Stringless pole beans

Every time I have grown pole green beans they have a lot of strings in the pod. I sure would like to have suggestions on a kind that is stringless.

Gail Erman
Palisade, Colorado

There are many stringless green pole beans. My favorite is Cherokee Trail of Tears (available through Baker Creek, among others). It starts out purple striped, but any purple goes away when you cook or can them. Other stringless varieties include Blue Lake Stringless, Fortex, and Kentucky Wonder. Be sure to give your pole beans plenty of water while they are filling out the pods and then pick them before the seeds get fat to have absolutely tender, stringless beans. — Jackie

Pressure cookers not made for canning

I have a 4-quart electric pressure cooker. I also have a large Mirro pressure canner to do large batch canning in. The electric pressure cooker has hi & low options. I wanted to use it for small batch canning. I did 4 pints kidney beans at low pressure for 75 mins & they sealed. Should I have used the hi pressure option instead? I just thought hi would turn the beans to mush.

Chris Stierwalt
Paragon, Indiana

Pressure cookers are really not made for canning. They are made for cooking meals. Better to use the canner for even small batches. If it’s too large to be handy, maybe you could pick up a smaller one, even a used one at a yard sale? — Jackie

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Meals in a jar

Is there a meals in a jar cookbook? New here and haven’t heard. Also, is there a “how to” book on planting heirloom veggies for planting in the South?

Cathy Thompson
Cherokee, Iowa

There are many meals-in-a-jar recipes to can in my book Growing and Canning Your Own Food. Most only require dumping out into a pan and heating for 15 minutes. This book covers planting and growing vegetables, fruits, and even raising meat animals! It also covers how to process and preserve all of these. I hope it will help you. A lot of folks say they can’t do without it. — Jackie

Storing homemade pasta

I am looking to make and dry my own pasta like spaghetti. I found lots of recipes for pasta but none of them store without going bad.

Alissa Holmes
Morganfield, Kentucky

Dry your homemade pasta VERY well and it should store as well as commercial pasta. Some homemade pasta is very thick and people don’t get it dry enough before trying to store it. Be sure it is dry, then store it in an airtight container. If you notice the slightest bit of condensation on the under side of the lid, immediately remove and dry several days longer. — Jackie

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I usually begin making out seed orders before this, but because I’ve been so busy, it just hasn’t happened. I have to start planting peppers the second week of February so they’ll be ready to go out into the hoop house in early May. I’ve made out orders for a few new peppers and tomatoes that we’re going to try this year. We do that every year and always discover new “favorites,” often among old heritage varieties. I’ve got a pile of seed catalogs around my chair that would bury an elephant! How much fun. But there’s so much difference in price, seed count, and shipping that it’s gotten to be a chore, too. I used to buy a lot from Johnny’s, but their shipping got so high that I could no longer afford it.

I forgot that I’d promised to show a photo of my favorite Vietnamese market basket. Sorry guys. So here it is. I totally love it! And it’s more than 30 years old too. I can carry it on my head (soft enough to conform), to keep the weight from hurting my back, I can rinse vegetables like carrots, right in the basket and they drain dry in minutes. It fits in my large sink so I can rinse green beans and lettuce right in the kitchen. If you can find one, buy it! — Jackie

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Dirty windows

Saw the post on dirty windows. I clean them for a living. Good advice. My brew is approximately 1 gallon water ½-1 cup ammonia and 3 Tbsp. liquid Joy. Make sure that the scrubber hasn’t see fabric softener (solvent) and if using a squeegee that the rubber is new, most people NEVER replace this! If a towel to wipe off, again no fabric softener. A clean little secret for a dirty little job.

Kathy Suhr
Sedro Woolley, Washington

Thanks Kathy! Good tips from someone in the know. — Jackie

Wallo’ Waters

I was wondering if you ever leave the Wallo’ Waters in place after the tomatoes grow up through them. The directions on the bag say to fill them and leave them around the plants all season. I have been pulling them off when the weather is stable. Just wondering if you have experimented with this.

Mia Sodaro
Frazier Park, California

You know, I tried that one year, as an experiment. No, I don’t leave them on. What happens is that the tomato vines grow so big and rank that you can’t remove the Wall, even in the fall. And the branches dry and can damage them before you take them off. Plus add photo-degradation and you have a mess. Nope, I pull them when the plant has grown above the edge and no more frost is possible. — Jackie

We purchased some of the Wallo’ Waters for earlier planting this year. This is our first time to use them. We will be putting them out in a couple of weeks to warm the ground prior to planting. The winds toward the end of February and into March here can be quite strong. My question is: How do you keep them standing erect in wind? Are there any pointers you can give us to ensure our success this first time? (The photo in your canning book of your Wallo’ Waters was indeed an inspiration to us.)

Gwen Cantrell
Dallas, Texas

Wallo’ Waters stand up to the wind pretty darned good. Their shape, which is a basic cone, wide at the base and narrow at the top, allows them to take even storm winds without toppling. If they should dump, simply put them back up and re-fill them. They are wonderful and you need no further tips; they are very easy to use and will give you great success. Keep us posted! — Jackie

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Canning pea soup and cleaning chicken eggs

I have 2 questions:
#1. I just canned some green pea soup. I followed the directions on-line for canning dried beans. My beans ended up in the bottom of the quarts in a solid glob. Are they safe to eat? I know you talk about noodles/rice and dense food. They all sealed and I have been able to shake some of the solid mass.

#2. I read online that if your fresh eggs have chicken feces on them you should discard them. That it has already contaminated the egg and no amount of washing will clean it. Jackie just about all my eggs are like that. Is it safe to keep eating them?

Ramona Berry
Newberry, South Carolina

I wouldn’t be afraid to eat your pea soup. The peas remain in solution with the liquid during processing, but when they cool, they settle into a glob; they have sufficiently heated during processing first.

You can read about anything online! Wash your eggs and don’t worry. The only way the poop could possibly contaminate the egg would be if it were cracked. What do you think commercial egg factories do with eggs with chicken poop on them? To keep your own eggs cleaner, use shavings in the nest boxes and also on your coop floor so the hens feet don’t pick up poop when they hop into the boxes to lay. Clean feet make for cleaner eggs! — Jackie

Hamburger rocks

Have you ever made hamburger rocks? (Dehydrated hamburger) If so, how safe is it to store and use? I’ve never dehydrated meat before but am thinking of trying it.

Glo Diliberto
Insinger, SK Canada

I haven’t made hamburger rocks. But I have dehydrated a lot of other meat. Choose hamburger that is very low fat so the fat doesn’t get rancid and you’ll be fine. Give it a try and see how you like the results. — Jackie

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I spoke three days on subjects such as backyard fruit growing, canning meat, meals in a jar, and herbs in small spaces. People were very interested and after each workshop, there were plenty of questions. In fact, I answered questions for nearly an hour after most classes! It was fun and we shared a lot of information. When I wasn’t speaking, I got to attend some other workshops and I learned a lot, too! Good food and good people made for a great time.

Now I’m all primed for our first on-homestead seminar here, in May! (There still are a few spots so e-mail if you’d like more information.)

Today I’m kind of whipped from all the hurrying at the airports, sitting and sitting…and sitting waiting for connections. But I’m sure I’ll have more energy tomorrow. It was sure good to get home to my family and my own beddie! — Jackie

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Brooding chicks off-grid

Years ago I raised lots of day-old chicks using a heat lamp to brood them. I want to get back to poultry now that I am retired but my homestead is off grid. Any Ideas other than running the generator many hours and charging batteries to provide heat during the night. Solar is in the future but not in time for a May start on chicks. Would a low btu propane heater work.

Howard Brewi
Valdez, Alaska

We used a propane heater to brood our chicks in the house (in our sunroom/greenhouse). At first, we needed it on all day and night, but as the temperatures warmed up, we found that the chicks were comfortable with the heater off, as long as the house was reasonably warm (wood heat and sunshine through our big windows). We did keep a small CFL burning over the stock tank we used to prevent picking and also to prevent piling up after the heater was not used at night. I’m posting a photo of our setup to help give you more ideas. It CAN be done! — Jackie

Pickled okra

Asking for my sister…She has pickled okra that the seals are turning loose on. They have been stored in her pantry with no extreme temp changes and nothing stacked on top. They were canned this past summer, however, in the last two weeks the lids have started pinging and turning loose. Any ideas as to the possible cause and would the vinegar keep it safe to eat or should the contents be thrown out?

Becky in Alabama

I don’t know why your sister’s pickled okra jars are having seals that are failing, as I don’t know how she processed it, etc. But if the jars are having pinging lids that are releasing, something is wrong! No, I wouldn’t eat the okra. It’s the old saying “when in doubt, throw it out.” It hurts when it’s your home canned food, but take it as a learning experience and try to figure out what went wrong and follow tried recipes to can it next time. Don’t let one failure throw you! It happens to all beginners at one point or another. — Jackie

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Garden seeds

I have a question about your garden seeds. I’m trying to have almost everything heirloom, but it’s almost impossible isn’t it if you don’t want your squash, cucumbers and other plants to cross pollinate? Do you plant some hybrids for this reason? Also do hybrids store better in a root cellar than heirloom? One last question- can I save my potatoes from last summer to plant this coming summer if there are some left-they are heirloom.

Jacqueline Wieser
Sidney, Nebraska

Growing nearly everything in the garden from open pollinated seeds IS possible with a little thought. For instance, only plant one variety of cucumber, bean, pepper, etc. Some crops, such as tomatoes and beans are pretty much self-pollinating, so you can just separate the varieties by several feet and still raise pure seeds. Pumpkins and squash have different varieties in each of the four common species. By choosing only one of each to save seeds from, you can still grow a big variety of them and still raise pure seed. I’d suggest you take a look at my article in BHM, Saving Seeds, which is in Issue 129 (May/June 2011) for more detailed information.

No, hybrids do not store better. My all-time totally best storing vegetable still remains my wonderful Hopi Pale Grey squash. I have one right now, sitting on the floor in our greenhouse, that was harvested in the fall of 2010 and it is still hard and plump! This is NOT unusual.

Yes, you can save your own seed potatoes as long as the potatoes showed no signs of disease when growing or upon harvesting. — Jackie

Acorn bread

I came across your wonderful article on acorn bread. I have a question. Do you have a recipe for making acorn bread without any other form of flour? If not, in your opinion do you think it would be possible to make bread with just acorn flour. I have about 3 cups ready to go and I’ve been looking around for this type of recipe.

Christy Adamucci
New Jersey

You really can’t make acorn bread without any flour. Native Americans would make acorn “cakes” with no flour by mixing a little fat and ash (tastes similar to salt) and patting them into fat tortilla-like cakes and baking them on hot stones. Without the flour, acorn bread will not rise and the “bread” will be VERY dense, indeed. I’d use a recipe that included flour and leavening, whether baking powder or yeast. Some Native Americans used a recipe that included both acorn flour and cornmeal, but again, that was patted into cakes and baked, making a very dense, yet tasty food. — Jackie

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