it during the lockdown. I am really hopeful for a good garden of his year even though I am not planting a huge variety of things.

Mostly I need my tomatoes and strawberries to have a banner year.

I am planning on canning corn green beans peas. I am also going to make tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce. I have a lot of squash plants coming up and I would love to have different options for dinner when I can't garden. I also want to freeze some of my vegetables for making some pot pies. I haven't ever been able to get strawberries to grow for me but I still won't give up on them.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am planning on canning corn green beans peas. I am also going to make tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce. I have a lot of squash plants coming up and I would love to have different options for dinner when I can't garden. I also want to freeze some of my vegetables for making some pot pies. I haven't ever been able to get strawberries to grow for me but I still won't give up on them.

Sounds like you will be pressure canning? That's something I have yet to attempt.

We use a lot of bell peppers here. Those freeze well enough and are very easy to prepare for freezing. It's as simple as clean, core, cut, pat dry and vacuum seal then freeze. The texture isn't as crisp as fresh but is still good for cooked dishes like fajitas.

Not sure what part of the world you live in. Strawberries are hungry plants so need fed a lot. I lift, separate and amend the soil for mine pretty much every other year. They like loose rich soil in my experience. In my semi-arid climate I have to water them daily when freshly planted and 3-4 times a week during the height of summer. Not a light watering but a good deep soak seems to work best.
Different varieties perform differently. I grow Fort Laramie with the best success for bigger berries.

 

[akroberts1085]

Sounds like you will be pressure canning? That's something I have yet to attempt.

We use a lot of bell peppers here. Those freeze well enough and are very easy to prepare for freezing. It's as simple as clean, core, cut, pat dry and vacuum seal then freeze. The texture isn't as crisp as fresh but is still good for cooked dishes like fajitas.

Not sure what part of the world you live in. Strawberries are hungry plants so need fed a lot. I lift, separate and amend the soil for mine pretty much every other year. They like loose rich soil in my experience. In my semi-arid climate I have to water them daily when freshly planted and 3-4 times a week during the height of summer. Not a light watering but a good deep soak seems to work best.
Different varieties perform differently. I grow Fort Laramie with the best success for bigger berries.

I will try to get the right type of soil for growing strawberries. I live in Northern California. The worst problem with our place is the fact that it was a part of the Sacramento River. It was diverted to have land for crops and now the ground is rocky and rock solid.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I will try to get the right type of soil for growing strawberries. I live in Northern California. The worst problem with our place is the fact that it was a part of the Sacramento River. It was diverted to have land for crops and now the ground is rocky and rock solid.

You might try growing them in large pots with Miracle-Gro potting mix I got an extreme harvest when I did that.

 

[akroberts1085]

You might try growing them in large pots with Miracle-Gro potting mix I got an extreme harvest when I did that.

I will try that because a friend gave me 2 enormous PVC pipe and I can get my husband to cut some holes in them and put strawberries in them Thank you for the information.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I will try that because a friend gave me 2 enormous PVC pipe and I can get my husband to cut some holes in them and put strawberries in them Thank you for the information.

One year I experimented. I used 2 liter soda bottles, a giant piece of PVC pipe, and used a wicking cloth up into the soda bottle that was filled with Miracle-Gro and had my strawberries planted in it. To keep them watered I just kept the PVC pipe full I had the biggest strawberries that year of any I've ever grown. It might be a fun experiment.

 

[akroberts1085]

One year I experimented. I used 2 liter soda bottles, a giant piece of PVC pipe, and used a wicking cloth up into the soda bottle that was filled with Miracle-Gro and had my strawberries planted in it. To keep them watered I just kept the PVC pipe full I had the biggest strawberries that year of any I've ever grown. It might be a fun experiment.

That could be a fun experiment to try. Thank you for the info.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I use miracle grow I mix chicken poo tea also for my strawberry.