Canning pesto

Can I can pesto? If so, how to do it?

Ann Hazelett
Litchfield Park, Arizona

Sorry, Ann, but pesto is one food that is (so far) not able to be home canned. Although you would be canning it in small jars, the food is still considered too dense a product to be home canned. — Jackie

Breeding gilts

I was wondering what age do you recommend breeding gilts for the first time? We have two Berkshire gilts that are coming on six months old. Our boar is seven months old. We intend to establish a breeding program with them so what is the best age for the long term? How long do breeding pigs live anyway?

One more question, what de-wormer do you use and when do you recommend using it?

Mia Sodaro
Frazier Park, California

We breed gilts for the first time between 8-10 months of age, depending on the growth and apparent maturity of the gilts. Boars should be 8 months of age before being used for the first time. Sows are usually able to stay in the breeding program for about 5 years after their first litter. They live much longer, but usually their litters begin to decline in numbers of births or the sows become so heavy that they begin laying on and killing their babies.

We use Ivermectin injections just behind the ear, just under the skin if you have a way of restraining the pigs. If not, I’ve had good luck using the Ivermectin paste wormer used for horses, given at twice the horse weight dose, with the paste injected into the center of a filled doughnut or a Twinkie-type filled cake. They take this quite well. Follow up with another dose of either, in two weeks to ensure that any parasite eggs that have hatched are killed before being able to reproduce. We worm three weeks before the gilts/sows farrow. — Jackie

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Dehydrating previously-frozen vegetables

Can you dehydrate vegetables that have been blanched and frozen? We need to open up space in the freezer for more room this summer.

Steve McKinley
Malin, Oregon

Yes, you can, I’ve done it several times after buying frozen veggies on a good sale that I don’t grow in enough bulk yet. They dehydrate well. Just thaw and lay out on the trays, and then treat them like fresh vegetables. — Jackie

Grafting

I have recently been interested in grafting. I think it is a fun and great activity. However, I want to ask your opinion on a more cutting edge sort of neo-grafting I thought up. I’ve researched and have found little to none on grafting jalapeños/peppers. I am familiar with the “rose tree” concept and I have been brain storming about how I can turn that concept into a short tree version of a jalapeño pepper plant. What are your thoughts on this? I have been searching for hours and it doesn’t look like it hasn’t been publicly done.

Mitchell Brown
Vidalia, Georgia

While peppers are, by nature, perennials, you could only graft one pepper to another variety, not a tree rootstock. To tell the truth, I’m not sold on grafting tomatoes, either; I feel it is too much work/expense for the typical homesteader to bother with. If you were growing commercially, maybe… We always get plenty tomatoes and peppers (now that we’re growing peppers in the hoop house). I save my grafting for fruit trees where there’s a definite advantage. — Jackie

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A lot of you have e-mailed for information and said you really want to come, but the spaces are dwindling, and if you do want to join us in May, this would be a good time to send in your deposit so you aren’t disappointed. If you missed the previous announcement of this seminar, feel free to e-mail me for a flyer. It promises to be a good time for all and plenty of information will be flying around here those three days!

Our warm weather’s continuing, and I’ve been canning meat like mad. So much for “energy efficient” ratings on new appliances! We’re having to run our generator way too much and considering the price of gas lately, that’s horrible!

Will has started working on the new barn again, and soon we’ll be able to start screwing down floor boards in the new hay loft. Once the floor is down, we’ll start making trusses for the very top of the roof. How exciting! — Jackie

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Seed potatoes

Do you know of any resources selling True Potato Seeds (TPS)?

Thanks!
Anonymous

Check out Tom Wagner’s website, newworldcrops.com, his business is New World Seeds & Tubers. You can also find True Potato Seed through members of the Seed Savers Exchange. — Jackie

Garlic powder

I am in the middle of making my own garlic powder for the first time from the abundance of garlic from last year. I sliced and dried the garlic and went to ‘powder’ it in my food processor, but I still have significant ‘bits’ along with some of it becoming ‘dust’. Is there a trick to getting it to the powder stage? Thanks a lot for all your great info…definitely a godsend when comes to canning, storing and prepping!

Lisa Basso
St. Paul, Minnesota

What I do is zap a handful in the blender until most has turned to powder. Then I run it through a sieve and re-do the bigger chunks. That does it without over-grinding the first to powder. Don’t do too much at a time. It works better in smaller batches. — Jackie

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New garden area

We are in the process of buying our little homestead. It was previously used for haying. I think the ground has been somewhat depleted and I want to turn a lot of it into good rich grass pasture. What is the quickest/cheapest way to accomplish this? I would love to bring in compost etc. but 20 acres of compost would break the bank.

Name withheld
Seattle, Washington

Sometimes just plowing and seeding a previous hayfield does a lot as the grasses get sod-bound over time. And by planting legumes mixed with grass, such as clover/orchard grass or another such mixture that does well in your area (ask your local feed dealer), you’ll help it out even more as the legumes fix nitrogen into the soil. Then if you get animals on your place, you can stockpile all that manure. Sure you’ll use some on your garden but any extra can be spread on your pasture. Be sure to harrow it in well so the animals don’t turn their noses up at manured crops. If you can’t do this work yourself, you can usually find a neighbor with the equipment who you can pay a reasonable fee for this custom work. It really pays in the end. Enjoy your new homestead! — Jackie

Thanks for video

Just wanted to say thanks for the new video! I always enjoyed those before and was sorry when you had to stop. All of us are always interested in what you’re up to! Yesterday while you all were clearing that meadow I was preparing my lettuce beds!

Jeanne Allie
Storrs, Connecticut

I’m glad you liked the new video. Lettuce! Wow, I’m just planting some in the house. This time of year we get to craving greens — really craving them! I think it’s a sign of spring. — Jackie

Canning butter

How do you can butter, and is it safe? I have read that FDA doesn’t recommend it, but I don’t trust their judgement much. What is your experience with canning butter? I just bought 30 pounds on sale and I would love to try it.

As a side note, is it true that you have never used a pressure cooker to cook meat? You should invest in an electric pressure cooker. I love mine! A frozen roast to fork tender in less than 1½ hours. It is one of my favorite kitchen tools. Even one just on the stove top would work great.

Julie Ann Gale
Ruby Valley, Nevada

Yes, I can butter and have for several years, as have many of my friends. It is not an “approved” practice, however. To can butter, melt it in a saucepan over low heat. Heat it enough to simmer out any remaining buttermilk. Sterilize your wide mouth half pint jars in boiling water, holding them in simmering water until just before you will fill them so they are sterile and very hot. Simmer your butter for 10 minutes, very gently, to drive off any remaining moisture. Stir often to prevent solids from scorching. Remove jars from heat and invert to drain thoroughly. Then turn them over and carefully ladle the hot butter into the jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace. Wipe the rim of the jar, place a hot, previously-simmered lid on the jar and screw the ring down firmly tight. Process the jars in a boiling water bath canner for 60 minutes.

You can keep the moisture from settling to the bottom of the jars by waiting until the jars have cooled some after processing, then shaking them gently to redistribute the moisture. Repeat this every 5 minutes or so as the jars cool completely. Carefully check your seals as the shaking could cause a seal to fail. Refrigerate any jar that doesn’t seal and use soon or reprocess the butter from the melting, onward, all over again with a new lid.

No, I really haven’t ever cooked meat in a pressure cooker and probably will never. Living off grid, I really won’t use an electric one, as I’d have to start the generator just to use it; our battery bank would never handle that load. I’m really, really happy with the way I cook my meat right now, in my wood stove oven. If I’m in a hurry, I just open a jar of canned meat. — Jackie

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Canning rutabagas

I need a canning recipe for rutabagas, hot water bath or pressure canning.

Myrle Barnes
Cottondale, Florida

Sure Myrle, here it is. (It’s also found on page 156 of my book, Growing and Canning Your Own Food.)

Wash, peel, slice, and cube rutabagas. Cover with boiling water and boil 3 minutes to heat throughout. Drain, discarding liquid. Pack hot into hot jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Add ½ tsp. salt to pint jars and 1 tsp. to quarts, if desired. Pour boiling water over rutabagas, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim of jar clean; place hot, previously-simmered lid on jar and screw down ring firmly tight. Process pints for 25 minutes and quarts for 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a pressure canner. If you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet, consult your canning book for directions on increasing your pressure to suit your altitude, if necessary. — Jackie

Age of eggs

My question is about our chickens. They are basically free range, as they decided long ago that they weren’t too keen on the whole hen house idea! Anyway, as free range, while most of the eggs are found in the hen house in the laying boxes, often we find eggs in strange places – our boat, storage buildings with open tops, my front porch! And many other “exciting” places. Generally, when discover a new hiding place, we toss all the eggs – reluctantly, of course. But, today, I discovered a batch of a dozen eggs, and I just can’t bear to throw them out! Living in deep east Texas, our temps have been very mild for winter, and even warm enough some days for shorts & t-shirts (ok, lots of days like that). How can I tell if these eggs are safe to eat or can as pickled eggs – I hate wasting all that food.

Toni McDonald
Jasper, Texas

If these eggs are relatively clean, they are also probably quite fresh. To tell if the eggs are okay to eat, just break them, one by one as you plan on using them, into a cup. You’ll tell if they’re yucky by the look: watery whites and a yolk that is runny. If they are too bad, you can smell them!

I wouldn’t use them for hard boiled or pickled eggs because until you break them open and examine the white and yolk, you can’t tell if they are bad. — Jackie

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Lids not sealing

Just wondering if you, or anyone you know, has had any trouble with Ball lids this past canning season? We bought ours from our local Walmart like we normally do and almost all of our tomatoes went bad. The jars sealed (or seemed to). A friend of ours also bought his lids from the same Walmart and had the same results with his apples. Never had this much trouble before, not sure what to do so it doesn’t happen again!

Monika
Novinger, Missouri

No, I haven’t had any trouble with Ball lids. Did you totally leave the jars alone when they were cooling after processing? A friend of mine started having trouble like yours and I couldn’t figure out what was happening. So I went over to her house the next time she canned tomatoes. Everything was fine until she took them out of the canner and set them on a folded towel to cool. There were minerals in her water, leaving a white film on the jar lids. So she took a towel and wiped off the hot lids. She did two before I stopped her. When the jars cooled, the two that she’d wiped off had failed seals! Never touch the jars after you have taken them out of the canner until they are cool. (Unless you are using Tattler reusable lids and must quickly tighten down the rings as soon as they are taken out of the canner.) Also, did you keep your lids in hot, previously boiled water before filling your jars? Sometimes folks take shortcuts and only dip the lids in hot water and the compound doesn’t soften enough for the lids to completely seal — Jackie

Storing water

I just subscribed to the Kindle version of the magazine. I’m excited to learn more and more! Right now my question is about water emergency supplies. I see online that it is possible to purchase canned water. I’m wondering if it is possible to can water in large mason jars at home. It would be a good way to have some small containers of clean water easily on hand.

Linda Tooley
North Bend, Oregon

Yes, you can can water if you wish, but it’s really not necessary to process it because clean, potable water, stored in clean glass jars will stay good for years. Most folks opt to change their stored water every year, however, for the best taste. If you wish to can water, just pour boiling water into clean jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace, place a new, previously simmered lid on the jar and tighten down the ring firmly tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.

Welcome to Backwoods Home Magazine! — Jackie

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Cooking turkey in a pressure cooker

I recently got a lot of frozen turkeys for Christmas and in our family we only care for the white meat. Rather than waste the dark I wanted to can it with carrots and celery as a soup starter. I wanted to cook the whole thawed turkey in a pressure cooker but I am not sure if it would work. Would it make the bones soft and crumbly, or would it work fine? I figured if it was pressure cooked it would take less time then the oven and the breast meat wouldn’t be dry. Any help would be appreciated in this turkey troubles.

Lisa Kukla
Kingsley, Michigan

To tell the truth, I’ve never cooked in a pressure cooker. What I do is to only partially roast the turkey. Then cool it and remove the meat. Boil the carcass to get your broth and pack the meat in jars and pour the boiling broth over the turkey. If you wish to add seasonings or vegetables, do it before pouring in the boiling broth. Your meat won’t end up dry and you’ll love your canned turkey. We, too, prefer the white meat, but I sure do use a whole lot of the dark meat in soups, turkey and dumplings, and casseroles! Good canning! — Jackie

Planting fruit trees

We are planning a move to my parents’ land. They have 5 acres with a large pond. The ground has a lot of clay. We want to plant fruit trees (peach, apple, orange, etc.). Only issue, where should we plant them? Near the pond or far from it? How far apart should the trees be planted from each other? What do you think about the ground? Should better soil be brought in?

Leigh Ann Mitchell
Cypress, Texas

Whether or not you plant your trees, or some of them near the pond depends on how wet the soil is in that area. Some ponds are located in low areas that are prone to wet ground. Fruit trees do not like “wet feet.” Smaller fruit trees, such as plum, peach, apricot, semi-dwarf apples, and pie cherry can be planted 15 feet apart in all directions. Larger maturing trees, such as standard apples need more room; 25 to 30 feet is about right. Be sure that apples do well in your new area. Most have chilling requirements in order to produce fruit, and if you can grow oranges, that would be something I’d check on. Ask the neighbors and the County Extension Agent.

As for the ground being heavy with clay, you can dig a much larger hole for each tree then amend the soil with well-rotted compost and black dirt to make the ground beneath your new trees more tree-friendly.

Backwoods Home Magazine will be running one of my articles you may want to watch for on growing a backyard orchard. I’m sure that will answer many of your questions. Congratulations on your new homestead! — Jackie

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