With the first 12×24-foot section of our new storage shed fairly finished and stacked a quarter full of firewood already, we’ve moved on to the next and highest section. The center section will be 26 feet high, having two lower bays, each 12×24-feet, with a hayloft over that. The lower bays will provide indoor storage for our bulldozer, tractor, or whatever we need inside. But to get the hayloft, the center poles (used utility poles) have to be 26-feet long, going 4 feet in the ground. A daunting height!

Two days ago, David wasn’t working, so he, Will and I hauled the three longest poles down to the site with the ATV, chained them a little lower than half way down, to the bucket of our little Ford 8N tractor and carefully, a little at a time, set them down into the holes we had waiting for them. (And if you don’t think you’re a little nervous with a 30-foot, 500-pound pole towering over your head…)

But, one by one, they went into place and were securely braced all ways, without accident or incident. Now all we have to do is frame the roof. Way up there…

We did take a day off last Sunday and go down to my oldest son, Bill and his wife, Kelly’s house for a family get together. My adopted daughter (from India) and her family came out for a visit from their home in Rhode Island so the rest of the family who lived in the area came. I hadn’t seen my stepdaughter, Tricia and her family for quite awhile either, so it was real enjoyable to visit for even that short time. Mom, being 93, doesn’t like to go anywhere, so she wanted to leave for home much before any of the rest of us did, but it was still a great day.

Now it’s back to work, as usual. But with nice memories.

Readers’ Questions:

Disbudding goats

Do you have a “fail proof” system of disbudding or do you have to redo it on some of your stock? I’ve yet to get it really correct. I do have some that don’t come in, but that is the majority at the moment. Now we are faced with keeping them down if we don’t catch them soon enough.

Margie Buchwalter
Palmer, Alaska

No one gets 100% clean heads on the first disbudding. But you should get a very high percentage. First of all, try to disbud at 3-4 days; it’s amazing at how fast those horn buds grow. The larger they are, the harder they are to kill. Be sure your disbudding iron is VERY hot. Mine is electric and takes about 5 minutes to heat up thoroughly. Clip the hair around the horn bud; hair is insulating. When you apply the disbudding iron to your goat kids, be firm and press it down, moving it slowly in a circular motion so that none of the skin/horn bud area is left unburned. Leave it on long enough that a white or copper ring is burned all the way around the horn bud. Then with the iron, flip the cap off the horn bud. Replace the hot iron for a shorter time, searing the top of the horn bud. Repeat with the other side.

I put snow or a cold cloth on the kids’ heads immediately after disbudding, more for their comfort than for a good disbudding job.

Check each side of each kid in one week for emerging scurs; they’ll appear as small pea-sized black bumps. If you find one, clip it off and re-burn the area where it was growing. Usually that takes care of any incomplete disbudding.

With practice, you’ll get much better results. — Jackie

I know I am showing my green horns but how did you de-bud the goats? Could you explain the process and the tools used?

Gwen
Celina, Texas

Read the first question of this blog; it’s all about disbudding kid goats. I use an electric disbudding iron. You can buy one from Hoeggers Goat Supply. It’s not a fun job, but it is very necessary, so I suck it up and repeat “I’m saving your life…I’m saving your life…” all the while I’m disbudding the kids. Having a helper to hold the kid or using a snug disbudding box to restrain it is invaluable. Especially when you’re new to the job and a bit tentative. If possible get an experienced goat breeder to come show you how it’s done the first time. It really helps make it clearer and gives you confidence. — Jackie

Pasteurizing and conditioning dehydrated food

I have a question on drying fruits and vegetables. Do you condition and pasteurize after drying? What type and size of container do you use for conditioning? If you pasteurize, what method do you use and do you use the same container you conditioned the produce in?

I see that you use old gift tin cans for storage. Do you line the tin cans with plastic? Do you break the dried produce into smaller size lots after processing or do you bulk store all in one container? I read that small lot packages should be used to minimize how many times the seal is broken each time some of the dried produce is used.

I am getting ready to dry some fresh picked strawberries. Last year I dried apricots and apples and stored them in quart canning jars with plastic screw on lids. Some ended up with insect hatches. The extension office told me that probably happened because I did not pasteurize the produce after drying and conditioning.

David McDermott
Liberty Lake, Washington

I do not pasteurize my dehydrated foods. I simply dry them at about 125 degrees, which will also kill any insect eggs present. This is done, either on my electric dehydrator, used over a period of two days, because of us being off grid, or in my stove oven with the door open (wood range) or closed on a very low setting (gas range). Some of my dehydrated foods are stored in quart jars, such as many fruits that I don’t dry in a large amount. Others, such as squash and apples, are stored in my tins (which have very tight lids and are insect proof). I have never had trouble with insects, mold, or other problems. I just open a container and take out what I need and reclose it.

No, I don’t line my tins with plastic. I really don’t like plastic; it often causes condensation because it’s too airtight and condensation is the enemy of dehydrated foods. The food in my tins stays dry and useable until it’s gone. I do always make sure that all my dehydrated food is dry, dry…a bit drier than necessary. — Jackie

Freezing vegetables

Last year, we tried freezing our excess veggies (shaved the corn off the cob, and beans went straight in Ziploc bags and then in the freezer). But both veggies are pretty inedible eaten straight. The corn is mushy and mealy, and the beans are limp.

Is there a better way to freeze them? Does the container matter (we used Ziplocs for the most part)? Are there specific species of corn or beans that are better at freezing than others that you can recommend?

Considering canning this year as that seems at least to make them a good kind of mushy.

Marty Brown
Chicago, Illinois

Most vegetables, especially corn and beans, should be blanched before they are frozen. This inactivates the natural enzymes in the food which will often make it taste nasty or get soft during freezer storage.

Personally, I like canned sweet corn, green beans, and many other foods better than frozen. And, once canned, there is no worry about storage, unlike the freezer where you do worry about freezer burn after a longer period of storage. — Jackie

Chicken feed recipe

Could you share the recipe for feeding chickens grain instead of commercial chicken feed? When we read the labels we could not believe the stuff they are putting into their feed. Also, could you include the amounts of grit, oyster shell, vitamins, etc? I mailed you a letter but we will be needing the info before the next issue arrives. Could not find exact ratios in the chicken booklet.

Name withheld

A very easy way to go is to simply buy scratch feed. This contains (depending on the locale) wheat, oats, cracked corn, and soybean meal. Feed them this, along with table scraps, grass, and clover, garden extras like squash, over-sized cukes, tomato seeds/skins, etc., and let them go free ranging, if possible, and they’ll happily lay lots of eggs for you without commercial egg mash. (I don’t even KNOW what some of the ingredients in it are!)

This also provides adequate vitamins and minerals. Give them a free-choice hopper full of oyster shell to help build strong bones and egg shells, access to gravel or dirt (or a hopper of chicken grit) and they’ll do very well for a whole lot cheaper than if you fed them egg mash!

Remember that chickens are easy to feed; they eat about anything and seem to balance their own diet. — Jackie

Rural property

With all the places that you have lived, I was wondering how you decided on where to move? What do you use as a starting point, remoteness, your job, family, price of land? I currently live in Southern CA and would like to look for rural property. We have property in Kansas, but I like mountains and trees and don’t know where to start. What made you move from Montana to where you are now?

Michelle Vaught
Fallbrook, California

We love the mountains, and Montana, especially. BUT land, homestead-able land is very expensive per acre and there is not much in smaller, affordable acreages there; it’s either remote subdivisions of 20 acres or thereabouts or huge ranches. We lucked out on our first place there and got a mining claim with a small cabin on it very reasonably. But, then again, it was only 20 acres and it just wasn’t enough land to support our horses and gardens.

When we looked for land, our first priority was a remote area. Then it had to have water on it of some kind. Pasture, a possible large garden spot, trees, firewood access, away from any major city, relaxed building codes, and simply a place that spoke to us were all necessary. And, of course, we needed cheaper land; we aren’t exactly rich!

My advice would be to make a list of your “must haves,” then start looking around. You’ll find that you’ll have to trade a few “must haves” for reality, but try to stick close to what you really want and need. There’s a place out there waiting for you. Have fun finding it! — Jackie

Strawberries and potato bugs

First off I want to thank you for your recommendation for the Mantis tiller. It is a great thing to have once you are used to it!

Is there anything else to do with strawberries besides making jam and freezing them whole? Can you can them or aren’t they very good?

What is the purpose of potato bugs and their larva besides for you to spend hours picking them? Am I the only person who has them? Where do they come from? I think they appear out of thin air and the first one there calls the rest! But is there anything else to get rid of them besides picking and picking and picking? I don’t want to spray anything chemical on the plants either.

Cindy Hills
Wild Rose, Wisconsin

I dehydrate a lot of my strawberries to use in granola, on cereal, in desserts, and just for snacks. And yes, I do can them too. True, they aren’t as good as frozen ones, but they are sure good enough to bother with! I also make several mixed berry preserves and jams with them, as well as fresh use like strawberry cheesecake, shortcake, and just plain STRAWBERRIES!

I don’t have a clue what potato bugs are good for, except bugging you! Like mosquitoes, deer flies, and ticks. Yuck! I pick and squash eggs until they are really bad, then I dust my potatoes with rotenone dust, as it’s as natural and non-toxic to people as possible. That seems to break their numbers seriously. Some years are bad; others much better. We always hope for a “better” year. So far the potato bugs haven’t found our garden, way out in the middle of the wild woods! Yet. — Jackie

Pear mincemeat

Do you have a recipe for pear mincemeat? I have misplaced mine. It called for pears, oranges, lemons, raisins, and several spices. I have a lot of pears on my trees, and want to have my recipe ready for when they ripen.

Dianna Martin
Angleton, Texas

Here’s mine:

7 pounds ripe pears
1 lemon
2 oranges
2 pounds raisins
7 cups sugar
1 Tbsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 cup vinegar

Core and quarter pears. Cut lemon and oranges into quarters, removing seeds. Put pears, lemon, oranges, and raisins through meat grinder with a coarse blade. Combine remaining ingredients in a large pot. Add chopped fruit. Bring to a boil slowly. Simmer for 40 minutes. Pour hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Process for 25 minutes in a boiling water bath. — Jackie

Chicken predator

Had something get into my poultry coop last night. I had been leaving the chicken door open so the birds could come and go. Guess that was a mistake. This is the first time in eight years we’ve had this happen. Lost 6 chickens, 2 turkeys, and 1 duck, and one of my Buff Orpingtons is completely missing.

I had all these dead birds, and my husband had to leave for work. Our arrangement is that I take care of their daily needs, and he takes care of the butchering. Then I discovered two more birds inside the coop that weren’t dead but were mortally wounded. Luckily, I have farm-minded neighbors and within 20 minutes I had a husband-wife butchering team here to give me a hand cutting on heads, gutting and skinning. We were able to save meat from 5 of the chickens and the one duck.

I have two questions for you: I tried doing a search for what killed my birds, but I can’t figure it out. Only one bird had been eaten on, one of the chickens. The head and one wing were ripped off, the entrails were mostly eaten and part of the breast was eaten. The other birds suffered slashes to the breast with very little blood or feather loss. I suspect that the predator entered the coop, but most of the birds were dead out in the fenced yard. It happened during the night (we didn’t hear a thing). I know we have some big coons around here. Would a coon kill like that? Fox?

Second, what can I do to repay these wonderful neighbors of mine? Of course they refused any sort of payment for gas money. I don’t want to embarrass them with a gift, but it was a huge favor that they did for me! But they, like me, already grow a big garden, raise their own birds, etc., so I don’t really have anything they don’t produce themselves.

Carmen Griggs
Bovey, Minnesota

My money is on the coon. I had raccoons kill 33 nearly-grown turkeys and several chickens in the past. They even broke the window and dug under the door! I caught one in the act and he didn’t even run away. He went to raccoon heaven via 20 gauge. It’s safest to lock the poultry in at night to avoid temptation. If you have more trouble, either set leg traps or a live trap to catch the culprit before he puts you out of the bird business.

As for your great neighbors, bake ‘em a pie, a pan of brownies, or give them some of your homemade jelly. And always BE that kind of neighbor to them and your other neighbors. It’s why we’ve always gotten along well no matter where we lived. — Jackie

Harvesting Hopi Pale Grey Squash

I have Hopi Pale Grey Squash from the seeds you sent! I want to know when to harvest. I have squash about 6″ in diameter now. They are beautiful, but I don’t know when to pick. And if you have the time, a simple recipe for the squash would be much appreciated.

Dan Jones
Chickamauga, Georgia

I’m so glad you are having squash from this great squash! You can harvest your squash this fall when the squash are blueish gray and the skin is hard (resists your fingernail pressing in). The squash are usually about soccer-ball sized but oblong shaped.

I usually just cut them in half, scoop out and SAVE the fat seeds, drying them on a pie pan or cookie sheet left on the bookshelf, scrape out the strings, then smear butter inside and sprinkle liberally with brown sugar and bake at 350 degrees until tender. Or you can brown up some hamburger or sausage, add it to rice and mixed vegetables, stir in some cream of mushroom soup, and stuff the squash with it. That’s real good, too. — Jackie

Transplanting wild asparagus and black raspberries

I have found in our timber, beautiful stands of wild asparagus and big sweet black raspberries. Is there any way that I can transplant or save seeds to plant them in our garden near the house and not so far into the timber?

Lance Schaefer
Guernsey, Iowa

Lucky you! What I would do is to get some orange surveyor’s tape (plastic and cheap) and mark the plants you like. Then, in the spring, before they begin to grow, dig them up, being sure to get enough roots, and transplant them to a place that would be more convenient for you. Remember that asparagus has long, often kind of deep roots; a spading fork works great for digging them. Asparagus roots look like an octopus with many fatter roots hanging down from the crown. The asparagus shoots that we eat come from the crown. Plant the black raspberries fairly shallow, but as deep as they grew, and the asparagus a bit deeper. It’ll take a couple of years for them to get back to full production so just take care of them and they’ll reward you bountifully. — Jackie

We’ve been busy with the garden, among other projects, and the weather has been hot, hot. But finally our little goat cottage is nearly done. I painted two coats of barn red on it, doing the trim in white and Will stapled on the roofing felt and now has half the barn shingled. I picked up some “on sale” shingles at our local building center and they look very nice on the roof. Oreo, David’s 250 pound wether that he bottle raised in Montana, thinks it’s especially for him and is carefully watching and helping in every part of the process. Did you know how HEAVY a goat like that is when you’re trying to push him out of your way?

But now the goats have a pretty barn to keep them dry and away from the biting flies. And now we’re on to other projects!

Readers’ Questions:

Hail damaged plants

We recently moved to Wisconsin from Phoenix to our own 40 acres of heaven and planted our vegetable garden, everything was going good until this morning when a hail storm blew through and now everything is damaged. The tomato plants are pretty well broken up and no longer bushy and beautiful. The chard and lettuce and other greens are shredded, the green peppers have a couple of leaves left but no buds now, the peas and green beans are devastated. What happens next, will they come out of it or should we at least replant the greens so we have at least something to freeze this fall? I’m figuring at least the cabbage, Brussels sprouts, corn and potatoes and onions will bounce back but what about the rest? The joys of mother nature, it could have been worse.

Charles Wiedmaier
Mondovi, Wisconsin

Hail is the gardener’s worst nightmare; I’ve had it totally wipe out a garden in ten minutes, leaving absolutely nothing to indicate we ever had a garden! I’d say your tomatoes and peppers will quickly bounce back. Prune off any damaged branches and give them a good feeding. You’ll never know they were hurt in two weeks’ time. I’d replant your beans and peas by making another row, just a few inches away from the ruined ones. That way if the hailed beans and peas recover, you’ll have two crops. If not, you’ll still have a crop. You still have time–just use early maturing varieties. Same with your corn, unless it looks fairly good. It’s tough and will take a lot.

Good luck and may Mother Nature smile on your persistence! — Jackie

Canning red potatoes

I just dug up a tractor bucket full of potatoes…which is a lot for two people to eat!! Anyway, they are red potatoes and all my canning books say you can only can whites or Irish…but a good friend of mine said that her mother always canned the red ones as long as they were really small, like bite sized. So who is right?

Joy Goepfert
Alba, Missouri

Of course you can home can red potatoes! You don’t need tiny bite sized ones, either. I’ve canned chunks, dices, and whole (small) red potatoes, just like the other varieties. I can up the little ones or ones that I damaged digging. That way I use up ones that might be wasted, otherwise. With little red potatoes, I just scrub them and can them with the ultra thin skins right on. They’re great! — Jackie

Breeding goats

We have a Nubia/Boar billy, who seems to be always in rut. Can he breed with our Nubia doe and our Nubia/boar goat after they have kidded? They both had kids in Jan/Feb. We had them in different pens but good old Bubba got out and was running with the does for a while.

Mary Ingold
Kalispell, Montana

Some bucks are more “interested” than others, even if does aren’t in heat. Goats usually can come into heat from the middle of July through January, but CAN breed at other times as well. If your does start to “plump up” along about July, you’ll have a pretty good hint that Bubba had his way. — Jackie

Canning with wire bail jars

We have glass wire bail canning jars. Can we water bath can stewed tomatoes and tomato juice in these jars and if so for how long?

Just wanted you to know that the lemon curd recipe is wonderful and is a good way to use the extra eggs this time of year.

Rhona and Brad Barrie
Strong, Maine

It’s better to save those pretty jars for storing dry foods or dehydrated foods. The trouble with them is that you can’t tell if they are sealed or not like you can with modern two piece lids, which indent in the center. So you don’t know for sure if the jars are truly sealed.

I’m glad you liked the lemon curd; I use it in a lot of baking recipes, like filling tart cups or putting a dollop on a square of shortbread. We love it! — Jackie

Making cherry cordial

I am going to attempt making cherry cordial with tart cherries we just picked. My question is: How do I preserve this? I want to put them in small, pretty bottles, not jars. Michaels has some with a cork top. If I use those, do I keep the cordial in the cabinet, refrigerator or freezer? And how long would it keep? I’m hoping until Christmas.

Becky McKim
Ankeny, Iowa

Sorry Becky, but I don’t use alcohol. Why don’t you type cherry cordial or tart cherry cordial recipe in your browser. I’m sure you’ll find one you’ll like. Enjoy! — Jackie

Keeping turkeys with chickens

I read in the latest issue of BHM that you keep turkeys in with your chickens. I also read in another magazine today that someone else is keeping turkeys in with the chickens. Now, a poultry book that I read this summer (I think it was a Storey’s book but not sure as it was a library book) that you can’t keep turkeys with chickens because of a disease that the turkeys get from the chickens, something to do with black spots on the heads of the turkeys that kill them. The book also said that raising turkeys in different pens on the same farm was a risk due to possible cross contamination. I would love to keep turkeys and chickens as well as other poultry for eggs meat and pest control. So what’s the deal, is it safe to keep turkeys and chickens together or not?

Joshua Schrader
Middleburg, Pennsylvania

Yes, it’s possible that turkeys can get blackhead and pass it on to your chickens. Probable? Not so you’d notice. I’ve kept turkeys with chickens all my life and have never had any type of disease passed from one to the other. Or any disease, period. I have a turkey tom in with my chickens right now and everyone is happy. I wouldn’t advise someone with a commercial, large flock, to mix them, as with a huge increase in numbers and stress, anything is possible. — Jackie

Squash bugs

Do you have suggestions for controlling/eliminating squash bugs? Companion planting nasturtium and marigolds does not seem to help me. I have too many to try to control by hand every day. Perhaps you have an idea or two?

M. Zipf
Amelia, Ohio

I’m totally in favor of hand picking, but sometimes you have to pull out the big guns to save a crop. I’d dust your squash with a rotenone or pyrethrins powder weekly (more often if it rains) until you get them under control. As these products are quite safe and are a natural alternative to chemicals, you can eat the squash the day after dusting. (But I always wash anyway.) Once you stop the huge infestation, keep an eye out for the eggs on the undersides of the leaves and squash them or you’ll hatch out a new crop! — Jackie

Pressure canning

I have an issue with pressure canning. All my life I’ve only water bathed but did a few jars of green beans and such last year on my old stove. Well, my husband just bought us a new stove this year. I tried to can some chicken stock today. I put it on the burner, and had the burner as low as it would go. The pressure went up to nearly 20 pounds. I tried canning with only a corner of the pot on the burner, and the pressure still stayed around 15 lbs. The only way I could get it down to 10 was by opening the petcock valve a little. Is that okay to do? Any suggestions on how I should do this, since none of my burners will turn down low enough? This stove doesn’t have a “simmer” burner.

Angela Billings
Stronghurst, Illinois

Is this an electric stove? I’ve never had a stove that wouldn’t turn down low, but I’ve not had an electric stove, either. No, you shouldn’t open the petcock valve, even a little. You could seriously affect the pressure and necessary steam buildup in your canner. A lot of folks who can’t use their “normal” kitchen range for canning, for one reason or another (glass top, top oven that won’t let you put a canner or other large pot on the burners) often buy a small two burner table top propane stove to can on. Don’t confuse these (available through Harbor Freight and Northern Tool, among other places) with Coleman camping stoves; they are much sturdier. They are inexpensive and last forever with no maintenance.

I’m sorry to hear you’re having trouble with pressure canning, as very few folks do. — Jackie

Cleaning cast iron

Just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed (like always) your recent article about cast iron. I love my cast iron skillets too. Just to pass this tip on that when I clean my oven I put my cast iron skillets that need to be cleaned in the oven (self cleaning cycle) and let all that heat do double duty. The pans come out great. I learned this trick when some one years ago gave me some 100 year old cast iron that looked horrible. A friend told me to bring it over because she was cleaning her oven “self cleaning” and low and behold 3 hours later I had beautiful cast iron. I was also told after I wash out my cast iron to put it back on the stove top on high just long enough to dry it (about a minute) then remove it from the stove and wipe it out with an oily piece of paper towel. I just use vegetable oil and the residual heat must help it soak into the pan because I never have oily pans to put away and voila, no rust. Once again this is the self cleaning cycle, not the chemical stove cleaner.

On pins and needles waiting for your new book.

Michelle Chapin
Fresno, Ohio

Sounds great if you have a self-cleaning oven. I never have had one; all mine were either plain Jane propane or wood. I’m sure readers will like your tip. Thanks!

The book is in the final, final stages, almost ready for the printer. I’ll keep you posted! — Jackie

Canning potatoes and getting rid of cabbage worms

You have inspired me to get a Pressure Canner as a way to become more self reliant and I used it the first time this morning. I canned some potatoes but they lost a lot of their water. I looked in the Ball Blue Book and they said that can happen with starchy foods but they did not say if it was still safe? I have a little guy that I would love to feed home canned foods but want to make sure I am doing everything right! Also do you know of a good organic way to get rid of cabbage worms? Thanks for all your help you are amazing!

John and Leslie Glenn
Lancaster, Ohio

Wow! Amazing. I’ve got to tell my family that; they mostly think I’m tired. I’m thrilled that you’re starting to can. You’ll love it; I promise! Yes, potatoes sometimes lose some water. As long as the jars are sealed, they are safe to eat. As always, before using any canned food (including store food!), look at it when opening, and smell the contents. If the food was sealed, looks and smells fine, it is good to eat.

Before you get cabbage worms, you can cover your cole crops with a floating row cover and encourage swallows and bluebirds; they LOVE cabbage butterflies. After you have a problem, you can use Bt which is a natural biological killer of ONLY caterpillars that eat your plants; it won’t harm pollinators, helpful insects, or you. You can buy it through most garden supply catalogs or stores. It’s worked great for me. For heavy infestations, I’d use a rotenone or pyrethrins spray or powder for fast knock down. Then follow in a week with Bt. None are glow in the dark treatments. — Jackie

Canning pre-cooked meatballs

Having a busy schedule, I use frozen pre-cooked meatballs that I purchase at the grocery. With limited freezer space I would like to can them. I just bought a pressure canner but have not used it yet. Can I just heat these in the microwave or oven and then can with some beef broth? I assume the processing time would be the same for ground meat.

Regina
Natchez, Mississippi

I’m so happy to hear you’re starting to stock up and begin canning! Yes, you can heat your meatballs and pack them in broth or a seasoned light sauce such as tomato sauce or your choice. Use 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts at 10 pounds pressure, just like ground meat. — Jackie

Rust on canning jar lids

We started storing our home-canned food in our damp basement about a year ago for want of space. Commercial cans rust quickly down there so we dipped our jars’ lids after canning into molten canning wax to stop corrosion. But we’re getting slight specks of tarnish on the lids’ edges anyway. Do you know of any safe way to halt rust in its tracks?

Juneberries we planted last year are still not thriving, even in our rich (and PH neutral) Red River Valley soil. Any suggestions? Thank you.

Ross Nelson
Casselton, North Dakota

I had a problem with rust in MY damp basement on our first Minnesota farm, years back. What changed things for me was installing a wood stove to burn in the winter and using a fan to suck the damp air out during the summer, when the humidity was high. The wood stove worked much better than a dehumidifier (which will also work, but costs a bit to run). I’d stay away from dipping the lids in hot wax, you may compromise your seals.

Juneberries sometimes take a couple of years to start booming. They do like a more acid soil, so adding some peat around the base of the plants might make them happier. They are definitely worth the effort! — Jackie

Chickens and Turkeys

We just bought 2 baby turkeys. We were told that they cannot be in with chickens as they may spread a disease. Can they be be put into the pen with our geese, once they get old enough to go outside? We really don’t want to have to build another pen!

Debra Brown,
Littlefork, Minnesota

This is another case of “it’s possible” but not real probable. I’ve kept turkeys with my chickens all my life and have never had a case of disease transfer between the two. In fact, I have a turkey with my chickens right now. I wouldn’t worry. — Jackie

Amending soil

This spring we cut trees and enlarged our garden space, tilling and adding much Black Kow compost, peat and lime and tilling and tilling. We have planted in the area and have noticed plants are not taking off like we had expected, could this be that the Nitrogen is “locked up”, we did not think we would have this problem with all the amending we had done. Do you have any recommendations? (We are going to begin using Fish emulsion foliar feeding IF the rain stops)

Darnell Rogers
Arden North Carolina

It sounds like your garden is suffering from too much rain, rather than too little nitrogen. A soggy garden never grows nicely. I’ll bet when it stops raining and you see some sunshine, your garden will take right off. Using the fish emulsion should give the set-back plants a jump. — Jackie

Rhubarb jam and planting cucumbers near potatoes

Would you share your rhubarb jam recipe?

Also, I’ve got a question about planting cucumbers near potatoes. I put cukes in my large potato bed this Spring, thinking it’d be a great combination. The potato bed is fenced in to keep out the chickens, and I thought the cukes could climb the fence. Only AFTER I got all that planted, with the potatoes really doing well and the cukes starting to put out their first leaves, did I read that potatoes and cukes should not be planted near each other. I’d never heard that before! Do you have any advice for me on that?

Jeanne
Storrs, Connecticut

My favorite rhubarb jam recipe isn’t a jam, but a conserve. Conserves usually have raisins and/or nuts. Here’s the recipe I use:

10# rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces
8 cups sugar
2 3/4 cup vinegar + 1/4 cup water
2 cups raisins
2 cups walnuts
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3 Tbsp. flour

Pour boiling water over rhubarb in large bowl and let stand 5 minutes; drain. Put rhubarb in large kettle and add vinegar, 1/4 cup water, raisins, flour, and spices. Bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Add chopped walnuts and simmer a bit more. Ladle hot into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes. If you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet consult your canning book for instructions for increasing your processing time to suit your altitude, if necessary. Hint: This is a real chunky conserve. To make a smoother product, I sometimes run the raisins and nuts through a meat grinder before adding to the mix.

No, I never heard about the cuke/potato thing. Why not try it and see how you come out and let us know. I’m sure other readers will like to know, just like me. — Jackie

BBQ sauce recipe

I used a BBQ sauce recipe years ago from the magazine that I think was yours. I loved it and want to make and can it again, but can’t find my recipe. Could you reprint it for me?

Kathy Harris
Fresno, California

Sorry Kathy, but I have used a lot of different BBQ sauce recipes through the years and every year try new ones, so I don’t have a clue which one you liked. You might try going back through the anthologies for the years the recipe may have been in and do a search. — Jackie