On the nicer days of this late winter season, Will and I have been out dismantling our new, old mobile home. Boy what a mess! We’re salvaging a lot; some interior paneling for the goat barn and chicken coop, electrical wiring, boxes, switches and outlets, hinges, a good propane kitchen range, a nearly new turkey roasting pan, with lid, sauce pans, cake tins (not good enough to eat out of but make terrific seedling trays!), sheet aluminum from the roof and sides, to be re-used or recycled, AND the best of all, more than 40 14-foot 2x6s in great shape!

Of course, we won’t talk about the load upon load of particle board and cardboard that went onto the burning pile, along with assorted other crud. Yeah, I don’t like burning it either; all those not so nice fumes…but we did it in the snow, where most of the smoke was held to a low minimum.

We’re down to the frame now, which is what Will wanted to make a bridge over our creek with, and that will start to happen tomorrow when he and our friend, Jim, start cutting it down and welding it back together.

While they do that, his wife, Jeri, and I will be starting to plant my first tomato seeds. A great break from that UGLY trailer!

As a long-time seed saver, I have a lot of old seeds in my huge tubs of seed containers. So this year, I’m doing germination tests on some of them, to see how they’re storing. I did some 10-year-old corn seed and 11-year-old cabbage seed. The corn germinated 100%, but no cabbage yet. I dampen a paper towel, lay out the seed, each kind in its own towel, fold up the towels and put them in a jar, screwing down the top. I put the jar in a nice warm place and wait. It works very well to find out how good a batch of seed is; if lots germinate, great. If only a few or none, it’s time to switch to a different batch of seed and toss the old/non-viable seed.

But seeing those little corn roots gave me a burst of spring fever! So what if we have two feet of snow on the ground! Spring is coming to the backwoods.

Readers’ Questions:

Egg eating chicken follow up

This is more of a follow up than a question. I had asked about my egg eating chickens a while ago, well I have solved the problem by about 98%.

First we tried “Operation Spicy Chicken.” We planted three eggs that were filled with Frank’s Hot Sauce. Well the chickens took the bait, but unfortunately, I think they liked the hot sauce!

This led to plan B, “Operation Fowl Mouth.” We filled a couple of eggs with dish soap (you know, getting your mouth washed with soap!). This seemed to have slowed them down for a day or two, but didn’t do much good.

So then came plan C, “Operation Keep Away.” I took your advice and built a roll out nesting box. It’s more like a cabinet with 6 boxes, three on the top and three on the bottom. The chickens lay the eggs and as soon as they get up, the eggs roll safely out of reach. They have managed to peck a couple of eggs before they roll to the “safety zone” where there, the contents spilled out. However, they have not been able to actually eat any eggs for a while, and I think they forgot the taste. It’s been about a month since “operation keep away” and we’re back to having close to a dozen eggs a day!

David Rose
Buena Vista, Colorado

I’m really glad to hear back from you and that you’ve had such success. Egg eating is a learned behavior, so hopefully, it will be un-learned! Enjoy those eggs, the hens certainly did! — Jackie

Bugs in potting soil

Last year I planted some seeds in a commercial potting soil mix. About 6 weeks later I had thousands of real small flying black bugs show up on the small plants. Since the room was sealed. The buys had to enter from the potting mix. How can I stop these bugs from hatching out? Or is there a special potting soil that is commercially available that is sterile? How does one sterilize a large volume (50 cubit feet) of potting or garden soil.

Larry Danler
Pinedale, Arizona

Your flying black bugs were probably “fungus gnats,” kind of like fruit flies of potting soil. Yep, you probably got them from the potting soil. It happens with all but the “professional” grade of potting mix. You can sterilize any potting soil by putting it in large turkey roasting pans and cooking it in the oven at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. It does the trick and kills not only bugs and their eggs but also bacteria and fungus. — Jackie

Boiling home-canned foods

In the past few months I have seen several sources suggest that home canned foods should be boiled for 10-15 minutes before serving. This is supposed to be done to insure that no harmful bacteria that may have survived the canning cycle make it to the dinner table. I’ve been pondering this advice for awhile and I can’t make sense of it.

Low acid foods must be pressure canned at 240 degrees in order to kill any harmful bacteria. No amount of processing in a water bath canner at 212 degrees is sufficient to kill these microbes. If the preceding statements are true it would seem then, that if for some reason the trip through the pressure canner failed to kill the microbes, boiling the food after the fact would be pointless and ineffective. Am I missing something in my analysis or is the conventional wisdom of boiling home canned foods prior to serving perhaps just an old wives tale?

FH Aydelotte
Stevensville, Pennsylvania

No, it’s common sense. If everything goes perfectly during a typical session of pressure canning, the food, if sealed would also be perfect. Unfortunately, human nature gets in the way. The kids are sick and screaming and you don’t let your canner exhaust long enough. The dog is having puppies and your pressure goes down then spikes up as you “adjust it back.” The UPS man is at the door and you leave the almost simmering food warm on the stove, then pack it into jars and “hurry it up,” removing it from the canner 5 minutes early. You get the picture. To err is human! And the 10-15 minute boiling time is just to safeguard ourselves. This boiling time can also be roasting time, frying time, or broiling time, as well. — Jackie

Canning pickled cabbage

You recommended that someone can “pickled cabbage.” Can you give me the recipe for this and the processing times (pressure or hot water bath)? Also if you use Tofu in soup, is this canned like a meat or how long do you can it? I really enjoy your canning book. I’ve tried canning some of the things that you have answered to your readers (like hot dogs, meatballs, etc.) and I must say – my husband and I have really enjoyed them. Ball Park dogs taste better than the others. Much better than store canned vienna wieners.

Teresa Parker
Evansville, Wyoming

Pickled cabbage is a sweeter product than is sauerkraut and it is not fermented. It’s easy to do, too:

PICKLED CABBAGE

2 medium heads of cabbage
1 qt. cider vinegar
2 green peppers
2 cups sugar
1 bay leaf
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp. whole cloves

Wash cabbage, shred, drain, and sprinkle salt over it, then cover barely with ice water. Let stand overnight. Drain and press water from cabbage. Cut peppers finely and add to cabbage.

Combine sugar, vinegar, add spices, and bring to a boil; boil for 10 minutes. Pack cabbage mixture into hot, sterilized jars; pour boiling hot pickling liquid over it, leaving 1/2″ of headspace. Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath.

I honestly have never cooked much with tofu, but it is a bean product, not a meat, so you wouldn’t process it as a meat. Any canners out there who HAVE canned with tofu? — Jackie

Jars not sealing in the pressure canner

I have a canning question. My water bath canned items almost always seal. I never have had a batch go wrong. BUT when I pressure can, I always have some jars that don’t seal. Today I tried canning some chicken stock and only 1 out of 7 of my jars sealed. I am very discouraged and not sure what I am doing wrong. I had 1 inch headspace, tightened the lids just as I do for the water bath, wiped rims well, etc. Can something be wrong with my pressure canner or am I doing something wrong? Do all your pressure canned items seal every time?

Erica Leake
Manor, Texas

Yes, my pressure canned jars nearly always seal every time. Of course, there are oddball jars that don’t. A bit of fat or food gets lodged under the lid during processing, or the canning fairies are on strike. But, yes, nearly all the jars DO seal. Okay, it’s possible that something is wrong with your canner, but probably not. Let’s go over the steps and see if you’re missing something:

1. Put a couple of inches of water in the bottom of the canner and put the rack in. The rack keeps the jars off the bottom, reducing breakage.

2. Put the filled jars on the rack and tighten the lid down evenly.

3. With the exhaust petcock(s) open, turn on the heat and exhaust steam for 10 minutes or more depending on your canner’s instructions. Be sure there’s a STEADY stream of steam coming out, not just intermittent spurts.

4. Close petcock or put on weight.

5. When desired pressure (10 pounds unless you live at an altitude over 1,000 feet; consult your canning book for directions on increasing your pressure to match your altitude, if necessary) is reached, begin timing your processing, adjusting your heat to keep the pressure even.

6. When the desired time has passed, turn off the heat and allow the pressure to return to zero. DO NOT touch the petcocks to release any steam!

7. When the dial has reached zero, release any steam carefully and remove the lid.

8. Carefully remove jars and place on a folded, dry towel in a draft free area to completely cool. DO NOT touch the jars. NO wiping off residue, tightening rings, NOTHING. DO NOT PRESS on lid to “help” it seal.

9. When the jars are completely cool, you may check the seals and remove ring. You may also wash the jars, if needed, dry them and put them in your pantry for storage.

I sincerely hope this helps you find your problem! Canning is so much fun, but frustrating if something continually goes haywire! If this doesn’t work, have a friend bring their pressure canner over and can up a small batch of something together. If she does everything you did and has success, I’d suspect your canner. But quite probably, you’ll go “Oh my! I didn’t do that!” and your problem is solved. The best of luck! — Jackie

Dehydrating eggs

I have been looking for a way to dehydrate eggs. I have my own chickens and fresh eggs daily, And I have heard every thing from dipping them in bees wax to regular wax and also heard you can scramble them up and then dehydrate them until hard, then put them in a nut chopper until they become powder… And then take and wisk them with a fork and then strain them and place them on a solid bottom tray and put them in the dehydrator until totally dry and then place in chopper until powder.

Holly Cannon
Milton, Florida

To tell the truth, I’ve been leery of trying to dehydrate my own eggs because they are a very prime incubator for several not-so-nice bacteria. I prefer to buy my dehydrated egg powder, unfortunately, as I feel that processing companies have better control of humidity, temperature, etc. in the dehydration process. — Jackie

Breeding older goats

My friend has 3 Saanen goats, and she was wanting to breed her 8-year-old. This goat’s in heat, so she tried to find a stud. The woman who owned the stud told her that 8 years old is too old, is dangerous for the goat at that age, to be pregnant. Do you think it’s safe for her to have this 8-year-old bred?

Jeanne Allie
Storrs, Connecticut

Yes. If the woman who owns the buck feels strongly against breeding, find another buck. At 8 years old, the doe is just “middle aged”. I’ve had many does older than that in my milk string, which, of course had to be bred to produce milk. My one 12 year old doe produced not only triplets but 1 1/2 gallons of milk every day! — Jackie

Canning soup with cabbage

I have a wonderful veggie soup recipe. The recipe calls for cabbage, which I used. I was wondering if the cabbage would sour (like sauerkraut) if I canned the soup with the cabbage in it. I am afraid it would, what do you think?

Jane Dunn
Carrollton, Illinois

No, the cabbage will stay just sweet and mild. But add it last to your soup that is simmering and only simmer it long enough to wilt it down or it could get too soft during processing. Do be sure to can your soup in a pressure canner, using the length of time required for the ingredient needing the longest processing (i.e. meat, corn, etc.). — Jackie



7 COMMENTS

  1. Regarding your pickled cabbage, do you use it on pulled pork sandwiches as is, or do you drain it, and use to make coleslaw? TY It sounds delicious!

  2. Ellendra,

    No your food is fine, provided it was properly canned and the jars are safe. However, I’d not use that much water. A couple of inches is plenty. You just need enough to generate plenty of steam for the entire processing time, not boil the jars in.

    Jackie

  3. Hi Jackie, I’m slowly working my way through your articles and love your blog. You might already know about H202 for seed-starting, but a few of us just learned about it last year: mix 1 to 2 tablespoons of 3.5% hydrogen peroxide per gallon of distilled water; use it to soak your older seeds in for better germination results, and spray the soil in your starting trays to prevent “damping off” disease of your seedlings. We’ve also used it in the garden with success, too.

  4. This comment is in regards to the correspondent from Stevensville, PA, regarding boiling pressure canned goods after they’ve been opened. Pressure canning, with its higher temperatures than waterbath canning, is used to kill botulin spores, and it does.

    However, it isn’t the botulin spore itself that is harmful to humans, but rather the toxin it produces. Thus if you kill the botulin spore by pressure canning, it cannot produce toxin and your food is safe. Neither pressure canning nor boiling after opening would be likely to do anything to remove the toxin, should it be present, as the toxin is a chemical and not a living organism.

    Boiling canned food after opening would be expected to kill other organisms, but chances are the food would smell or look bad already if they were present.

  5. Hey what a great tip! I need to do that on some of our seeds that we forgot and left on the back porch. We just started our blog listed above. You have been an amazing inspiration!

  6. Jackie, you say only put a couple of inches of water in the canner. I’ve been filling mine enough to cover the jars (or at least to reach almost to the top of the canner), because when I started I couldn’t find much more than the times and pressures so I guessed based on waterbath directions. I also had a few batches run dry and got a little paranoid about having enough water. Is the amount of water important? Are my pressure-canned foods unsafe because I used too much water in the canner?

  7. That looks like great fun! I just planted Basil and Tomatos indoors to be ready for spring. I’ll hopefully transplant well started tomato sets in late march (SE AZ). Bothe the basil and tomato are heirloom varieties from Baker seeds, and I’ll save some if they grow.

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