This morning, I got up early and started picking beans. I got SO many, just like I was hoping to. At 9, my mom and aunt showed up to help, with Jake and Michaela in tow. While out in the garden, I took the opportunity to pick a few cucumbers, snow peas, zucchini. Things are coming along nicely.
The bucket is full of beans, and the other veggies are just resting on top. I had no time today for anything else, but tomorrow I’m going to see if there are enough cukes for a couple jars of pickles.
My pollination issue has been resolved:) There are probably about 15-20 zucchinis forming!
These are Carmen peppers. They are a sweet pepper, and are the first to turn red at my house. I usually grow them from seed, and was delighted to find a few plants of that variety that I could buy. They’re not ready yet, but are coming along.
Some of the seeds I planted for the late summer garden are up. The bush peas are up, and the snow peas are just starting to poke up. Beets are up like crazy, but the pole peas are nonexistent. The seeds may have been too old. I will plant a few more things after these beans are done and pulled out, like yet another row of lettuce. The little cabbage plants are starting to take off. Right now the garden is full.
Before he left for camp, Rob set up this camp stove for me to use in the outside covered porch and got me a full tank of propane. This house came with a flat-top stove, which is not recommended for canning on. So, I’m learning to can a different way–outside, and with propane instead of electricity. There was a lot of juggling things around, scurrying in and out of the house setting up things, and generally figuring out the new way of doing things.
My snapping crew kept snapping steadily while I washed jars, filled them, added 1/2 teaspoon salt, filled with water, put on lids and rings and began processing. Then I put my mother on a chair in front of the canner to keep it at a steady 11 pounds of pressure. She had to continually adjust the propane level to keep the pressure consistent for 25 minutes for quarts and 20 minutes for pints. We always watch it the entire time. It’s the safest way.
Michaela and Patsy helped snap and then Michaela helped Grandma by timing the length of time needed with her phone.
Aunt Janet kept snapping. All morning long. Jake asked to go to the Dollar Store to get the prize he had earned by doing his daily activities. All morning long.
By lunch time, we had them all snapped and into jars. By 1 o’clock, we had 2 loads cooked and cooling. After a quick lunch, we all dispersed to our respective errands and I finished canning them when I got back. From the Dollar Store. (We also did a library activity, and some other things, so I didn’t actually finish until about 8:30 pm)
At the end of the day, I have 21 quarts and 17 pints, all cooling on a table outside. I’ll let them cool all night and wash and put them away tomorrow. I am very pleased with the amount we got. I could not have done it without all my helpers. I’m so thankful for their help. It was a long, satisfying day.
Wow! I know those rows of jars just made you happy!
They do. I went out and checked them first thing when I got up this morning, and every single one has sealed. Even better!!!
I love to look at stuff I just canned, just stare at it. Lol. My beans are not ready yet, we had to replant so they are later than normal but that’s ok. Yours look beautiful. Good job on all the hard work, they will taste great later on.
I do, too! There is just nothing like a bunch of canning lined up on the counter, or the sound of lids popping! So satisfying. We love home-canned beans so much. It is one thing that tastes nothing like the ones in the cans from the store (so much better to us) and is worth canning, no matter how hard!
I’m impressed. Good work Team.
Thanks!
WOW! YOU WORKED HARD!
The garden looks great. I am envious of your squash plants. The squash vine borers got mine. Oh well. I have another one started…maybe it will live?
I have a stove exactly like yours and I pressure and water bath can on it. It is fine except I DO NOT slide the canner on and off. I sit it on the stove, add the jars, then the water, do the timed caning, lift it off the burner (sometimes Bill lifts it for me), I let it cool, then remove the jars from the canner. It has never hurt the top. What has damaged the top is making jelly. It boiled over and melted little holes in the top. It can be repaired, but I haven’t bothered to do it. Now I use a massive size pot that can not possibly boil over.
Jeannie
GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com
That’s good to know–about the stove. I also would have a hard time lifting a full canner off! It was a bit of a learning curve to carry everything outside, there was a lot of in and out, in and out–but, it was nice to not have all that in the kitchen. I was enjoying the breeze while I watched the pot in the evening, until it blew the propane flame out! So, like I said–a learning curve.
Wow wow wow. And you said this is a small garden for you!! Congratulations to you and all your helpers. i love hearing the jars ping as well although I’ve only water bathed so far.
Love the idea about the camp stove. I might have to look for one. My kitchen gets so hot when I’m canning that an ‘outdoor’ kitchen would be lovely. I have an itsy bitsy covered patio that is part of my apartment. A camp stove like that would be perfect.
I’m experimenting with my dehydrator. It’s going strong as I type. I’ve read about people dehydrating celery. Well, I’ve never grown that but I have used chard ribs/stalks in place of celery in recipes. So, I’m drying two trays of chard to see if they’ll work. I also just bought some seed for a fall garden. There was a sale today at the garden store. The selection wasn’t great but it was good enough.
Cheers, SJ
That’s great! I think of you every time I pass the little community garden near us. I rarely see people there, though. I’m probably just driving by at the wrong time, because they are growing a lot in the little rectangles!
I rarely see people at the garden either – including when I go on the weekends. I think a lot of people are there after dinner or after work and I’m there in the mornings.
And, yes, it’s amazing how much can be grown in one. I planted enough last year to can pickled beets. I haven’t tried my hand at pressure canning yet. It would be fun to see how many green beans or peas I could put up thought. Cheers.
That’s great that so much really can be grown!
That is a HUGE amount of beans! I think it is wonderful that your family gets together to help get it all done. I am usually pretty much on my own doing the canning and it is hard work! I’m amazed at how much you have gotten from your garden already. I’m very impressed!
Thank you! It is a tremendous amount of work, but I love having that home-grown taste, so I do it!! I never would have been able to do all those beans without help that day. I have done it in the past, when I was not near family, or they were busy, but it was brutal.
I’m so jealous! lol My garden this year has been an almost total loss. I got too involved with other things. But now I’m longing for things to put up for the winter.
It might not be too late to grow a few things–it depends on where you live. But, bush green beans only take 8 weeks. There are some other things like lettuce that take even less time, or some things that do well even if it frosts a little bit, such as snow peas, broccoli, cabbage, green onions. Anyway, if not this year, there’s always next:) Good luck!
I’m going to try a couple of bush beans. None if the ones I planted survived. I am getting some peas. I’ve never let my garden go like this.
I’m glad you are getting peas, at least.
Thank you.