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

Our doe, Buffy, finally had babies, a cute tan and black doeling and a big white and lemon buckling. And we were able to be there when they were born, too, so we got all the excitement. They are doing well, and have been disbudded. I hate that job, but I hate having horns even more; they can even lead to the goat strangling in a fence or a collar.

We’ve been busily weeding our new berry patch, and putting in even more garden crops. Wow, is our expanded garden ever BIG! But in the afternoon, Will fires up the hot tub heater that he made from two junked hot water heaters, welded together, and by sundown the hot tub is steaming and ready for our old achy backs, knees, and hands. Heaven! That’s the best $50 I ever spent.

Our baby donkey, Crystal, is getting as fat as a little piggy. Her mommy has lots of milk and she’s eating grain now, too. She’s staying very friendly and can’t wait for us to come pet her. When we go in the pen, she makes this little grunting bray and trots right up to us, no matter what she’s doing. That makes handling her much easier. I wish her mommy, Beauty, had been handled from birth; she’s still pretty spooky of routine handling like having her feet trimmed. But I know that with patience, she’ll eventually come around, too.

Readers’ Questions:

Covering a chicken pen

We have built a chicken house similar to John Silveira’s father’s in the chickens book (in the garden, left and right chicken doors depending on which side of the garden is fallow). My question is – do I need to provide a covered “pen” for them? They’ll be out in the day, in at night, and surrounded by garden fence that is 5 foot high. We have hawks, foxes, and occasionally coyotes. There’s supposedly raccoons somewhere, but I’ve never seen any. We are in a fairly wide open space, and our neighbors dotted around us keep mainly llamas. This is rural Colorado. I believe they’ll be safe from most animals, but I would rather not make an outside roof and walls for them, using chicken wire mesh, unless I absolutely have to. Sometimes they’ll be out after sunset, but always in at night.

Kevin Long
Elizabeth, Colorado

Your birds will probably be fine that way, provided that they are shut in at night. Raptors (hawks, primarily) are your worst possible problem. I had one that used to try for my chickens in New Mexico. In fact it would land in the yard and go INSIDE the chicken door and chase the chicks around. Until I put our labrador retriever, Wab, in the coop one day. The hawk landed, hopped boldly into the coop, then flew a lot less cocky out the door and off into the sunset…with Wab hot on his tail. He never came back, either!

I have no top on my run; in fact, they forage our acre orchard all day. It’s not foolproof, but so far, so good! — Jackie

Canning whole chickens

I’ve been a reader and fan for years. My Mother used to can whole chickens in quart jars. She’s gone now and I will always remember that chicken for jungle lunches. Please pass along any ideas.

Mike Root
Patrick, South Carolina

You’d have to have real small chickens to fit in a quart jar; probably they were half gallon jars; I’ve done that. However, they don’t recommend canning whole chickens today, as there is a possibility that some of the meat might be too dense and not heat well enough during processing. Instead, I bone my chicken (more fits in a smaller jar!), then can it with broth it was boiled in. This is very good, tender and good for you because you did it yourself! — Jackie

Buying dehydrated items

I regularly stock my pantry with home canned foods, dry milk, paper supplies, etc., but am wondering what type of items do you buy dehydrated. I am thinking items such as dehydrated eggs, cheese – powder or freeze dried blends? Have you tried the shortening powder? I am trying to think of staples I can’t really do myself, or would be better bought. What are your thoughts on these preparedness catalogs for staples, is there a less expensive option?

Also, when are we going to be able to order your book? I’m looking forward to getting one for myself and my daughters.

Jo Riddle
Vienna, West Virginia

I buy dehydrated eggs, margarine, and butter powder and shortening powder from Emergency Essentials. These all work well. But I buy my grains from a local mill and package them in buckets after freezing to prevent bug infestations. (I buy in the winter and simply leave the bags outdoors for a week!). I do my own dehydrated vegetables and fruits. It’s MUCH cheaper! My dehydrated milk, I buy at a local grocery; it isn’t cheap, but it is cheaper in a box than a can. Then I repackage that, as well, in gallon glass jars.

Like everything else, you have to shop the catalogs with intelligence. Some things are great and decently priced. Others… However, if you are in a flood-prone area, having your emergency supplies in tin cans and waterproof, sealed buckets is a very good idea. If we flood here on this gravel ridge, Noah will be gathering animals again.

Annie Tuttle is working hard on finishing up my new book. Then it’s off to the printers, so it shouldn’t be tooooo long now. — Jackie

Recanning syrup

Can you re-can pancake syrup? I have a chance to get a fair amount of syrup, but it’s in gallon jugs. I would like to re-can it in quart mason jars. Can it be done in a water bath canner, and if so for how long?

Bo Suddueth
Jacksonville, Florida

Most pancake syrup contains mostly corn syrup or sugar of one kind or another. To re-can this, heat it in a large pot to a boil, then ladle out into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace. Then process for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. (See your canning manual if you live at an altitude over 1,000 feet for directions on increasing your processing time, if necessary.) Enjoy! — Jackie

Asparagus ends

Is there any thing you can do with asparagus ends? It seems such a waste to dispose of them.

Barbara Winn
Kittitas, Washington

You can steam them or boil them up, puree them, removing the hard strings, add a few chopped nice tips and make cream of asparagus soup. It’s pretty darned good, served with toasted homemade bread! — Jackie

Cold weather summer

We live in Zone 3 as you do. With this “summer” of no summer, how is your garden doing? Are you going to run out of time before the first frost? What are you doing about it?

Marilyn King
Mora, Minnesota

Well, our first sweet corn seed rotted in the ground because of the cold weather that set in two weeks ago. So today, we replanted a faster maturing variety with huge prayers for a productive summer. One never knows what the growing season will bring. We keep planting, weeding, and hoping for the best. Somehow it all seems to work in one way or another. That is one reason I try to have at least a year’s food stored ahead; you can’t count on having a garden to can out of each and every single year. I have to laugh at would-be survivalists who say “I’ll plant a garden when I need one; anyone can toss a few seeds in the ground.” Yeah. Right.

If my beans are great one year, I still plant beans the next. If my beans are really great the next, I still can a lot and share with my friends who had theirs eaten by goats. What you give will always repay you in one way or another.

Because our spring was so cool, I planted more greens, cabbages, broccoli, celery, rutabagas, carrots, and onions. And I keep planting every little spot I find. Who knows what the rest of the year will bring. Some of my best gardens started out pretty hopeless! Never give up. — Jackie

New garden space

The wife and I just bought our home in February. I have a little garden area. I have tried to till it up, but uncovered nothing but lots and lots of roots. What can I do to get this area better for gardening? I keep trying to work and pull the roots up by hand, but feel like it is a losing battle. So do you have any suggestions?

Hollis Jones
Wilmington, Delaware

If they are huge tree roots, you should either move your garden spot or use raised beds (if the site is sunny most of the day, despite the trees). However, you probably are dealing with smaller roots like we are in our new enlarged spots in our garden and berry patch. Wow, do we have roots! We till, pull, chop, and pull some more. From my past experience, I know that most of the non-runner-type roots can be chopped up and will rot in a year or two. So our aim is to get the worst pulled, the rest chopped, and the garden planted. Take it from me–you can have a great garden despite all those roots! — Jackie

Canning with no salt

I have been put on a no salt diet. This is for a person who was born with a salt shaker in her hand. I am struggling to find recipes for canning that have no salt in them. I know you can can tomatoes and beans without it but I’m worried about other things such as swiss chard, spinach and above all my pickles. Is there such a thing as dill or sweet pickles without salt? Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Joan Toothman
New Carlisle, Indiana

Any meats, poultry, or vegetables can be home canned without adding a grain of salt. The salt is for a flavor enhancer, not a preservative. As for pickles, most pickle recipes only use the salt for a brine/soak to draw the excess liquid out of the pickles. You can rinse them several times after soaking in the salt water, removing nearly all of the salt. Some say soak overnight; you can shorten that down to two or three hours without compromising your pickling. By doing this, you further reduce the amount of salt retained by the pickles. Again, strain and rinse them well. I think both you and your doctor will be happy with the results! — Jackie