What are you canning now?

[rancher hicks]

This will be my first extraction, I'm pretty excited. I'm sure it's time consuming, with cleaning the equipment. It's easy to clean the frames, you stick it back in the hive and let the bees do it.

One of the things I'm finding hard is the storage of equipment. Right now I've 10 bales of shavings in my garage. Then I'm expecting some hay to be delivered. Where to put that to keep it clean? The runs are out as the chickens climb on it and poop. I've stored shavings in the run but it gets wet, or mices chew into it.

Where to store extra or unused waterers and feeders? I've been hanging some in the runs. Without a barn it can be hard. Tools need to be stored too.

Any ideas or advice is always welcome. Ideas may be different but not all ideas/solutions work for everyone.

Anyhow where would I store bee equipment where it would stay dust free?

 

[jomoncon]

Made 23 half-pints of fig preserves to sell at the farmers market. This week, I'll make a sugar-free version for my diabetic customers.

DH & I went to a pick-your-own fig farm last week, and picked 12 gallons, at $4 per gallon. You just can't beat that price. Came home, washed, stemmed, chopped & froze most of them. Those 12 gallons weighed 61 pounds after stemming.

 

[Amiga]

DW say's getting a hive would be a good thing, but I would rather now have more animals to take care of. Plus the harvest time is not an easy time is it?

Just starting with bees this year, myself, but with the top bar hive, if one wishes to keep it a small operation, then getting the honey out involves cutting the comb from the top bar into a bucket with a lid, cutting it up into a large jar, covering the opening with cheese cloth, placing another large jar with the same size neck on top, duck taping it, and flipping it over like an hourglass. Then just let the honey drip into the lower jar. Takes time, but as long as the jars are properly supported where they won't fall over, you don't have to even be there.

That gets most of the honey out.

Top bars are pretty easy to work with, from my little bit of experience so far.

 

[Raech]

One of the things I'm finding hard is the storage of equipment. Right now I've 10 bales of shavings in my garage. Then I'm expecting some hay to be delivered. Where to put that to keep it clean? The runs are out as the chickens climb on it and poop. I've stored shavings in the run but it gets wet, or mices chew into it.

Where to store extra or unused waterers and feeders? I've been hanging some in the runs. Without a barn it can be hard. Tools need to be stored too.

Any ideas or advice is always welcome. Ideas may be different but not all ideas/solutions work for everyone.

Anyhow where would I store bee equipment where it would stay dust free?

Do you have rafter exposed in the garage? I saw a picture where you could hang some boards down a little bit from the rafters and put the shavings into totes and slide them in the gap left, it doesn't take up much space but it might with 10 bales of shavings.

or like this

 

[rancher hicks]

Do you have rafter exposed in the garage? I saw a picture where you could hang some boards down a little bit from the rafters and put the shavings into totes and slide them in the gap left, it doesn't take up much space but it might with 10 bales of shavings.

or like this

That would never work with ten bales of shavings. Too, I could never get them up there. These advertisements are a joke. If there was anything in that tote she'd never get it up there. At least not with the ease she's showing here. Too our garage doesn't have that much space between the door and the ceiling.

I'll be using at least five of the ten I just bought.

 

[trupeach]

Blueberry jam last week more this week along with peach jam.

 

[Glasshen]

Yesterday I did some pickles and some beans, yellow and green.

 

[wyoDreamer]

For Apple Pie filling, check out post #7832 in this thread. It uses tapioca for the thickener - one of those thickeners on the list as not recommended by USDA, but I am just finishing up the last jar that I made and it is really good. I have had stuff with flour in it break during canning and get clumpy and gross.
I did the recipe from the Ball Blue Book of Canning (or whatever it is called) and the Clear-Jel made a good pie filling also - it was just like the canned stuff from a store. DH loves it.

 

[Raech]

So I got my apricots, got my pineapple chunks and my half pint jars. Read over the recipe for the 5th time, only has 4 ingredients, how many times can I read it and still doubt that I have everything right?

But the recipe doesn't say anything about pectin at all, it has the apricots, pineapple, lemon juice and sugar(optional). I feel like it is going to be missing the pectin, isn't all jam/jelly supposed to have pectin? And what am I supposed to do with the extra juice, just freeze it? None of the apricot recipes in my book call for pectin. Just looked at apricot butter, anybody try that yet? I have never made a butter of any kind, or jelly/jam for that matter.

I am really nervous about expanding my canning horizon right now.
P.S. I am a big chicken when it comes to anything new.

**Ok I lied a quick apricot jam is under the with pectin list. But I got the recipe from the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning.

 

[rancher hicks]

So I got my apricots, got my pineapple chunks and my half pint jars. Read over the recipe for the 5th time, only has 4 ingredients, how many times can I read it and still doubt that I have everything right?

But the recipe doesn't say anything about pectin at all, it has the apricots, pineapple, lemon juice and sugar(optional). I feel like it is going to be missing the pectin, isn't all jam/jelly supposed to have pectin? And what am I supposed to do with the extra juice, just freeze it? None of the apricot recipes in my book call for pectin. Just looked at apricot butter, anybody try that yet? I have never made a butter of any kind, or jelly/jam for that matter.

I am really nervous about expanding my canning horizon right now.
P.S. I am a big chicken when it comes to anything new.

Before you begin get all your ingredients measured out and ready.

Some recipes don't call for pectin because it's in the fruit you're using. Some fruits have more than others. Care to share the recipe?

Many recipes I make yield more jelly or jam than the book says. As long as it sets don't worry.

I always have a glass ready for any overage and stick it in the fridge for immediate use.

mmmmm.

Pectin is a natural fiber in the cell walls or skin of plants. It has a thickening property and is commonly used with sugar for making jams and jellies and as a food stabilizer. It is present in greater amounts when the fruit is unripe or just ripe. All plants contain some degree of pectin, with citrus fruits,

apples​

and apricots providing the highest concentrations.



Read more : http://www.ehow.com/list_7239175_fruits-contain-pectin_.html