Planting beans late
I have some room in my garden due to harvesting my beets. I’d like to plant dry beans; jacob’s cattle, etc. It is July 21 here in Central Missouri and I’d like to know if there is enough time for this crop before frost. Thanks!
Marilyn
Steelville, Missouri
I think you’re getting pretty late for those. How about planting some bush beans to use as green beans; or plant carrots or turnips? These are all either shorter season or frost-tolerant crops that are more of a sure-harvest. — Jackie
Canning meat
How do you calculate how much meat per jar to prepare? I live in town and have to buy my meat.
Marilyn Kendall
Blue Hill, Nebraska
Mom taught me at an early age “A pint’s a pound the world around!” You’ll never come out exact, but by using this old rhyme, it’ll help. Therefore, if you want to can up five pints of ham, you’ll need about five pounds. The reason you never come out exact is that depending on how you pre-cook or can the meat, you’ll sometimes use more or less jars. That’s why I always have extra jars and lids ready, including a couple of half-pints…so that I can readily fill what is needed and get them to processing quickly. — Jackie
Canning vegetable soup
We can our homemade vegetable soup using mostly fresh vegetables, but use store-canned corn to save fresh corn for other uses. I know that we must pressure the soup for the ingredient that takes the longest—which would be corn—but does this apply when the corn is not fresh but has been previously canned?
Sam Allen
Bessemer City, North Carolina
Yes, this definitely applies! Corn is corn, regardless whether it has been pre-cooked or poured from a store can. You MUST process all recipes for the length of time required for the ingredient that takes the longest time to be safe. — Jackie
Carolyn,
Ooops, yes, you start with a gallon of milk.
Jackie
Carolyn,
If you use store milk, add 1/8 tsp calcium chloride, dissolved in 1/4 C cool water in addition to the rest of the ingredients. Homogenized milk does not make a firm curd, so you add the calcium chloride to get it. You may also have to add up to twice the amount of rennet to get a good curd.
Jackie
Re the cottage cheese: Would I make the cottage cheese exactly the same way with store bought milk? I don’t have access to fresh milk.
I am assuming that you start with a gallon of milk?
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