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Ask Jackie By Jackie Clay
From the BHM print issue

Issue 127 — Chickens, apple trees, cast iron, saving seeds, planning a homestead, etc.

Issue 126 — Lye soap, tomato pickles, hollow potatoes, salty goat milk, fall pea crop, wood beetles, etc.

Issue 125 — Composting horse manure, curing onions, flea beetles, reusable canning lids, carrot rust fly, etc.

Issue 124 — Drying squash, seasoning cast iron, homemade yogurt, salt pork, butter molds etc.

Issue 123 — Seasoning cast iron, mold, horseradish, canning pears, etc.

Issue 122 — Grinding buckwheat, raising feeder geese, making butter, processing venison, etc.

Issue 121 — Growing potatoes, broody hens, grain grinders, washing eggs, etc.

Issue 120 — Squishy zucchini, onion sets, canning Swiss chard, grinding corn, chickens, etc.

Issue 119 — Growing hardy fruit trees, food storage, living without electricity, etc.

Issue 118 — Shelf life of canned meats, arsenic in well water, elderberry extract, goat's milk, planting in tires, etc.

Issue 117 — Learning about seeds, no debt homesteading, laundry methods, butter from goat's milk, etc.

Issue 116 — Jackie’s childhood, mouse trouble, improving soil, canning with aspirin, overwintering spinach, etc.

Issue 115 — Food grade plastic, using green acorns, salt rising bread, using kerosene stoves, storing dried food, green pumpkin pie, etc.

Issue 114 — Escaping hens, canning salsa, community canning, manure tea, fencing, voles, etc.

Issue 113 — Canning on a wood stove, sauerkraut, canning chili, bug control, canned bacon, etc.

Issue 112 — Keeping deer out, saving seeds, canning milk, controlling fleas, etc.

Issue 111 — Raising geese, Chronic Wasting Disease in venison, canning meat, rattlesnakes, etc.

Issue 110 — Preserving black walnuts, how to germinate parsnips, canning milk, tomato diseases, etc.

Issue 109 — Preserving chestnuts, lye soap, chickens in the city, brined dill pickles, small ears of corn, etc.

Issue 108 — Canning kraut, natural bug repellent, woodpeckers, alternative water system, canning lobster, squash recipes, dehydrating blueberries, etc.

Issue 107 — Natural cleaners, canning black beans, freezing venison, spicy luncheon loaf, baking with nut butter, preserving squash, natural bug repellent, storing tomatoes in oil, prairie turnips, etc.

Issue 105 — Hulling buckwheat, uses of wood ashes, celiac disease, country style ham, sailboat living, etc.

Issue 104 — Removing skins from tomatoes, using manure as fertilizer, wheat not germinating, making butter, recipe for V8 juice, etc.

Issue 103 — Pressure canning, rotten fruit, squash in the pumpkin patch, drying venison, pickling sunflower seeds, getting rid of gophers, vinegar in canning water, etc.

Issue 102 — Clay soil, cherry tomatoes and pig weed, canned green tomatoes, elderberry concentrate, raw cow’s milk, raising oats and wheat, etc.

Issue 101 — Stems on mulberries, jam not setting, groundhog damage, crickets n the garden, preserving avocados, cabbage recipes, canning grapefruit, making whitewash, etc.

Issue 100 — Pressure cooker as pressure canner, seed varieties, weevils in rice, beef jerky without salt, sterilizing jars, rose hips, etc.

Issue 99 — Making corn chips, canning chicken, canning venison, storage of canned goods, preserving bell peppers, protecting chickens from weasels, etc.

Issue 98 — Processing cabbage, bubbles in canned tomatoes, black bean soup, roasting hazelnuts, canning dry beans, using powdered buttermilk, creamed horseradish, etc.

Issue 97 — Chokecherry jelly, well cake, pomegranate jelly, canning lids, water bath canning, canning corn, roasting hazelnuts, and more.

Issue 96 — Finding wild rice seeds, growing great tomatoes, tomato sauce, canning smoked salmon, pecans, dill, powdered eggs, pickling garlic, etc.

Issue 95 — Growing apples, beach plum jelly, preserving yellow crookneck, canning lentil soup, agricultural lime, discolored canned fruit, eliminating mosquitos, diatomaceous earth, getting bugs out of blackberries, Hopi Blue corn seeds, can meat in ½ pints, saving squash seeds, etc.

Issue 94 — Sourdough bread, breeding ducks, potatoes in containers, butchering pigs, keeping homemade pickles crispy, buy a big enough canner, canning milk. searching for Hopi Pale Grey squash seeds, canning milk, preserving bread, growing lentils, plastic eating squirrels, low maintenance edible landscaping, smelly coffee grounds, pressure canning stock, loosening up clay soil, Brussel sprouts and radish greens, canning dry mixes and breads, etc.

Issue 93 — Preserving bacon, feed for chickens, diseases from mice, dehydrated tomatoes,”real” bacon, cleaning cast iron, homemade concrete, canners that won’t seal, etc.

Issue 92 — Powdered egg shelf life, Dry goods storage and battling weevils, Drying lemons, Mincemeat recipes, Potato scab, Canning winter squash, “Hot seal” canning question, Canning chili peppers, Canning pumpkin, Giving mild/sweet pepper a “bite,” Chiltipine question, Blackberries, etc.

Issue 91 — How long to hang meat?, freezer-burned meat, acidic tomato sauce, squash and spaghetti sauce, horseradish recipe, canning cabbage, dangers of water bath canning, etc.

Issue 90 — Redoing jam, is my steer really a steer?, “Bolos” Texas beef jerky, keeping boiled eggs, survival foods, homemade cereals, wild grape jelly, wannabe gardener, canning fruit juices, home canning sausage, canning problems, canning with noodles, and more

Issue 89 — Purchasing raw acorns, free-range chickens, using a washboard, getting rid of stumps, canning safety, peanut butter shelf life, moving to Alaska, desert gardening, sheep vs goats, bleaching flour, acidic tomatoes, "puffing" cereal

Issue 88 — Repacking pickle relish, poisoned compost pile, growing yeast, pickled red beet eggs, failed sauerkraut, companion planting, can ning catsup, rough cast iron pan homemade chicken feed, gardening in a cool short season climate, cold cereal recipe, etc.

Issue 87 — Hairball treatment, canned tomatoes, grass cuttings, cast iron cookware, pressure canning, Goats Produce Too, vacuum sealers, pickles and peppers, homemade cereal, canned venison, potato soup, tomatillo jam

Issue 86 — Canning, make your own MREs?, vegetable oils, canning pizza sauce, canning chicken a la king, preparing black walnuts, preserving red peppers, processing horseradish

Issue 85 — Canning chili, dehydrated fruit, cabbage recipes, fencing livestock, dehydrating onions, goat cheese, preserving tomatoes, and many more

Issue 84 — Goats, homemade peanut butter, tipi liners, cleaning greasy messes, “old” storage food, pressure canners, using potato flakes, choosing batteries, canning with “real” cans, pickles, tie-dying, apple jelly from apple juice, and preserving roses

Issue 83 — Chokecherries, chicken runs, keeping lard, canning potatoes, “moving out,” root cellaring potatoes, fried pea patties...and more

Issue 82 — Castrating cattle, moving to a cabin, propane refrigeration, cleaning the grease out of range hoods

Issue 81 — “Rescuing” sugar, making beet sugar, is pigweed poisonous?, “big” animals when they die, and growing “spelt”

Issue 80 — Home canned bologna and corned beef, homemade sun dried tomatoes, sweet potato butter

Issue 79 — “Retiring” in the backwoods, canning cabbage, green tomato pickles, grape jelly & grape juice, rolled oats, canned cheese, cleaning up cat puke, and storing eggs

Issue 78 — Canning safety, vertical log homes, achieving independence, cast-iron cookware, homesteading books, and more

Issue 77 — Storing flour and sugar, canning butter, fruits and veggies for cold climates, solving "mushy" canning problems, buying a pressure canner, and more

Issue 76 — Fastest cooking beans, bread in jar, planting wild rice, making hominy, fruit leather, horseradish, and more

Issue 75 — Hazelnut trees, canning garlic, sourdough question, planting wheat, using rain water, and more.

Issue 74 — Pickled hot peppers, sunflower seeds, dill pickles, preserving seeds, Brunswick stew in a jar, bitter milk, canning jam, and canning pesto

Issue 73 — Power pole log homes, poison oak, elk stew, canning meat, and more

Issue 72 — Above ground root cellars, “cream” soups, finding a rural place to live, canning spaghetti, rabbit liver paté, harvesting basil, black walnuts, quinces, sourdough starter, short-season crops, and more

Issue 71 — Dealing with wild bears and moose, canning cabbage, old butter churns, and more

Issue 70 — Finding wilderness property, pickles, growing potatoes in boxes, ginger beer, homemade tortillas, kale soup, hanging meat, and more

Issue #69 — Hazelnuts, affordable places to live, market gardening, water systems, baked beans, sauerkraut, and more

Issue #68 — Dehydrating lemons, chicken feed, finding a co-op, storing supplies, pomegranate jelly, kerosene lamps, making money, and more.

Issue #67 — Canning tomatoes, peppers, beets, and pumpkin, castrating calves and more

Issue #66 — Wild meat, gardening, salsa, goats, canning, diabetes and more

Issue #64 — Making corn flour, food preservation, fruit trees, and more

Issue #63 — How much aspace do vegetables need?

Issue #62 — Baked beans, canning without sugar, grain grinders

Issue #61 — Goat's milk, canning

Rural Building Q's & A's
      By Martin Harris

Issue #63 — Framing methods, Construction q’s and a’s

Issue #62 — Construction q’s and a’s