- 9 pints tomato sauce
- 9 pints peaches
- 12 pints, 1 pt pickles
- 12 pints, 25 qts (!) green beans
Not canned, but saved for winter:
- 35 lbs potatoes
- A few heads broccoli in the freezer
- Raspberries in the freezer
- Some more peaches, in the freezer
What's left?
I expect to get some pears or apples at some point, and make some applesauce or pear sauce or just can pears. Tomatoes are still coming in- if I feel totally bombarded by them, I may have another canning day. That's not the case right now. Also, Casey ate a bunch I left on the kitchen table last night. Stupid dog. If I get more cabbage or cauliflower or broccoli, I may try to freeze it. The cucumbers are (finally) slowing, so I may still try to make spears, and I may not.
Why bother?
There's something to be said for eating local, seasonal food year-round. It's not expensive to buy a can of green beans at the grocery store- even organic green beans- but to know that the green beans in the can I open for dinner are from my backyard, even in the dead of winter, is comforting. Besides, they taste better, too. Thanks to my work up front, my grocery lists are shorter for the rest of the year- also a nice perk.
I think the work is worth it, and I'm thankful for the friends that have taught me to can and to garden. Y'all are awesome!
6 comments:
WOW! How do you store your potatoes? I posted about my method here http://affectioknit.blogspot.com/2009/01/potato-storage.html
They lasted until April that way - but they were pretty soft and sprouted by then...
http://affectioknit.blogspot.com/2009/04/potatoes.html
That is just awesome! I really want to learn to garden and can. My mom cans somethings, but not much anymore. Actually, I need to learn to garden and put one in... that is what is keeping me back. :)
Cheap dog food for Casey. Now the question is,,,,how sick did Casey get from eating so much?
affectionknit- Right now, my potatoes are under my feet in the office in a cardboard box :) I've read they need to "cure" to harden their skins for a few weeks. Mine have been here plenty long, so I think I'll do with them what I did last year, and keep them in the produce door of my fridge. Our basement stays too warm & wet, so we have no "root cellar". Amazingly, we got through December or January last year with none sprouting!
Heather- I found a few tomato-colored poops in the yard- yuck!
Holy Green Bean Batman and I thought I was overdoing it with my 36 pints... Just yum and go you! A shelf of homecanned goods is better than money in the bank - though when done right it is money in the bank.
Kathie- Last year, 21 pints didn't get us through the year, so I just started canning this year... and, when I ran out of room to store the jars, I realized I had too many. Some of these will end up being gifts, for sure. I gave away 4 gallon bags of green beans this weekend- I'm still getting them fresh. We won't be buying green beans this year! Lesson learned: I do not need to plant 50 ft of green beans next year.
Post a Comment