It seems like yesterday that Will and I were strolling hand in hand through Home Depot, talking romance and kitchen cabinets, the pros and cons of circular saws and worm drive saws, concrete counter tops and building not only a homestead, but a new life together.  But, gee, it’s a whole week later and I’m back to day to day life, taking care of Mom, doing homestead chores and only talking to him on the phone.  It was hard leaving, but we’re hoping that he will be able to come out to Minnesota before spring.  He really is a great guy.

 
I planted my very first crop in the greenhouse today; a big pot with three hills of bush cucumbers.  Yeah!  Spring is here for sure.  I haven’t had much luck in the new greenhouse yet, as along with the pepper plants I brought in last fall, I also brought in APHIDS!  And I’ve been going Mano a Mano with them for months!  I finally seem to be winning, using a mixture of water, ground hot pepper and dish detergent; sprays didn’t faze them.
 
For the last two months, I’ve been ordering a bunch of new fruits for the orchard and around the kitchen garden we’re planning for spring, next to the house.  I’m planting a fenced patch, surrounded by semi-dwarf fruit trees and shrub fruits, such as Nanking cherries, currants and blueberries, which on one half we’ll plant into strawberries and the other will be square foot gardens, filled with veggies for the kitchen.  This is going to be a fun project!  And it’ll be oh so handy to just walk outside with a basket and knife and pick lunch.  Next to the house, with the house acting as a wind buffer, I’m even trying sweet cherries and an apricot, both zone 4-5.  We’ll have to wait to see how that’ll work, as we’re actually in zone 3.  I’ll keep you posted.
 
The main orchard gets new zone 3 pears from Fedco (I didn’t know there were any!), plums, pie cherries and Manchurian apricots.  Plus we’re planting three Valiant grapes by the back yard and two seedless grapes next to the house.  Both are zones 4-5, but I’m hoping that next to the house, we’ll be able to keep them going, regardless.  You can usually count on moving up a zone when you plant on the leeward side of the house, especially right next to it, as some heat does escape the building, from basement foundation to walls.
 
I’m hoping to get the orchard fenced too, so I can free range the chickens and turkeys in there and keep them out of my proposed wildflower beds along the driveway and also my flower beds in the front yard.  Boy those chickens and turkeys can sure dig a big hole in a flower bed when they dust themselves!  The orchard is about 100′ x 75′ and that’ll give them a good area to run in.  It will also keep down the weeds, grass and bugs!  That’s a win-win situation for sure.
 
I had four flying squirrels on the tray bird feeder outside the greenhouse window last night.  I actually got to see them come gliding in to the feeder, then away.  That was really neat.  But I had other "wildlife" out there this morning.  A weasel!  That wasn’t so cool, as I’ve had dozens of chickes slaughtered overnight by one small, white weasel.  I got the .22 and now have another ermine tail tied on my horse bridle.  I always feel bad when I have to shoot one but they sure play hell in the poultry house.

Readers’ questions:

Prickly pear jelly

Thank you for your inspiration and help. My son went to Southern California and brought me back some prickly pears. I made jelly out of them, but it was too sweet. Do you have a recipe for prickly pear jelly that we could us in the future, or other uses for them?

Linda Fisher
Klamath, California

I really, really love prickly pears!  In New Mexico we used to eat them as a fruit (after removing the spines, of course!), spitting out the seeds to make more plants, as a jam and jelly, and we also made a sweet drink from the plump fruit.  We ate the despined pads, too, which are called nopalitos and when sliced, resemble green beans.
 
To make jelly, simply remove the spines via a propane torch or over your stovetop.  Native Americans use a low fire.  Then rinse the fruit and quarter it.  Put all your fruit into a large kettle and add just enough water to cover then boil, covered until tender.  I then mash mine and simmer a couple of minutes longer.  Strain through a jelly bag for several hours or over night.
 
To each 2 1/2 C juice, stir in 1 package of powdered pectin and bring to a boil.  Boil one minute and add 3 Tbsp lemon juice and 3 1/2 C sugar.  Bring to a boil, stiring all the time to prevent scorching.  Boil hard for 5 minutes at a rolling boil and ladle the jelly out into hot, sterilized jars.  Process 5 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.
 
The lemon juice not only helps the jelly to set but lessens the "too sweet" taste.  If you make jam out of the prickly pear fruit, you just mash the cooked fruit through a strainer and add to your juice; measure the same regarding sugar and pectin, adding the lemon juice, as well.
 
Without the sugar, lemon juice and pectin, the mashed fruit makes terrific fruit leather when dried on a lightly oiled cookie sheet in a very low temperature oven or a gas oven with only the pilot light on for heat.  You have to turn the leather so it dries on both sides after it has set.  I simply get hold of one corner and gently peel it back, then flip it over.  Pretty good! — Jackie

No vinegar in chickens’ water

Last summer a friend gave me a hen and a rooster. I found I like having chickens around, so I ordered 25 buff orpingtons 2 black jersey giants, which will be arriving in February.

Tamara O’Connor
Brown City, Michigan

No, you don’t have to put vinegar in your chickens’ drinking water.  I’ve never heard of a chicken having any problems like cats do.  Their elimination system is vastly different.  But you can certainly put vinegar in their water; some folks swear by it.  Personally, I tried it for several months awhile back and couldn’t see any difference after that time so I quit because of the Ncost involved.
 
Enjoy your chickens; they are a whole lot of fun and you’ll LOVE the homegrown eggs, too! — Jackie

Removing seeds for grape juice

I love what you write and I’ve been canning since dirt. It is so refressing to get some new ideas. I just found out about BWH a few months ago and have really loved reading youre starting over
articles. My husband and I live on a 5 acre farm and raise much of what we eat. We raise wild Scotish Soay sheep, chickens, and a big garden and orchard. We arn’t off the grid yet but when we retire would like to be as self sufficient as possible. My husband is starting a rough cut limber business so hope to do that early. My question is this, can I leave grape seeds in grape jucie? I got a recipe last year from "The Have More Plan" by the Robinson’s. Great old book for the ages!

Dinah Brosius
Battle Ground Washington

Sounds like you have great plans!  It really isn’t necessary to remove the seeds in your grape juice, but it is more convenient and sometimes the seeds can give a bitter taste to the juice as it is stored for lengthy times.  Just pour the juice through a sieve to remove the seeds and any other "debris" in your juice, if you choose.
 
Thanks for the good wishes; we’re chomping at the bit to get started with spring growing.  The peppers go in the flats in just two weeks.  I’m so excited! — Jackie

What??? Okay, I confess. I’ve been writing and visiting on the phone with a real nice guy from Washington for about 18 months now. Will’s been tied up there and I’ve been tied up here, with taking care of Mom and all the normal homestead goings-on every day. But when David had no school Monday and I got a real deal on a flight I found on the internet, I decided to take Will’s invitation and go on a mini-mini vacation, spanning a whole four days. Well….three actually, because one was pretty much taken up flying with all the lay-overs.

I did have problems getting help taking care of Mom, but my friend Jeri about shoved me out the door, saying that she would help David with her personal care and that they would handle things. (Not only do she and her husband, Jim, help me butcher chickens, but are also real good friends, too!) I went about nuts getting things organized for my trip, not even packing until the last day, but finally I was on the plane, flying west.

I had a few interesting moments on the flights. For instance, the plane from Minneapolis had problems with its computer system and had to return twice to the gate for repairs (that really breeds confidence!), there was freezing fog in Spokane, where I was going and I had to sleep overnight in the Seattle airport.

But Will met me at the airport with a rose in his teeth. (That’ll work.)

So what did we do on our hot weekend? Well we did the usual romantic stuff, swimming pool, hot tub and a nice dinner. Talked till 2 a.m. that night. It was SO nice. Then he got sick with the flu! Yep, throwing up all night. Poor guy! Here he is on a “first date” and is entertaining me by running for the bathroom.

However the next morning he felt quite a bit better and took me to a great antique ironworks shop, Ruby Street Antiques in Spokane. That was really neat. They had tons of statues of marble, concrete and metals, along with fancy wrought ironwork and smaller things. Then inside two houses, there were uncountable pieces of cool furniture and other decorative items. (Want an angle, dragon or full sized fighting bull?? They have it!) Or coat hooks designed with ears of corn or pumpkins? Yep. You get the idea. I spent a whole $35 and brought home some of the corn and pumpkin coat hooks and three iron hook racks; one an elk, one moose and another a horse with a blacksmith.

We also did Home Depot. Um hum. We played with their tools, petted wood, discussed different floor tiles, then spent an hour in the kitchen cabinet displays. Will is a talented carpenter who is also a devoted homesteader. He knows we’ve been living without kitchen cabinets for two years now, and I told him awhile back that I’d wait until he could come to Minnesota before I built them. He want’s to be a part of that, and it’ll be nice.

Unfortunately, his flu surfaced again, but not as bad. We couldn’t go or do much more because of it, but we did spend hours and hours just sitting talking and going over my plan book and his. It’s nice to find someone who is excited about the same things you are and we had plenty to talk about.

All in all, it was a date to remember. But really, it was nice. Real nice. And hopefully, in a few months, he’ll be able to come join us here in the backwoods. It feels good to be smiling about a future again.

Readers’ questions:

Don’t bother canning dry rice

I have opened a 8 year old five gallon pail of white rice to “check” on it. I would very much like your thoughts on preserving/canning white rice. I did read where you canned raw rice with carrots/onions/celery but you didn’ give processing times. I would like to make a pilaf with broth, veggies and cooked rice then can it. Have you done this and would you recommend it? What about
canning the rice dry? Thanks for all that you do in teaching us to take care of ourselves. I love your articles.

Marcia SpeltsLambert
Clay City Indiana

I don’t recommend canning dry rice; it isn’t necessary. I’ve cooked rice that was 10 years and older and it was just fine; no off tastes, provided that it was kept in an airtight container that bugs and rodents couldn’t access.

I do can many recipes with rice as an ingredient. Generally, I can meat based soups and stews with rice. In this case, you just process it for the time required for the ingredient that requires the longest processing time, such as meat broth or corn. I have not canned dense packed rice, but HAVE canned Spanish rice etc. that I do up a bit “wet” and dry it later after opening on reheating. You have to watch very dry, packed foods, to make sure that they heat all the way to the center of the jar so you get the right length of time for proper processing at a high enough temperature…all through the food. — Jackie

Canning peaches

I have been learning canning this past summer and canned peaches. The peaches turned out pretty well but despite packing as many as I could prior to cooking I had two problems.

1) All the peaches floated to the top and shrunk(?) leaving lots of space at the bottom.
2) I used pressure cooking and the syrup boiled out leaving the space at the top of jar. How can I keep that from happening.

The peaches seem fine and the seal remains unbroken months afterwards. Maybe it is just a visual thing.

Marty Brown
Chicago, Illinois

No problems with the peaches. They simply floated to the top because you cold packed them (put raw peaches into the jar and poured hot syrup over them). If you hot pack them, heating the peaches in the syrup, then packing the hot peaches and syrup into a hot jar, you have no more floating peaches. They actually don’t “shrink”, but some of the juice seeps out of them and mixes with the syrup, leaving them smaller. You probably would like your peaches better if you water bath canned them as you won’t have trouble with liquid boiling out of the jars as they process. This looks less nice, but in no way affects the taste or safeness of the food. — Jackie

What’s the saltpeter for?

In an old sugar meat cure recipe it calls for 2 ounces of saltpeter. This recipe is well over a hundred years old and I was wondering what the saltpeter does in the meat curing process? The recipe is as follows

8 pints salt
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
7 tablespoons black pepper
2 ounces red pepper
2 ounces saltpeter

Is there a modern equivalent to saltpeter or can this be left out altogether?

James Edwards
Adger, Alabama

Saltpeter is used to not only keep the red color in cured meats, which can turn an unappetizing grayish tan, but also to inhibit botulism and keep the meat from developing off tastes. Yes. You can certainly leave it out of cured meat, but you just need to handle the cured meat very well after the curing. For instance, you can freeze or can it. Both will prevent any of the above problems from surfacing. — Jackie