We just got dug out of the last one with the bulldozer and plow truck (which ended up having to go to the Ford garage in town!!$$$), not to mention lots of mano a mano shovel work. Then we got the news; another two feet was headed our way, complete with 30 mph winds. Hey! This is APRIL…..

Oh well, nothing to do but to get ready for it. Thank God I always listen to the weather radio! So we hauled hay, chopped firewood, got extra gas, grain and a few groceries. We also drove the good old Taurus wagon out near the road and parked it. Just in case we really got snowed in and had to snowmobile the mile out, so we could get to town or wherever. The snow started in earnest last night, giving us about an inch an hour. With wind. There were already drifts forming.

This morning, it was still snowing hard, with good old wind, and we had about two feet of new snow on the ground. Luckily a lot of the “old” snow had melted, leaving only about a foot to get stacked on top of. So David (who didn’t have school; guess why!) and I braved the blizzard to do chores. The animals were all glad to see us and greeted us warmly. Even our kind-of-wild tom turkey gobbled down at us from his roost up in the barn. (Or was he up there because he thought the snow might get that deep????)

Anyway, we got done then brought one of the triplet doelings in to disbud. I’m kind of late with that, but just didn’t get it done because of the storms. We did her this morning and will do the other two tomorrow morning. I prefer to do them at three days, not two weeks!!! You are much less apt to get scurs. I’ll watch them carefully and if I see any regrowth in spots, you can bet I’ll touch them up for a nice smooth head.

We listened to the radio and all the power outages from the wind and heavy wet snow. Trees were falling, breaking and smashing down power lines. We might be way back in the woods, but at least that’s one problem we DON’T have. We never know when the power is off. I just baked rolls and listened to the wind roar outside.

Oh, the garage called this afternoon and said our truck was finished. Luckily it wasn’t the transmission, like we’d thought. The bill will only be half what we thought it would be. But a thousand dollars is a WHOLE LOT of money! David got the truck home and is now plowing our driveway. Life in the big woods. But I wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Readers’ questions:

Dividing rhubarb

I have a question about rhubarb. I only have one plant. It was doing really well this year, but I noticed today that there are six pod looking stalks coming on it. Is it going to seed? Should I cut them out? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I think the plant will be big enough to divide this year. When do I divide and what’s the best way to do it?

Thank you for all the wonderful advice. Every time I have a gardening question my husband always says ask Jackie. She’ll know. He’s right!!!

Donna Clements
Hoquiam, Washington

These are the flower stalks that will eventually become seeds. Cut them out as soon as you notice them growing upward. If you don’t the plant will stop producing stalks and those remaining will get tough because the plant thinks it’s job is done for the year. You can fool it into producing all spring and early summer by keeping those stalks cut out.

A plant can be divided anytime, provided that it’s large, vigorous and healthy. Usually you can simply look to where more than one plant is coming from the “bunch” (the leaves are often smaller on the offshoots), slip a spade between them and just cut the plant in two. Rhubarb is dead easy to divide and to grow. I love it! — Jackie

Canning beef tongue

I have canned for quite a few years, but had something come up I have never thought of canning. I have cooked and eaten beef tongue for years, but never had a quantity all at once. My youngest daughter was given 7 tongues and wanted me to can them for her. Do I have to skin them raw and process them like I do with my beef and venison with some salt, or do I cook them first and skin them and then process them? They are easier to skin when cooked first and I feel like I am wasting more by skinning them raw, then again I feel like I am going to end up with mush if I cook them first and then pressure can them.

Which do you recommend?

Steve Brush
Brookville, Pennsylvania

I would cook them just long enough that they skin easily. Because the skin is on the outside, that part cooks quickly; you don’t need to totally cook the tongues. Then slice them or pack them hot in hot jars with broth from cooking them to within 1/2″ of the top of the jars and process at 10 pounds for 75 minutes (pints) or 90 minutes (quarts). Use salt if you like. If you live at an altitude over 1,000 feet, be sure to consult your canning manual for directions on increasing your pressure to suit your altitude if necessary. — Jackie

Shelf life of home-canned foods

I’m a new subscriber and have never canned before in my life. I saw your recipes for home canned meals in the most recent issue and have a question: What is the shelf life of canned meals? In particular, I’m interested in doing beef stews and the like. How long will they remain good if kept in a sub-70 degree, dark area?

Mike Schwedhelm
Brentwood, California

Good news Mike! Your home canned foods remain good to eat and wholesome for years and years. I’ve eaten some of my “old” foods that were twenty years old and they were nearly as good as fresh.

That’s one of the big pluses of canning. Once you have your foodsin jars, they will keep; no power outage or freezer burn problems.Nor will your carrots and other crops go soft during storage, like they do late in the winter, in a root cellar. — Jackie

You know that storm that was heading for us?  Well it got here.  And how!  Saturday night it started.  Then by Sunday morning, we had a foot and the snow was still falling heavily.  Just think, Saturday morning I was in my garden, looking at the nice soil, with the frost nearly all gone out of it, thinking that I could begin tilling it the next day.  My multiplier onions were starting to poke up, looking nice, green and lush.

David hung the plow back on the Ford truck Sunday, and started plowing our driveway.  Unfortunately, it never did get cold and the ground was muddy under the snow.  And the snow was heavy and wet.  You know how it is when you shovel heavy wet snow?  It won’t come off the shovel and each shovel weighs a ton?  Same deal with the snow plow.  It just didn’t plow worth a darn and the drive was a mire.  He didn’t dare drop the plow all the way down or he would have thrown off a whole lot of gravel and dirt with the snow.

Then he was trying to shove snow off the drive in some open spots, to get rid of it; the drive gets awfully narrow when you plow this kind of snow because it doesn’t throw off into the woods.  Well in one of those spots was a spring he’d forgotten about and he dropped the front of the truck into it, right down to the plow frame.

Luckily he had his cell phone with him and he called me, asking me to bring the old blue truck to pull him out.  To make a long story short, it drive was too icy and he was stuck too badly.  No dice.

So back home we went to get the dozer, our last hope.  Fortunately, it started and I followed him back to the truck.  He lined the dozer’s blade up with the truck’s plow and shoved it back out of the spring.  Even with the dozer, it had to snort to push that hard.  Whew!

This morning it was still snowing.  We now have over 26″ on the ground; all wet, heavy snow over mud.  David plowed for neighbors and friends today, as well as doing our drive again.  But bad luck dogged us again; he found he has two cracks in the transmission housing!  Oh chiching!  $$$$$  OUCH.  I felt like going to bed and pulling the covers over my head.  And it’s still snowing…….

Readers’ questions:

Saving seeds

Dear Jackie,
I just became a subscriber to your magazine and I really have learned a lot from your blog.  My girlfriend and I have been growing a large garden for two years and we save our own seed (ex. beans okra pumpkin ect…) but my question is how do you save seed from vegetables like carrots, onions, beets, and cabbage? Thanks for you advice.

Challis Moffitt
Ramseur, NC

To save seeds from these vegetables, you just have to overwinter the “mother” plants in a cold, dark root cellar or unheated corner of the basement.

Then in the spring, just plant them outside and watch them grow.  They’ll then make seed.  But don’t expect the mother plants to look like they did the year before.  Carrots look “wild”, beets rank and cabbages strange as the send up a seed stalk.  Just let them do their thing and give them good care.  You’ll get your seed in abundance.  Enjoy! — Jackie

Keeping hens in Winter

I have a question for you about chickens. We raise a mixed flock of turkeys, ducks and meat chickens each summer, but we don’t keep any over the winter for eggs. I’d like to keep a couple of egg layers, but I’m wondering how many is the minimum number to keep each other warm over our northern Minnesota winters. We do have electricty available in our pole barn, but I’d prefer not to have to run a heat lamp all winter long. Also, do you have a suggestion for the best type of coop for just a few hens?

Carmen Griggs
Bovey, MN

You’re right in that you’ll need at least half a dozen hens to provide enough body heat to keep them warm enough over winter.  And even with that number, you’ll need to provide a relatively small,insulated coop
so that so few chickens will stay warm enough.  If you insulate and build a small coop, say five feet by 6 feet and with a low ceiling, they should remain comfortable.  In addition, it’d be a good idea to keep a light bulb in the coop.  Not a heat lamp, but just a plain incandescent bulb.  Not only will it give heat and not kill your pocketbook, but it will fool the hens’ bodies into thinking there are longer days and make them lay eggs despite winter.

You can let the “girls” out of the coop on milder days and just shut them in at night.  They seem to do  well this way and enjoy a stroll in the sunshine. — Jackie

Canning beef

I have a black angus cow that we just had too butcher. We only had a pocket knife and a sawsall to work with. It was eather kill it or have it run over on the road. We could not keep it in the field. You would think that with close to a hundred achers finced it would not be a problem. Now The meet didn’t hang and it dosn’t taste like beef, is there any way too can it and use it later and have it taste better? I have plenty of jar and 2 large canners with gages so canning is not a problem. thanks

Brenda Jarrell
Varnville, South Carolina

Yes, you can sure can up that meat.  The best way I’ve found is to partially precook the meat, browning it, either as steaks, roast slices or stewing beef.  The ground meat is also browned first.  You can add some spices, but beware of adding too much as it gets stronger with processing.  I think you’ll find your beef tastes just fine that way and will provide a whole lot of meals for your family.

Precooked meat is processed at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts.  I add enough broth to just cover the meat, leaving an inch of headroom in the jar.  (If you live at an altitude over 1,000 feet, consult your canning manual for instructions on increasing your pressure to suit your altitude. — Jackie