Strangely, suddenly, it’s spring, even though it’s only March in northern Minnesota. I’m sure we’ll have more snow and blustery weather, but it’s in the high 40s, not 20s, and nearly all our snow and ice is gone. So while I’ve been in the house transplanting hundreds of little (and not so little!) tomatoes, peppers, and petunias, Will has been busy outside.

Today he uncovered our strawberry bed, taking the wet straw down to the garden’s edge, piling it near the plum and cherry trees. After we clean up the rocks, we’ll use the used mulch that kept the strawberries cozy all winter around the base of the trees to keep down weeds. Now he’s busy building a furrower out of a junk plow from a neighbor’s scrap pile, some steel, and rod. The furrower will go on our tractor’s 3-point hitch so we can quickly make furrows for our new 250 strawberry and 100 asparagus plants. That would be a lot of holes to dig by hand, and a furrow would make quick work of it. We’re excited over the prospect, and I’ll keep you posted.

Readers’ Questions:

Deer Fencing

I hope you are getting some much needed rest. Taking care of an ill loved one is challenging and exhausting. I am a nurse who worked in a nursing home and understand your concerns about placing your mom in a facility and not continuing to care for her at home. Life is a challenge and my heart goes out to you.

Deb Motylinski
Brecksville, Ohio

We used 8′ long steel T posts with 6′ 2″x4″ welded wire fastened to it. We figured that IF the deer jumped that, we’d wire poles to that, with chicken wire up another three feet. It has never been necessary, as we’ve not had one deer in the garden, even though we have tons of deer in the area. Oh, yes, I did; I left the gate open one afternoon, and in went a young doe! She went OUT much faster!

Our fence is not electrified. And we did not put wire underground. I deter rodents with our dog, Spencer, and a .22 rifle. Both work very well.

Right now, our “gates” consist of wire that we pull open and hook closed. We will be building pole and wire gates this year that are both easier to handle, and look much nicer.

I’ve found that deer really aren’t as bad as one hears, providing that the garden/orchard are fenced well with “real” fence, instead of “alternative methods” of deer control, such as sprays, short fences, electric wire, etc. I’ve used ‘em all and still had deer in the garden. Once we fenced with 6′ high welded wire, that was that and life is SO much easier! — Jackie

Dehydrating cooked rice

I’m experimenting with dehydrating cooked rice. I’ve never heard of making your own “converted” rice, but it seems to be working. I cooked a batch of Jasmine rice, rinsed it well in cool water, drained it and put it on dehydrator sheets. Have you ever tried doing this or heard of a recipe?

Also, a question about canned salmon: do you have to boil it for 10 minutes (or more) when it’s prepared according to the recipe in “Self-Reliance,” page 80? I’ve wondered also about home canned meats that are baked, do they need boiling first before using in a recipe?

Flora Marie Stone
Greenfield, Indiana

Yes, you can dehydrate cooked rice, just like you are doing.

Home canned foods just need to be brought and held to “boiling temperature” for 10 minutes before eating. This can be boiling, steaming, roasting, or baking in a casserole, etc.

I’ve never talked to anyone who had luck dehydrating cheese at home; the fat beads the shreads and they get greasy, then go rancid. I’ve tried it myself, with yucky results. Sorry. I DO love my cheeses! — Jackie

Canning chicken noodle soup and milk

These two questions are about canning. I tried canning chicken noodle soup the other day and added a half a handful of noodles as it said in your book. But when they came out they were weird… the noodles were a semi-solid blob of mush at the bottom of the jar. The whole jars are cloudy and murky looking with mush at the bottom. What did I do wrong?

Angela Billings
Stronghurst, Illinois

Some noodles do that. I’d advise using the thicker “homemade-type” ones, instead of regular store noodles. But even the “yucky” looking noodles, when stirred up gently, make a tasty soup.

Not having been with you when you canned your milk, I don’t know what went wrong, but a lot of people routinely can up milk and have it turn out fine. I’d just give it another try, following directions. Who knows, you may have mis-read them or something. That happens to all of us one time or another. — Jackie

Bulk canning lids

Do you know of a good source for buying bulk canning lids?

Linda
Dorris, California

Unfortunately, no. I buy mine at our local dollar store for $1.00 a dozen (regular lids), and our local farm store on sale, for the wide mouth lids. I usually get the wide mouth lids for about $1.89 a dozen, which is cheaper than most other places. But I DO watch for the sale! Any readers have a better idea? — Jackie

Antibiotics for the first aid kit

…I was wondering about what we can use for antibiotics for our first aid kit that we have been making. If a situation happens, and one is unable to see a doctor, can one use animal antibiotics and if so how do you determine the dose?

Meredith Wendt
Rockford, Illinois

I’ll probably get hate mail for this, but yes, in a dire emergency, one can use “animal” antibiotics, such as penicillin, for human use. Most “animal” antibiotics are simply “human” antibiotics with a veterinary label. As dosage for animal use varies by body weight, so you would choose your dose for human use, by body weight. Again, only use this in a dire emergency situation, where no doctor is available. It’s also a good idea to have a vial of injectable epinephrine available, in case of rare, but possibly fatal, shock. — Jackie

Storing pecans

I have 12 pecan trees on my property and most years I get more pecans than I need. I crack and shell as much as I can and put them in the freezer where they will keep for a long time. But what about unshelled pecans? Can they be kept for a long time? I don’t want to put them in the freezer. Where should they be kept and how long will they keep?

Tom Hutyra
West, Texas

Unshelled nuts will usually keep for several months in cool, dry storage. But they won’t keep a long time before the nut meat shrivels and gets hard. How about doing your big batch, then slowly pecking away at the leftovers and canning them up? My friend Junita Saunders, down in New Mexico, and I used to get together and shell and can pecans all winter. It was fun, we weren’t “under the gun” to get ‘em done, and we got to visit a whole bunch. I’m still eating pecans from six years back! — Jackie

Canning pork and beans with franks

Can you, and if so, how do you can pork and beans with franks?

Bo Suddueth
Jacksonville, Florida

It’s easy. Just make up a big batch of your favorite pork and beans, using chopped franks as the “pork.” Don’t bake it till done, just until thoroughly hot. Then pack it in pint jars, leaving 1 inch of headspace. Process at 10 pounds pressure for 75 minutes in a pressure canner. (If you live at an altitude over 1,000 feet, check your canning book for directions on increasing your pressure to suit your altitude, if necessary.)

Two handy, all around catalogs for equipment/supplies are Lehmans Hardware and Northern Tool. I also love Murray McMurray for poultry stuff and Hoeggers for goat supplies. — Jackie

Thank all of you for your prayers and good wishes for Mom and us too. She is doing a little better, but I had to place her in a nursing home Friday. She just got so weak that I couldn’t handle getting her up, dressing, toileting, etc. She is also very fuzzy mentally, and I was getting high blood pressure and chest pains from the worry and stress of being up nights. It was a very, very hard decision for me. I’m hoping that she will get a little better and be able to come home from time to time to enjoy her flowers and the homestead.

Will has been working on our haying equipment. He finished repairing the wheel rake we got with our old New Holland baler and now has the hay wagon back in the shop, cutting the 2×6s (that we saved from that old mobile home), painting them with oil preservative and getting ready to screw them down to the frame. It’s looking very nice!

Meanwhile, I’m transplanting baby plants in the greenhouse. Since we will plant them out in the garden in late April in Wall o’ Water plant protectors, I start my pepper and tomato seeds earlier than I would if I were setting them out after our last spring frost date…June 16th! This year our plants look great. And so far, I’ve spent two days potting peppers, tomatoes, and petunias into 20 oz. styrofoam cups, with holes poked in the bottom. This lets us only transplant once, planting in the garden directly out of the cups. I reuse the cups and the plants seem to love them. Gee! I’m running out of “sunny windows.”

But boy do those plants look fantastic. And today it was 52 degrees. Our snow is going fast; I wish the MUD was too. I’m getting anxious to at least walk in the garden. And also to see how the orchard trees are doing. Maybe tomorrow after I run in to see Mom.

Readers’ Questions:

Tiny eggs

We have 14 hens of all different breeds. We are getting about a dozen eggs a day right now. The hens will be a year in May. We have 6 hens that I believe are Hamburg Chickens. My question is, we are getting two very tiny eggs from this breed. They are not laying daily, but when they do there is no yolk in these eggs and they are very very tiny, Will these eggs get bigger? So far its been a month and the eggs are NOT getting bigger.

Stephanie
Kinsey, Montana

These no yolk eggs are most often found in pullets who are just beginning to lay. But they can occur in any hen, regardless of age or breed. They are simply a “warp” in the hen’s reproductive process and are nothing to be concerned about. — Jackie

Preserving meat with salt

I would like to know about preserving meat by salting it. Is it safe with any kind of meat? Is there a special kind of salt that you use? How is the meat generally prepared afterwards? How long does it generally take to dry the meat…and how long will it generally last once it is dried?

Joy Goepfert
Alba, Missouri

Although people long ago did preserve meat and fish by salting it down, I don’t recommend it today. First of all, the food, even when soaked to de-salt it before eating, remains very salty. This is just not good for us. Then, there is no way of knowing if the meat is sufficiently salted so that it (or parts of it) doesn’t spoil. My own grandmother salted down Montana whitefish when a flood left them high and dry in their pasture. She worked hard for 24 hours, cleaning and salting down all those fish. And every one spoiled on her! Better to can that meat, rather than salt it. — Jackie