I have your cookbook and want to try canning some milk. Have you ever done it in smaller quantities than quarts? I was thinking I’d like to do half-pints. I think that’s a quantity that would be more useful and less wasteful for me. If so, what adjustments to the time and pressure do you make?
Nancy Saucier Picayune, Mississippi
I would process the half-pints for the same length of time (10 minutes) and pressure (10 pounds) as quarts. I’ve done pints like this and they turned out fine. I’ve not done half-pints though. Let us know how they do. — Jackie
All male blossoms on squash
I have grown winter squash in the past, including Hopi Pale Gray. This year I planted banana squash. It is growing well with lots of blossoms already. However, it appears that all the blossoms are male. I have had this problem before. Last time I planted winter squash, I didn’t get a single squash, although there were lots of blossoms (all male, of course). The plants look healthy, but they don’t seem to be setting female blossoms. I planted this year in a different garden than in the past…it has quite fertile soil. The temperature here in the Phoenix area has not yet been that hot. Today it’s 96 degrees, and it hasn’t yet been over 103. Any suggestions? Is there something I can do force the plant into producing female blossoms. I’m at a loss with this one, and I’d love to have some winter squash this year. Could it be my seeds? The last time I planted with no female blossoms was also banana squash.
Dallen Timothy Gilbert, Arizona
Squash vines respond to stress by producing only male flowers. This stress may be heat, drought, or infertility. Crowding is another cause often seen when folks buy squash plants from a nursery that are too large. Squash seeds should only be planted in a pot four or five weeks before being set into the ground outside. Most nurseries like to sell much larger, even blooming, plants. And these large plants are rootbound, which causes stress. Some things you can do to encourage your squash to set female blossoms (so you get fruit!) are to surround the plant with several inches of rotted manure. Then be sure to water your plants every two days, making sure they get an inch of water each time. Soaker hoses are a big help here. It’s amazing how much squash likes water while actively growing.
It’s not your seeds. Hopefully, these tips will correct your problem. In the meantime, pick a few young male blossoms, dip them in batter, and fry them. They’re delicious and reducing the number of male flowers encourages the vine to produce female blossoms. Don’t overdo it to be sure you have enough male blossoms to pollinate the female flowers. — Jackie
We’ve been having a real rainy mid-May with flash flood warnings on the weather radio nearly every day. Luckily when we picked out our homestead land it was on high ground with absolutely no flood danger. And our gravelly garden drains so well that even after an inch of rain, we can let it dry out a day and till it. If the tiller’s not broken!
Luckily, Will got the parts he needed for our Troy-Bilt Horse Tiller and spent a dry day putting it back together. Then in the evening he took it out and gave her a try. It worked perfectly!! Then it rained. And rained again. Still raining!
With my knee healing but not so hot yet, I went down to Duluth to my sister’s house to pick up some of the Soil and Water Conservation trees she had ordered to split with us and my son, Bill. We got Hansen Bush Cherries, Wild Plums, Highbush Cranberries, and a few Mountain Ash for the birds. On the way down and back, I stopped at Byrn’s Greenhouse in Zim (way out in the boonies!) and bought some plants too! It’s a wonderful place with beautiful plants and great prices. (Okay, I filled the back of the Subaru!) I got two honeyberries for Will. My daughter sent me $20 for Mother’s Day to buy plants with so I bought a hardy pink rose. Then I bought a few perennials and some pansies for the flower bed. I could have brought the whole place home if I’d have won Powerball! When it quits raining, we’ll get ‘em all planted.
Our beautiful milk cow, Lace, just calved today. Unfortunately it was another big bull calf — white with just a little red roan on the edges of his ears. We so wanted it to be a heifer. Oh well, at least he is healthy.
We had a couple cancel for our Homesteading Seminar in August because of health problems, so there are two more spots available if any of you would like to attend. Just e-mail me at jackie@backwoodshome.com and I’ll send you a flyer. — Jackie
Christian had been planning on attending our seminar. But when he was suddenly faced with a housing screw-up, we invited him to join us for however long he wished to stay. Will and I had been talking about the possibility of taking an apprentice for a few weeks during the summer but had not reached a decision; we don’t have time to babysit a person who doesn’t know how to work or want to bother to learn. But Will had previously shared an apartment with Christian while both worked out in teaching positions, so he knew him well and the decision was easily and quickly made. We’re so fortunate to have this energetic, pleasant young man here on the homestead. Today he and Will are hauling rotted manure onto our orchard where they are spreading it around all of the trees and bush cherries while I do less interesting but knee-healing appropriate stuff indoors. (Bah! Humbug!) The knee still hurts like crazy but is getting better every day. I can even sleep at night with little pain.
And I’m watching our cow, Lace, as she is building a huge bag prior to calving. I wonder if I could talk her into lying on her back to milk her? What a beautiful cow! We are so glad we finally got her bred! Hopefully next time won’t be so trying.
We’re wanting to get onions in the garden but the tiller broke down a couple days ago. The wheels turned but the tines wouldn’t and it seemed bound up. Will tore it apart. The gear and bearings that turn the tines were worn, shot, and torn up. Luckily, we found a place online that had parts (Partstree.com) and we quickly ordered them. They’re on the way so we’re waiting and doing other things while we wait. That’s homesteading! — Jackie
Okay I’m a bum, but, hey, I had knee surgery on Thursday. I overdid it on Friday, moving tomatoes and peppers out onto our enclosed porch. So Friday was a pain (literally!). And I did follow Doctor’s orders; he gave me no restrictions, just do what my knee would let me. I had two tears in my meniscus, so I guess the repair took a bit more than we talked about prior to the surgery. Luckily we castrated baby pigs and disbudded the goats before the surgery! At any rate, I’m real lucky to have a homesteader husband who took over all the chores with no grousing. So he’s been extra busy! Today, my knee feels some better so I have hopes that in a few days I can get back at it again. I don’t do “sitting around” real well!
All of a sudden, everything is turning green. Our garlic and chives are up and pretty. Even the yard looks green again. Our flower bulbs are popping up and some are even blooming. Boy, does that cheer us up after all that snow.
We’re starting to get trees and shrubs that we ordered this spring: Evans Bali pie cherries, Crimson Jewel bush cherries, Hansen bush cherries, two plums, and a pear to start off with. Our orchard looks great and the trees are swelling with buds. I can hardly wait for blooms. But last night it was 22 degrees so I hope they wait awhile so we get fruit this year! — Jackie
Can I pressure can a casserole into pint jars for individual servings? I’ve searched BHM archives, as well as the Internet, and there is precious little regarding casseroles. Any advice or sources would be greatly appreciated. Also interested in pressure canning desserts… any advice?
Michelle Howard Mission Viejo, California
Unfortunately, most casseroles contain noodles, macaroni, or rice and when you can recipes with these as ain ingredients, they clump up and swell when pressure canned (which is necessary). When canned this way, they become one of those dense foods which are not recommended for canning due to the fact that sufficient heat may not reach the center of the jar long enough to kill possible bacteria. The casserole would also become pasty and not pretty. So we skip canning them; freezing is a better option.
Same with most desserts; sorry.
I can up the main ingredients of both and then quickly combine them and bake. It doesn’t take all that long and makes a much nicer food on the table. — Jackie
Hopi Pale Grey seeds
I got some of the Hopi Pale Grey Squash seeds and I have taken only 3 of them to try to get them to sprout, using the wet paper towel method — all they are doing is molding. What in the world am I doing wrong? Perhaps I should have just straight away planted them in dirt — I’m hoarding the others until I get it right.
By the way, tell Will — great going on the rock backing behind the stove/heater. Looks wonderful.
Wanda Laurel, Maryland
When seeds mold in the wet paper towels, you have the towel too wet. You just want it damp, not wet. I’d just wait until it’s time and plant the seeds outside. I’ve done germination tests on my seeds before I sent them out and they all germinated well. All the best of luck with your squash!
Will says “thanks.” It’s been a job but it should be done soon. — Jackie
Treated lumber for raised beds
My mother made a raised flower bed many years ago, probably 25-35 years ago. She used treated lumber to line the bed. This lumber is very old and falling apart and the garden bed needs some nitrogen. In your opinion would it be safe to plant tomatoes and peppers in that spot? Have enough years gone by to get rid of any bad chemicals in the soil? We plan on using cedar posts where the lumber was.
Becky Ankeny, Iowa
I’ve studied this problem a lot over the years. And most scientific studies show that the arsenic that was found in treated lumber does leach into the soil…mostly in the first year following installation. But it doesn’t move far from the lumber. And, over the years, the natural leaching due to summer rains and snow melt further lessens the amounts found in the soil. Even when freshly installed, only root crops have been found to take up the arsenic present in the beds. Because of the POSSIBLE toxicity, manufacturers have stopped using arsenic in treated lumber. (It was initially used as an insecticide.) The other chemicals, copper and chromium, are not toxic when ingested in small amounts.
Personally, I wouldn’t worry a bit, although I would remove all of the rotted lumber and the soil right near the edge of the beds that was in contact with the treated lumber. Non-root crops, such as tomatoes and peppers, will do fine and should pose no health risk. — Jackie
With temperatures in the high sixties and not freezing at night, our three feet of snow has been melting fast. And yesterday for the first time this spring, I walked in our orchard. How nice that was! All of our trees look great with no winter kill that I can see. But there were vole tunnels made of dead grass that used to be underneath the snow. We never saw a vole all winter, but they were down there anyway. Luckily, we had wrapped screen around all of our fruit trees so they didn’t eat the bark on one of them. Whew!
Now that the sun is out, we are nuts to get started with all we have to do. Early this morning, Will set in another layer of rock on the wall behind the wood stove. It’s nearly up as high as it’ll go and we’re getting excited. I think it looks great. Once it’s done all the way up, he just has to go back and fill in the spaces between the rocks with mortar and finish it off.
Then this afternoon, our friend Erik came over and he and Will started laying up more sheets of metal on the barn roof. We had seven long sheets, left over from fall when the snow had halted their work. So up they went! They did have to trim two inches off the sheets so Will now knows the exact measurement for the next order. When we get the cash…
But the barn’s looking good! And because the snow’s melting and the ground’s drying, pretty soon we’ll be able to start cutting boards with our little Hud-Son portable bandsaw mill. We still have some to cut for the hay loft floor, then more for the side walls. We’ll have enough boards for the front porch roof too. The only cost now will be more decking for the floor, and then the shingles and water shield for the roof. And we do have two bundles of shingles left over from the addition. I’m getting pretty excited to have it getting that far toward DONE.
Ahhh, isn’t spring great? (Oh, I do have to have surgery on my knee, but it is supposed to be minor and heal quickly to a pain-free normal knee. I can’t wait to get that over with and get on with gardening.) — Jackie
But we still have tons of snow on the ground — several feet! And mud and water running everywhere. Will’s been working on the rock wall behind the living room stove every day, knowing nice weather’s just around the corner. So far, he’s used 14 bags of mortar mix, and lots of rocks. I think it looks great. Imagine how much warmth those rocks and the concrete will hold next winter.
Meanwhile, I’ve been transplanting tomatoes and peppers like mad. I do them in Styrofoam cups. So far I’ve gotten three or four years’ worth of use out of the same cups.
But it’s been challenging because my left knee’s been giving me a lot of pain these last few weeks. I finally wimped out and got an X-ray and saw the orthopedic specialists in the nearby town of Virginia. Good news is that my knee won’t ever have to be replaced; it’s in great shape. Bad news is that I may have a torn ligament. Had an MRI this morning so we’ll see. Hopefully, it’s just inflamed and will go ahead and heal. I’ve got LOTS to do this spring and hate gimping around on it. It sure tires one out! If it is a torn ligament, the doctor said it’s a quick, easy fix and will heal fast. Considering the active lifestyle I’ve lived all my life, I guess I can expect a glitch here and there. I’m sure not complaining. — Jackie
I was wondering what type of potting soil that you used, and where do you get it. I just tried Home Depot for Pro-Mix and they do not carry it. Is that the kind that you use? And I was going to put my tomatoes into containers. What would I use for that?
Debby Helena, Montana
Check a local greenhouse/nursery for Pro-Mix. I used to get mine in Helena at the greenhouse out past the turn to the VA hospital (Ft. Harrison). Can’t remember the name; it’s on the right side; big place. I use it for transplanting seedlings, too. — Jackie
Drying up a cow
Our Jersey cow is pregnant and ready to calve the end of May. We have been trying to dry her up for a month and she just isn’t. Some days we are milking some of the milk out of her, like 2 qts a day just to relieve her some as she gets so full. Is there something I am missing on doing this? What else should I do? She normally gives us about 3 gallons a day, sometimes more but we thought we should dry her up so the baby could develop better since she is due fairly soon. This is only her second calf.
Jackie S.
To dry a cow off, just stop milking her. It’s the back-pressure of the milk that causes her to stop producing it. If you keep milking her, even a little, she’ll keep producing. She needs a rest and time to produce colostrum for her next calf. She sounds like a nice cow! — Jackie
