Holy cow! Would you look at that udder? I’ve had cows with smaller udders than our precious Buffy. We keep thinking that surely today she’ll kid, and she still is waiting. As we had her running with the buck, we don’t have a breeding date, so we will just have to keep peeping at her and hoping.

In the meanwhile, we’ve set out 70 tomatoes and peppers in Wallo’ Waters, planted 20 long rows of sweet corn, 12 rows of various Native American flint corns, plus beans, rutabagas, carrots, potatoes, cabbages, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower and beets. And on to the squash, melons, pumpkins and more spinach. Having a big garden is great, but boy do you get tired planting it. I just keep thinking about all that food in our pantry this fall…

Readers’ Questions:

Best paint for OSB siding

We have a shed/”guest cottage” made of the same sort of stuff as your goat shed. It was on our property when we bought it–don’t know how long it’s been up. A few years I’d guess. We recently primed and painted it inside and have given it a coat of latex barn paint outside.

Mary T.
Charlotte, North Carolina

Another coat of barn paint should do the trick, but watch the walls; in a few years you may need to do it again. If the OSB starts to swell or peel from moisture, you may need to put siding over it in the future. My old goat barn was unpainted for three years, and now it has three coats of red stain. It “ain’t pretty” but it will stand until we build a new barn in the future. — Jackie

Leaking Wallo’ Waters

I have a question on Wallo’ Waters. I have been using mine for a couple years, and they all sprung small leaks and will not stand up now. It seems to me that I should be able to patch them, but I am not sure how. Can you help? How long have you been using yours?

Natalie
Los Alamos, New Mexico

There are repair kits that are available where you buy the Walls which repair 6 cells for about $2. I have so many that when I get one that has over 3 leaking cells, I mark those and cut repair cells from those. I gain about 8 repair cells for each Wall I cut up. I’ve also made temporary (1 season) fixes, using those popsicle clear plastic tubes that the kids squeeze the popsicle out of. The plastic is thinner, but I’ve made quickie fixes using those.

I’ve had some of mine for more than 20 years now. The newer ones seem to be much less durable and some tend to blow out the seam between cells. But they are still a great idea! I have 70 tomatoes and peppers out now in them. — Jackie

Surprise USDA visit

I operate an in-home daycare, live in farmland outside of city limits, and began, step-by-step building a mini-farm on our small piece of land. We now have chickens, ducks, goats, a piglet, rabbits, and garden like crazy, just purchased two 100 foot commercial greenhouses for private use, and this weekend put in 30 more fruit trees in our orchard.

Laura Marshall
Stanwood, Washington

I have no idea of why they came. Perhaps they thought you might have wild animals, such as deer. It IS scary. Probably you won’t hear from them again, but if you do, I would talk to your lawyer if they (the USDA) won’t give you a straight answer about WHY they came. I don’t think they can DO anything to you, as they certainly have no reason to, but they can sure frighten the heck out of you! — Jackie

Bread machine sourdough

I am looking for an answer to this question–hope you can help. Can you use a bread maker to make sourdough bread? If so,do you have a recipe?

K. Beard
Durham, North Carolina

Yes, you can. A lot of bakers only mix and knead the dough in their bread machines, then bake it in the oven, although Mom used this recipe in hers.

Best Bread Machine Sourdough:

1/2 cup warm water
1 cup sourdough starter
2 1/4 cup bread flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. salt
3/4 Tbsp. active dry yeast

Place ingredients in bread machine (following manufacturer’s directions on order of wet and dry ingredients). Use quick setting. I hope you have good results. — Jackie

Strawberry jelly

I hope you won’t think that I have lost my mind…I made strawberry jelly this morning, crushed the strawberries, used lemon juice…the whole thing. Put them in jars and…forget to process them! The jars are cooled now…Can they still be processed or what can I do now ?

Carol Stone
Port Saint Joe, Florida

If they were my jars and they sealed, I would just leave them alone. The worst unsealed jelly will do is develop some mold on the top, which you just scrape off. We used to do this all the time before we used two piece lids on jams and jellies. Paraffin was used instead, which often came loose and the jars got a little mold on the tops. If the jars are not sealed, you can dump the contents in a large pot and gently heat it, stirring until it liquifies. Then bring it to a boil and again ladle into hot, sterilized jars, cap, and process in a water bath canner. — Jackie

Baking meatloaf in a canning jar

I have read your answers to canning meatloaf. You bake it in a pan and then put it in a jar. Is it possible to put it in a wide mouth pint or quart jar and bake it there and then put it in the canner? It cuts out a whole step and the canning jars will take the heat of the oven. I don’t think it will be any more bulky in the jar then it will be in a pan so it should bake all the way through it.

Nancy Foster
Dallas City, Illinois

It is not recommended that foods be baked in the dry heat of an oven, by jar manufacturers, so we don’t do that. The loaf also shrinks a lot, so you end up with less loaf than jar. — Jackie

Heavy bread

I bake multigrain wheat bread and it tastes great. Problem is, it weighs a ton (4-1/2lb loaves), is somewhat dry, and for some reason, never cooks the same, at same temperature, same cook time. It always rises well, generally doubles on first rise, punched down, shaped into loaves and rises double again. Rises again during cooking. Many times, cut loaf resembles a large doughnut, with a large opening all the way down the middle of the loaf. Any idea of what may be causing these problems?

Ken Mask
Simi Valley, California

Check your oven’s temperature. I had one that I set at 350 degrees and had the same hollow bread as you describe, then found out that it started out at 500 degrees! Wow!

You might try adding some dough enhancer such as gluten to your bread. Many multigrain breads are very dense and rise but don’t get light enough, even though they do rise. I think it’ll help your bread. — Jackie

Getting rid of ants

Could you tell me a good way to get rid of ants in the house?

Katherine Jasperson
Belle, Missouri

First get rid of anything the ants are eating, such as sugar crumbs on the kitchen counter or dry pet food. Then sprinkle Borax around the area they seem to be coming in. If that doesn’t do it, try mixing boric acid, sugar, and jelly. They’ll eat the mixture, which is toxic (the boric acid) to them and bye bye ants. Of course, keep it away from pets and children. — Jackie

Identifying chicken breeds

I bought a straight run of chickens from my local Tractor Supply about a month ago. I am trying to determine the breed, because no one at the store seemed to know for sure. I estimate their age at 8 weeks, they are white in color, and seem large for their age. I believe they are a Cornish Rocks or possibly a Cornish Cross (due to their size). How can I know for sure?

Stephen Maynard
Milton, West Virginia

You probably have Cornish Rocks or “meat chickens.” They are the most commonly found chicks on the market today because they grow so quickly. This is your clue. They have thick yellow legs and really get huge fast. Don’t do like I did, though, and keep a few as breeders. Every single one I have done this with had the legs/feet go bad; they just can’t stand the weight. Butcher them and you’ll have the best and most meat possible! — Jackie

Water bathed spaghetti sauce

I previously water bath canned (3) quart jars of spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Can I reprocess them in a pressure cooker now and be safe with its contents?

Tim Schaefer
Rochester Hills, Michigan

You can do this only if you have refrigerated the three quarts. Water bath processing is fine for spaghetti sauce WITHOUT meat, but you must pressure can sauce with meat. If you refrigerated the jars, dump out the contents, heat it to nearly boiling, then ladle the hot sauce and meat balls into hot jars, seal, and process in a pressure canner. Use new lids. — Jackie

We’ve been busy building. We needed a shelter for the goats in their new goat pasture, so we are finishing up our goat summer cottage. They seem to like it just fine and have “moved” right in for shade and shelter from light rains. We need to get tarpaper and shingles on it, plus a couple coats of paint and it’ll be done. When we also get a solid door on it, we can leave them in the pasture at night, too, shut safely inside. We do have lots of wolves, bears, cougars, and other neighbors who might decide a tender goat might make a great supper. We’ve never lost an animal to a predator, but we are careful to keep them in at night. Having a big dog or two sure helps on that account
too.

Spencer, our black Lab, is learning to “get ‘em!” and is an avid ground squirrel-hunter. Not only does he protect our livestock and us, but our garden, as well.

We finally got all 2 million leaks fixed on the hot tub (where the PVC pipes had frozen) and it was ready for water. But we knew it would cost a bundle to heat it often with propane. So while Will was at the dump, he brought home two hot water heaters, an electric one and a propane tank. After removing the insulation and covering, he cut the bottom 18 inches off the electric tank, made a door and ash cleanout door in it, then welded it onto the bottom of the propane tank. (The propane tank has a chimney through the center). Now we had a wood-fired water heater. Will bought a new pressure relief valve so it didn’t go into orbit if it overheated, then plumbed it into our hot tub, the top line going into the tub up high and the bottom one down low to create a thermosyphon. He fired up the heater, bled out the air from a faucet on top, and in a few minutes, we watched the ripple of incoming warm water from the tank into the hot tub. Wow!

He later boosted the flow with a little 12-volt pump, run off an old lawnmower battery. It worked great and we had hot water in three hours. For free. That makes soaking our weary backs in that hot water even sweeter! Ah! Life on the homestead!

Readers’ Questions:

Canning chili

I am new to canning and have read your blogs for lots of great ideas and help. I am a little confused by Presto as they have recipes for their 23 Quart Pressure canner that state that you only need to pressure can Chili for 15 Minutes at 15 Pounds. See their web site instruction manuals for confirmation. According to you and the USDA the correct amount of time is 90 minutes. Why would Presto go with 15? I played it safe and went with the 90 to be sure.

Bob Burbage
Belvidere, New Jersey

I really don’t know, Bob. Why don’t you give them a call or email and ask? I’d be interested in finding out their reasoning on that one. — Jackie

Watery tomato sauce and canning lemon curd

I have written before and I have to say that I love all the answers. We are currently getting all the veggies in the ground and so far we are seeing blooms on the Early Girl tomatoes! Yay! Only one question with that: last year I canned all this wonderful tomato sauce that I thought would be great. Just had to pour it out and heat it up for noodles and meatballs. But it was not to be. The sauce was basically watery and tasteless. What can I do to make it better this year? Can I make the recipe but not cook it down and just pack it in hot jars? Without water? And process it in a water canner?

Jonica Kelly
Randallstown, Maryland

I’m not sure what you did with your sauce. To make great tomato sauce, first either peel your tomatoes or run them through a tomato strainer like a Victorio Squeezo. Puree the tomatoes, one way or another, NOT adding water. Then add any spices you wish, just like you were making your sauce from fresh. If you don’t know if your tomatoes are an acidic variety, add 1Tbsp. lemon juice to each pint jar and 2 Tbsp. to each quart jar before you fill them. Simmer the tomato sauce down until it is fairly thick; the thickness depends on your likes but remember the lemon juice will slightly water it down. Process. This sauce will NOT be watery and tasteless. Good canning!

I found this information for you from the University of Georgia and I know I’ll use it too:

Canned Lemon Curd

2½ cups superfine sugar
½ cup lemon zest (freshly zested), optional
1 cup bottled lemon juice
¾ cup unsalted butter, chilled, cut into approximately ¾-inch pieces
7 large egg yolks
4 large whole eggs

Special Equipment Needed: lemon zester, balloon whisk, 1½ quart double boiler (the top double boiler pan should be at least 1½-quart volume), strainer, kitchen thermometer measuring at least up to 180 degrees F, glass or stainless steel medium mixing bowl, silicone spatula or cooking spoon, and equipment for boiling water canning. Yield: About 3 to 4 half-pint jars

Procedure:

1. Wash 4 half-pint canning jars with warm, soapy water. Rinse well; keep hot until ready to fill. Prepare canning lids according to manufacturer’s directions.

2. Fill boiling water canner with enough water to cover the filled jars by 1 to 2 inches. Use a thermometer to preheat the water to 180 degrees F by the time filled jars are ready to be added. Caution: Do not heat the water in the canner to more than 180 degrees F before jars are added. If the water in the canner is too hot when jars are added, the process time will not be long enough. The time it takes for the canner to reach boiling after the jars are added is expected to be 25 to 30 minutes for this product. Process time starts after the water in the canner comes to a full boil over the tops of the jars.

3. Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl, stir to mix, and set aside about 30 minutes. Pre-measure the lemon juice and prepare the chilled butter pieces.

4. Heat water in the bottom pan of the double boiler until it boils gently. The water should not boil vigorously or touch the bottom of the top double boiler pan or bowl in which the curd is to be cooked. Steam produced will be sufficient for the cooking process to occur.

5. In the top of the double boiler, on the countertop or table, whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs together until thoroughly mixed. Slowly whisk in the sugar and zest, blending until well mixed and smooth. Blend in the lemon juice and then add the butter pieces to the mixture.

6. Place the top of the double boiler over boiling water in the bottom pan. Stir gently but continuously with a silicone spatula or cooking spoon, to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a temperature of 170 degrees F. Use a food thermometer to monitor the temperature.

7. Remove the double boiler pan from the stove and place on a protected surface, such as a dish cloth or towel on the countertop. Continue to stir gently until the curd thickens (about 5 minutes). Strain curd through a mesh strainer into a glass or stainless steel bowl; discard collected zest.

8. Fill hot strained curd into the clean, hot half-pint jars, leaving ½-inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace if needed. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened, clean paper towel; apply two-piece metal canning lids.

9. Process half pints in the prepared boiling water canner 15 minutes for 0-1,000 feet altitude, 20 minutes for 1,001 to 6,000 feet altitude, and 25 minutes above 6,000 feet altitude. Let cool, undisturbed, for 12 to 24 hours and check for seals. — Jackie

Spider mites

I have enjoyed your articles since I started reading Backwoods Home Magazine. I have a question about our garden:

Joel Ryals
Fort Wainwright, Alaska

You sound like you may have spider mites in your seedlings. These are tiny little “bugs” that suck the juices from the plant, much like aphids do. Use a mild insecticide spray, such as Safer or a rotenone based product to spray your plants. — Jackie

Metal to metal seal on canner

You talked about a canner with metal to metal seal. I have searched on-line looking for one and without a name I have had no success. Could you give me the name of one or more? It will be much appreciated.

Brenda Hudson
Calico Rock, Arkansas

I have two canners with a steel to steel gasketless lid. One is an old timer and I don’t have the brand. The new one is an All-American. Lehman’s Hardware also sells their own brand of this canner in several sizes. — Jackie