How to can your own veggies from your small garden

[discocham]

garden is 15x25ft...we planted in late april of '09. this was my 1st garden that i did from scratch. I tilled it in May. I canned many of the veggies(which i had never done). With the veggies and herbs i canned a sauce that can be used in pasta and chili. It was well worth the work and I still have 2 jars of sauce left!




we harvested this in one day!


These are the ingredients for one of my cannings...all of the following pics show the process. I didn't grow all the onions(just buy them) but all the rest was grown in my backyard, including the herbs...which are important to makeing a tasty sauce.


In a large pot boil water...add maters. Boil mater for 1-2 min until the skins start to crack.


once the mater skins start to crack use a large spoon to place them into ice water...the next step is to remove the skin before canning. The skins will peel/fall off easily after this process


next step is to dice the maters...remove the skins and tough parts(on green plate). place diced maters in large bowl


Cut up whatever you want to add to sauce. I used Bell pepper, onion, garlic, banana pepper, basil, oregano, garlic chives, thyme...add to diced maters


Bring entire mix to a boil in a large pot. I should mention that you should be preping your jars during this process...jars need to be very sterile...I ran a load of jars only in the dishwasher and it worked fine. Many people recomend boiling jars 1st.


Put mix/sauce into jars (a cheap canning kit with funnel, tongs, magnet is worth buying). boil tightly sealed jars for approx 90min. Research correct times for type of veggie and size of jar!!!


Remove from boil with the 'jar tongs' from your kit and let cool at room temp. you will probably here a "pop" in 1-3 hours. that is the jar sealing. This entire process was very rewarding and i recommend it(obviously). I just used my last jar of homemade sauce in spaghetti tonight!...and it was tasty!

[angel]

Thorough demonstration! Do you have trouble growing onions in our soil? They don't want to get big for me. It's like the clay dirt crams in again around them.
Do you grow your herbs in container or in the garden? I've only grown basil and chives. They both grew in pots on the deck. But they can go right in the garden too, right?
Oh, and do you work the air bubbles out before boiling? Even with the tool I find it's hard to get them all.

[jon carman]

This is a great thread, thanks for sharing. I was planning on planting one this year.

[discocham]

keeping a nice cichlid tank is much more difficult than garden i think

[jgentry]

Thanks for sharing this. We have all kinds of stuff that goes bad every year. I always thought it would be to much trouble to can stuff from what others have told me so I never even tried.

It's planting time. I got my potatoes and onions out yesterday after work. A little late but not to bad.

[discocham]

Angel- I didn't have good luck with my onions last year. It was my first time with onions but I suspect i didn't plant 'em early enough and that they were overshadowed by other plants. I do have some clay in my soil... The onions i planted barely doubled in size...so it's not worth me growing again in my limited space.

I grew most of my herbs in pots on the deck as well. But the ones I did in the garden did fantastic. Oregano and Dill flourished in the garden(even in my cramped space). I plan on doing basil, garlic chives&thyme(still alive since last year) on the deck again. Going to add a couple Rosemary plants near the house...I have a friend that has a Romesmary bush that they have to trim back! I think basil and thyme would do well in the garden but its a bit of a walk for me...I like to use them fresh cut.

You do need to remove the bubbles from the jars before sealing. It only took me few "pokes" with plastic tool provided. The small bubbles I didn't worry about. The jars I opened last week smelled like the day I canned them.

Pickles are my favorite to can...And you don"t even need to boil them...very easy


Like I said this was my first time canning veggies, and it was very rewarding for me. Make sure you research proper methods that apply to your canning needs.

[bjones]

I have always wanted to learn how to can my own vegetables. My grandmother always cans for our whole family, but she lives on the other side of knoxville and I live west of nashville. Last year she canned 102 qts. of green beans by herself and she is 94 yrs old. This year if she is able I plan to try and take time off to spend with her and learn first hand. That would be great! Really enjoyed your take on this process, Thanks.

[discocham]

This years garden is doing well so far. I planted 6 types of maters, 18 total mater plants. 12 bell pepper(red and green). 12 bananna pepper. 6 cucumber(2 types). 1 squash. 1 zuchinni. Pea row(3 type). Greenbean row(2 type). Dill, oregano, sage.

I tilled in late March, then covered with black plastic sheeting. The sheeting keep weeds from regrowing and warms the soil. Planted all the plants around April 13th(after the frost free date).








I have a friend who has bamboo overgrowing his property...I cut down these last year and they are still in good shape. I use them as steaks to support most of my plants...it works great, the best part...free!


It doesn't look like much now but just wait. The plants have already doubled in size. I had the fence last year but it didn't keep rabbits out...had to add chicken wire this year. So far no plants have been eaten. Glad I don't have to be so mad at the cute little bunnies this year.


My nemisis watches as I plant


Dill...This tiny plant will be several feet tall in a couple months. This is the key to tasty homemade pickles in my opinion.



oregano did well for me last year and goes good with canning. I even dried some then crushed it...put into an old spice shaker and use it in everday cooking.

For those of you with gardens I hope all grows well this year. If you don't have one its not too late to plant...but I would hurry. Its a great hobby!

More pics to come...I also have a pressure canner now that I am looking forward to using for the first time.

[angel]

My son never wants to kill any little creatures. Always even loved the mice getting in the house. EXCEPT for years he had it out for the bunnies! He planted a strawberry in a pot and about the time it got its first one turning red a bunny came along and ate the plant and all. He was devastated! And he was maybe 8 at the time. LOL

[angel]

There are a couple of other tricks to deal with bunnies. Put a stake in the ground about a foot tall, and attach one of the aluminum pie pans so it flaps in the wind. The bunnies don't like this for some reason. Also, bloodmeal(I think it's called) that you can get from the garden center. Spread it around the outside edges of the garden. It repells them.

[oneyoda]

Human Hair will also keep out ALL critters. (My wife is a Stylist) The have Several "Oldtimers" that come to the shop every spring to get hair. Goto local beauty shop and ask for some. You maybe suprised how many people do ask for this! Just sprinkel it around your garden, espically the edges. Human sent keeps them out!!

[discocham]

How to make dill pickles...sorry it's been a while since I could get online. I have been busy with getting married and onther summer activites. All fish are well...this has what has been keeping me busy...


it starts with homegrown cucumber, dill, and basil


ingredients






key ingredient..fresh dill




put fresh herb in bottom of jar then pack with cucumber slices


even plastic jars work since there is no need to "pressure can" dill pickles


Bring all other ingredients to a boil...then add to jars...then chill for a few days




Very Tasty!...keep chilled and they will last for months

Coming soon...how to make bread and butter pickles.....etc

[spoot]

For extra added awesome, slice the ends off a jalepeno and put it in the center of the jar with cucumbers surrounding it. It gives the pickles a nice kick. The longer you let them sit, the more kick. On the flip side though, the pepper will break the cucumbers down a little so the pickles won't be as crisp.