GROUNDHOG is taking a vacation

Because we're gonna catch him, and send him on his way!!!  We're borrowing a live trap from a friend who also gardens, catching the little muncher and giving him a new place to live, far, far away!

 Well, dang it,   we just had the driest and hottest July on record.  Period.  Yesterday the county north of us got 1" of rain, we got nothin'. The ground feels like concrete, I haven't mowed in three weeks, and my potted flowers look sick, even though I have watered sometimes twice daily.  Don't ask about the green peppers, they are not amused.   They have shriveled up and gotten spots on them. 

I have been processing tomatoes every three days, just enough to fill some gallon bags, to put into the freezer.  I put them into a big pot of boiling water, and cook until the skins start to shed, then immediately dump into cold water in the sink.  That should make skinning them quite easy. Not hot water bathing yet, it's just too hot to heat up the house.  Hot water bath is a big, open-topped canner with water over the tops of the jars, and boiling for a specified length of time.  I heard somone the other day tell me that she was going to process green beans with hot jars, hot vinegar, and hot water bath.  I asked her if she intended to kill her family.   There are NO veggies besides tomatoes that are correct to hot water bath.     It works with tomatoes because they have lots of acid, that kill the botulism  bacteria.   Green beans do NOT, and must be pressure canned. If you add anything to the tomatoes to make a salsa, or soup mix, there is only a small amount you can add before it lowers the acid level enough to use pressure.   Botulism is not necessarily evident to your eyes, nose, or tongue when present, so don't attempt changing times, pressures, or skimping on cleanliness.
http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8072.pdf  This is from U. of California, (I'm too lazy to find the Purdue stuff) that talks about botulism.  I would only trust canning instructions from a university, a canning jar company, or a reputable book.  I found some online stuff that was not quite accurate.

When using a canner, you need to do some maintenance. 

This doesn't look exactly like mine, but they all work the same way.  If you look on the back of the lid, you see a red dot.  This is very important.  This is a red rubber membrane that aids in gaining a vacuum inside the canner.  I had an old one once that never let the lid seal, and it took over an hour to get pressure, which is ridiculous, it should only take about 10-15 minutes.  I went to Ace Hardware and found the canning section, bought a new one, and it works great.  Inside the lid is a big rubber ring, this also helps with the vacuum.  They age, and need replacing every few years.  Doing these two things will eliminate a lot of frustration in your canning day.  Take yours with you, or your manual, to get the right size.
 

Here are some proper tools for canning.  The long 'knife' in front is for running around inside the glass to eliminate air bubbles in the product, which can spoil food.  Timer is important, use whatever you have, and don't get distracted.  The next thing is the jar lid tightener. I don't use it so much, but you can to keep from burning your hands.  Read directions for tightness needed.  The tongs are used to fill jars, or move hot tomatoes to cold water.  The last item is the jar lifter, VERY necessary.  Once the hot bath timer is done, you must get the jars out of the water, to hasten the sealing.  You REALLY don't want to be distracted or bothered when taking jars out of the canner, or boiling bath, because if you drop it, everyone gets badly burned. Put jars on counter, cover with a towel, and listen for the "Ping!" of the sealing lids. If you have a jar that doesn't ping, DON'T force the center of the lid down.  Just put the jar in the fridge and eat whatever was in there this week  The green cup thingie is for loading jars.  Quite handy.
I can hear you now--"But , Dianne, oh Goddess of the Garden, I don't HAVE these wonderful items with which to can all the lovelies from my garden, or whatever I happen to steal from the neighbor's, what shall I do?"  I highly suggest posting a notice at work or church, and telling people that you will gladly relieve them of that big pile of jars in their, or their mother's basement, garage, shed.  You can come over this week and get them.  Many older ladies, with no kids at home, quit canning , but don't get rid of their stuff.  They would be glad to have someone come and get them.  If they seem hesitant, or want money, offer to mow their lawn, or rake some leaves or something.  Jars cost money and you will need lots.  Canners can be over $50 new.  Buying jars from the market is prohibitive if you plan on being self sufficient. Offer to share some of your stuff with her.  Check freecycle (an online free recycling site for local things), or Craig's list.  Maria does all that, she finds all kids of stuff on there.  She recently found big, plastic food grade 55 gallon drums for rain barrels.  Several people pitched in and they got a deal. 

I have been gathering black raspberries the last couple weeks, from my backyard patch.  I'm freezing small bags, waiting to get enough to make some jam.  It has been so dry that the berries are really full, but tart, so I think jam is a better use for them.  My grapes ought to be sour enough this year to make some great wine, anyone up for that??? I've never done it.  We just love jelly.   I process grapes to juice, and then freeze it, to make jelly on an open window day in October.  

Remember earlier in the spring when I talked about testing my soil, and adding nutrients?? Well, I can tell you that this has been one of the healthiest tomato crops I have ever had.  No blossom end rot, (from low calcium), lots of leaves ( I upped nitrogen), and everything else looks great. 

Canning is a great way to preserve the summer sunshine from your garden,  just be CLEAN, be ACCURATE, be SMART with what you're preserving.

Dianne, dirty feet, and all