Time to start canning season here

[JuliaAnn]

We have been picking small amounts of green beans, cherry tomatoes and peppers for about two weeks now.

But today we picked a VERY large amount of green beans, Roma tomatoes for making sauce to can, about a half bushel of peppers of various kinds, and cucumbers. I also picked about a bushel and a half of plums, which will have to ripen a little more before I make anything with them (I picked them slightly under-ripe because the birds were starting to peck them).

I'll pull out all my canning supplies either tonight or in the morning and probably spend the day tomorrow doing my first canning of the season.

I'm going to freeze part of the green beans and can the rest, make and can tomato sauce, dehydrate and freeze some of the peppers, make sweet pickles and can those, and figure out how much plum jam and wine I want to make.

Other things are not ripe yet, but probably in the next 2 or 3 weeks they will begin to ripen and I will be busy canning for a while.

[crispin]

Nice - I guess you started in a greenhouse.
My garden is still around a foot tall.

[julieq]

We didn't put in a garden this year and I'm going to miss canning! May have to buy something locally in season to can later in the summer so I don't have withdrawals. The rest of you should post some photos during canning season. I'd love to see them.

[Txsteader]

I've already canned a couple cases of green beans. Corn looks like it will be ready this week....I'll freeze some but can most of it. I try to keep my freezer empty going into hurricane season.

[JuliaAnn]

No, didn't start anything in a greenhouse. Here, I start tomatoes, peppers etc. inside in mid to late January and plant out in early to mid March. Most of what I plant is around 70to 80 day maturity, so it's all finished fruiting by the time the serious heat sets in.

We don't plant corn anymore-sweet or field. We don't eat enough of it to merit growing it. I am not able to eat corn because of the skin on the kernels, and dh and kids don't seem to care much about it.

This year I planted a lot, and I've been very diligent about taking care of it. Every morsel is going to count this year.

[hotzcatz]

There's four pints of peaches put up from last week and there's a bunch more under the tree so guess I should go pick peaches again. We ate a lot of them but there were too many. Just wish we could can avocados!

[Sarabeth]

Wow!! You lucky ducks!! It has been so rainy here, I haven't planted anything.....

[Macybaby]

I'll be planting the green beans later this week!

But by august, I'll be canning full tilt, and will have plenty by the time frost hits.

It's so neat to hear about gardening in other parts of the country

[stamphappy]

I appear to have planted a bit too early for my region. I planted on Mother's Day weekend and the garden is a sorry sight. May have to replant in a week if things don't perk up.

[Backfourty,MI.]

WoW! That's Great! I haven't even got my garden in yet & the garden is so wet & rain expected everyday this week not sure when or IF I will get it in this year! I have all my plants setting out in front of the garage just waiting!

[Wendy]

No garden planted yet because it won't stop raining!

[Marianne]

No garden here, either. Have a tray full of cabbages ready to go out and some beautiful tomato and pepper plants I grew from seed. Don't see any end in sight to rain and afraid plants are getting too "leggy", but as soon as I can, I'll try them anyway.

[Kazahleenah]

Originally Posted by Backfourty,MI.

WoW! That's Great! I haven't even got my garden in yet & the garden is so wet & rain expected everyday this week not sure when or IF I will get it in this year! I have all my plants setting out in front of the garage just waiting!

I have some seeds in the garden... half the garden still has to be rototilled, but it hasn't stopped raining long enough to dry it out enough. I'm about to just plant it and fight the weeds later when it dries out some...

[Strange Bear]

Originally Posted by Marianne

No garden here, either. Have a tray full of cabbages ready to go out and some beautiful tomato and pepper plants I grew from seed. Don't see any end in sight to rain and afraid plants are getting too "leggy", but as soon as I can, I'll try them anyway.

A solution to leggy plants, I read in a book, is to turn a fan on the plants. It stresses them enough that the stems get thicker and not so leggy.

[Txsteader]

Originally Posted by Macybaby

I'll be planting the green beans later this week!

But by august, I'll be canning full tilt, and will have plenty by the time frost hits.

It's so neat to hear about gardening in other parts of the country

I think so, too. By the time you're going full tilt, our spring/summer gardens will be just a memory, we'll be hiding indoors to avoid getting heat stroke. Just the thought of canning in August makes me want to faint.

[whiskeylivewire]

I'm so thankful that my garden is well drained. With all the rain we've been having....it's not looking too bad so far though! And I intend to can and can and can!

[JuliaAnn]

We're in what the weather guy calls an 'exceptional' drought. One step away from 'extreme', and boy, I've been fighting for every drop of water this year. Finally put out soaker hoses, which in our area is practically unheard of for vegetable gardens. Some of y'all are flooding, and here we're crying for rain. Wish there was some way to funnel some rain from up there to down here.

We had some peach trees that fruited well, but during the last hurricane an oak tree fell right smack on top of them, and they all died. We planted new trees but the they only have a handful of fruit on them this year. Maybe next year they'll be big enough to produce more fruit. Ripe peaches are heaven on earth.