Our carpenter friend, Tom, was here yesterday, working on our latest addition to the house, which will be a living room and entryway, including a small laundry room. It looked stormy all evening, but as he was packing to leave, we walked out of the house and saw REAL scary looking clouds just east of us. There was one ugly green one that dropped a big white cylinder-shaped cloud that called our attention. There was actually rotation to it and the outside kept pulling up into the cloud above.

We looked north, toward Cook, and saw big black clouds with plenty of lightening and two big white sheets of precipitation dropping toward the ground; hail! Hail: the gardener’s dreaded enemy, right behind frost.

Would we get sucked up in a tornado? Or would our garden get wiped out by hail? I turned on the weather radio to keep track of the storm. We continued to watch our tornado in the making thing; it was heading slowly to the south. Tom left and I did chores, keeping an eye on both storms.

Later on I heard that there WAS a tornado, or several of them. One was 15 miles away at Sand Lake and the other about the same distance south of us at Buhl. Neither did any damage, fortunately. There was also hail, but we didn’t get any of that, either. This time! Whew! Sometimes Mother Nature is sweet and gentle, but sometimes, she plays hard and for keeps. It’s the challenge that keeps us on our toes, I think.

Readers’ questions:

Canning meat

I have started canning for the first time. Yesterday, I canned deboned chicken in my new pressure canner. It looks like two of my jars leaked some liquid during the processing, but the lids look like they’re tightly sealed. However, about a half inch of meat at the top is not covered with liquid. Is this okay or do I need to add more liquid and reprocess? I also read where you can your own ground meat. Do you add liquid to it after packing it in the jar? If so, what kind of liquid?

Pam Dietz
Eunice, Louisiana

Congratulations, Pam, good job! No worries on the chicken. It’s quite common for some foods to exhaust liquid out of the jar during pressure canning. This happens most often with meats that are processed for quite a while. The chicken is fine; no need to do anything. Yes, I can ground beef. Some I just brown and pack into jars and squish down. I add no liquid. Some, I can with tomato sauce, seasoned for spaghetti sauce. Other times, I add taco seasonings for instant taco filling. But there is no need to add liquid. I do add a bit of water to plain browned hamburger and pack that with it, but I never pour water or broth on it in the jar. — Jackie

Canned bacon

In the current issue someone asked about canned bacon. I found a site that sells some precooked and canned bacon but they only sell by the case. mredepot.com is the site. hope that helps.

Jerald Lupinek
Wasco, California

Thanks for the information; I passed it on to BHM a couple of weeks ago, but some readers may have missed it and will appreciate your tip. Thanks! — Jackie

Gardening in the desert

I just recently subscribed to BHM and love it. I have been reading off the website for months. My question is this: We live smack dab in the middle of the Mojave Desert. I would love to have a small garden but have had a hard time growing things. When your summers start in May at 90 degrees and last all the way till October with plenty of days that are 113 or higher causing some of your tomatoes to actually cook on the vine it gets frustrating. What do you do? Thankfully we will be moving to middle Tennessee within the next two years. But in the mean time, any suggestions?

Johanna Labiosa
Ridgecrest, California

Your best bet is to plant where there is shade, at least part of the afternoon. For instance, try on the north side of your house or another outbuilding. If this is not possible, build a rustic shade arbor (4 posts and cross poles on top) over the plants. You want some sun, but shade, too to moderate the sun’s rays. Drip irrigation helps ensure that the roots stay cooler and the plant gets enough water without wet leaves to “cook” the plant. Work in as much organic material under your plants as you can, before you plant, then pile a thick mulch over your drip lines and all around your plants. This also helps moderate the temperature on the roots, keep moisture from evaporating and cuts down your weed problems. — Jackie

Canning summer squash

My husband and I are new subscribers to Backwoods Home Magazine. We’re learning a lot from the magazine and your articles. This summer we have an abundance of yellow squash. We like to cook it in stir frys and smother it with onions and butter. Is there any way of storing or preserving this vegetable that we love so much? I’ve heard that yellow squash should not be canned. Is this true? I would greatly appreciate your input.

Pam Dietz
Eunice, Louisiana

Summer squash CAN be home canned, but you probably wouldn’t like the product; I don’t. My friend, Jeri, slices summer squash onto a cookie sheet and quick freezes it in her freezer. Then she pours it into freezer bags to use in her stir frys. She said it works well this way. Maybe you’d like to try that. — Jackie

Hulling buckwheat

In a previous issue you answered a question about hulling buckwheat. Unfortunately, that issue 105 is not in the archives and I cannot find mine. Could you please answer the question of is there a way to hull buckwheat on a small scale? All of the machinery I can find on line is for large commercial hulling.

J. Michael Ledbetter
Jamestown, Tennessee

Sorry, but you can’t hull buckwheat effectively at home. I just grind mine, hull and all when I add it to multi-grain bread. This wouldn’t probably work for buckwheat pancakes, etc. as there’s a lot of fiber. — Jackie

Floating tomatoes

HELP! I just canned 4 quarts of home grown tomatoes but the water in the canner had a tomato smell to it like some of the tomato came out during processing. I processed at 6 lbs for 40 minutes. All the seals were good but all the tomato is at the top of the jar and the liquid is at the bottom. I’m going to eat these even if it kills me (I hope not). Boy that was alot of work if it all goes bad, but I really want to learn this art.

Stephen Joseph
Denison, Texas

You don’t have as much of a problem as you think. It’s common for some tomato juice to blow out of the jars during canning, especially during pressure canning. As long as the seals are fine, you’re good to go. If you hot pack your tomatoes, they won’t float to the top like yours did. This happens when you put cold tomatoes in the jars, then either squash them to make juice to cover or pour boiling water over them. If you first heat the tomatoes and juice to boiling, ladle them into the jars and process, they won’t float. Floating tomatoes are perfectly fine, just not beautiful. Enjoy. — Jackie

Canning bacon grease

My son thinks bacon is it’s own “food group,” and we always have tons of bacon grease around. I am trying desperately to keep from freezing anything that isn’t vital, as our freezers are getting very old and we are VERY rural, and prone to power outages in the winter. We have a generator, but at the cost of propane, I hate to use it to run a bunch of freezers. So, can you pressure bacon grease? If so, for how long?

Patricia Crowder
Holyoke, Colorado

I honestly have never tried to can bacon grease. But if I did, I’d pour melted grease into pint or half pint jars and process them at 10 pounds for 75 minutes in a pressure canner (bacon grease is from meat). I’ve canned butter and it canned up fine, even though it was greasy, so maybe bacon grease would too. Let me know. — Jackie

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Just a week after Mother’s Day, I had to rush Mom to the Cook Hospital.  She was suddenly vomiting and her stomach hurt.  As she’d already had two bowel blockages, I was afraid I knew why she was sick.  And, unfortunately, I was right.  She has another bowel blockage…probably from the three surgeries she’s had in three years.

She was ambulanced to Hibbing, where she is now, waiting to see if it might clear up by itself within 24 hours.  If not, she has to have surgery, which at 92, she’s not a real good candidate.  So I’m running back and forth to the hospital, a 30 mile one way trip and trying to get things under control here.  I’m real tired with all the emotional stress and driving.  Sometimes taking care of an elderly parent is tough, but worth the bad days.  I’ll keep you posted.

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On the east side of our house, beyond where we will be building the new entryway/laundry room/green room, there was a humpy bumpy, rocky area. Ugly! There were stumps, logs and other nasty stuff. Not the best of views. So Sunday we dedicated the day to cleaning it up and leveling it off for the new house garden. This will be half strawberry bed, half raised beds with a small selection of house crops such as tomatoes, onions, lettuce, spinach, cukes, peppers and herbs.

On the north side, I’m planting a hedge of bush cherries, with semi-dwarf cherries and even a peach tree (Reliance), hopefully protected by the house, close by. We’ll see. On the east and south side, I’m planting more small fruit trees and hedges of blueberries and currants, which are low enough to not shade the garden. Of course around the edges, as well as “here and there” in the garden, will be flowers, along with a flower bed beside the wall of the new addition….when it gets done.

David ran the bulldozer for an hour over the site, removing stumps and logs, then grading the soil level. We had about four yards of black dirt left over from our raised beds in the front yard. So he finished up by shoving that over the strawberry area, covering it by about six inches. The strawberry area will receive a good application of rotted manure, be tilled well, then several times this summer. It will remain fallow all year to let me completely KILL all weeds, grass and brush that might sprout. They are the biggest enemy of strawberries and I do not want to fight them. The raised beds, I’ll plant this spring. Wow! It’s SO beautiful out there, already! Just wait.

Of course I’ve got to allow for the deer. We’re fencing from the main garden, below the house, up in front of the new house garden, to the house, then swinging the existing garden fence across the bottom of the backyard and up to meet the new fence on the west side of our front yard. I got 2″x4″ 6′ high welded wire fencing on sale last week, so I bought enough to do the job. Bambi beware! No more midnight garden raids for you.

Readers’ questions:

Basic bread recipe

I’m looking for a basic bread recipe. Something to use for sandwiches.

Connie Blakey
Russell Springs, Kentucky

Here’s a basic white bread recipe; there’s hundreds of different breads, types of bread and recipes for them so it’s hard to know just what you need. Richard Blunt is writing a two-part series on making wholesome bread beginng with BHM’s next issue. He’ll discuss making bread from scratch, grinding your own grain, etc.

BASIC WHITE BREAD

• 1 c milk, scalded
• 6 Tbsp margarine
• 3 c warm water
• 2 pkg.yeast or 2 Tablespoons
• 6 Tbsp sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 5plus c white flour

Barely scald milk; do not boil. Add margarine, sugar and salt. Set aside to cool and let the margarine melt. Put 3 C warm water in a large bowl and add yeast and mix well. Add to milk mix. Stir well. Begin stiring in flour. Add more flour to make an elastic, soft, yet non-sticky dough. Knead well. Grease top and place in a greased, warm bowl to raise. Cover with a warm, damp kitchen towel. When nearly doubled, punch down. Grease your bread pans and divide dough. Cover and let rise again till doubled. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 350 degrees for about another 20 minutes or until it sounds hollow when you tap the top with your finger. Wipe top with butter for a nice soft crust. Cool slightly and remove from pan to finish cooling on a baking rack. — Jackie

Pricing blackberry jam

I am trying to find out how to price a pint of blackberry jam. A co-worker would like to buy some and last year, I undersold them A LOT. I have 9 cups of blackberries crushed and 6 cups of sugar.

Melissa Aguilar
Carthage, Texas

Did you buy your blackberries or pick them? I feel that you should get at least a 100% markup on materials to make any kind of profit. Remember that you also have the cost of the jar, lid and heat to make that jam. With the price of sugar going up, like all groceries, you’d better consider the cost of replacing the sugar you use, too!

To figure your cost, add how much your blackberries cost (or a fair price if you grow them or wild pick), plus your jar and the sugar. That’ll give you a good idea of what your cost is. Go from there. — Jackie

Heavy canners, composting toilets

I can’t believe what a strong woman you are, in every way!!!!!! Couple of questions, you can a lot and I was wondering, do you drain and put away your canner at the end of each day during the busy season? I wonder because I have health problems, plus a dbl.masectomy and not much strength in my arms. Is there perhaps an easier way of doing this? I want to buy a pressure canner but know they are very heavy. Also we have a small cabin on the Snake River in Mn. no indoor plumbing ,we have running water,it just comes in a hose hooked up to our neighbors outside spigot,and hanging on a big old nail on the back steps,darn handy in summer. we have an outhouse(one holer, never did figure out who you’d want to sit next to out there) but as the years creep up on us the trip out there is not always convenient. I was wondering about composting toilets,can’t seem to ever find anyone who has one or had one. are they smelly,inconveient,really work?? Any info would be appreciated. I so wish you and I were neighbors, I feel as though I know you and we think so much alike. bet you have great humor too.

Marlene Kevelin
Lino Lakes, Minnesota

No, Marlene, I don’t always dump and put away my canners when I’m done for the day. It kind of depends on my schedule and what I’ve been canning. But if the water in them is not clean (goop blew out between the lid and rim of the jar), I usually DO. Bits of food or even juice and quickly sour the water. And in a pressure canner, bits of food can clog the exhaust vent; not a good thing! My pressure canner is HUGE, and when I was canning while taking chemo and radiation, I often tipped the canner instead of lifting it. With the water bath canner, you can also bail it out with an ice cream pail or sauce pan into a mop bucket.

If you get a moderate sized canner, they really aren’t that heavy, as they are made of aluminum.

As for the composting toilet; YES they do work and NO they aren’t smelly, IF you install and maintain them right. My best friend, Gloria, in Montana had one and when you entered their small house, there was never, never the slightest bit of odor from it. Theirs was a non-electric model, as they had no electricity, save from a generator and windcharger.

We would have installed one here, but in St.Louis county, when you run water into your house, you must install a septic system! So we did. Boo for St. Louis County! — Jackie

Any danger from tires in garden?

Hi…Love your blog and articles! In this month’s issue, you talk about raising potatoes in stacked tires. Is there any danger from chemicals leaking into the potatoes? I know it’s not safe to plant vegies in boards that are treated with chemicals, so just wondered if there was a similar problem with tires?

Ruth Dixon
Gold Beach, Oregon

I’ve never heard about any problems regarding using tires as garden containers. I’ve had several friends who used them for years with great results. I DO worry about folks using the old arsenic treated pressure treated landscape timbers and lumber for raised beds. THAT has been proven to leach into the soil. — Jackie

Size of canner

I am looking at a 21 qt. pressure canner. The website also carries 25qt and larger. It appears they all can 7 quarts or 19 pints. I know you advise buying the largest you can afford but would there be any benefit to the huge sizes? I am only planning to use it for canning. I am really learning a lot from your blog about canning.

Wayne Crow
Gardnerville, Nevada

The reason I have a huge canner is that I can stack quarts on the bottom and pints on top, or two layers of pints, doing all at the same time. The 30 quart canner that I have IS heavy! But it is all business on canning day. Most people do just fine with the 21 quart canner. In fact, I bought one as a “spare” because my old canner IS so darned heavy. — Jackie

Is canning pork safe?

Is canning wild pork safe?

Billy Curry
St. Cloud, Florida

Definitely. Provided that you use recommended canning methods and times for pork. Pressure canning (the only safe method of canning meat and vegetables) heats the meat to kill any possible parasites or bacteria. Go for it! — Jackie

Is water level in canning important?

The wife & I are going to try our hands at canning this year. We have an old (1947) “National #7″ pressure canner which I have brought back to life. We do not have a manual for this unit, so have been using our hard copy BHM magazine library, the website, & the WWW as references. I’ve tried searching the BHM website & have had no luck in finding answers.

First question. Is the water level of any real importance in this process? It seems to me that a few inches of water to provide steam & the requisite temperature is what we’re looking for; is that correct?

Second, our canner has a pressure gauge, & I recognize the need to get to ~11psi for the process (we are at 750′ asl), but would a higher pressure have an ill effect? My head tells me that as the killing of the wee beasties that cause spoilage is complete at 240^F, the increased temperature that would accompany an increase in pressure would just be overkill. In other words, if the canner was run in the 15-20 psi range, would that present a problem of which I am not aware?

Jack & Deb Horan
Mason, New Hampshire

Yes, the water is to provide steam for the pressure; generally, only an inch or so is necessary. You just don’t want the water to boil dry during the canning time.

Don’t can at too high a pressure. This can blow liquid and sometimes force food out of the jars between the lid and rim. Then the jars will not seal. — Jackie

Hand-operated washing machine

Don’t know if this question belongs to you or an other staffer, but I will start with you. I am looking for information on hand operated washing machines. Got any resources you can send me to?

Bob Taylor
Poulsbo, Washington

Lehmans Hardware has a sturdy hand operated washing machine for sale; it isn’t cheap but it does the job if you’ve got the time and muscle. — Jackie

Growing tomatoes in Egypt

I have 1 1/2 acre, limestone soil, West Alexandria. Hot weather. How can I grow bushy tomatoes at end of this month. Previous crop alfalfa.

Abdelghaffar Jouda
Alexandria, Egypt

I wish I was more familiar with your climate. Here in northern Minnesota, we had snow yesterday! I would suggest working in some organic material, such as rotted manure or straw, then setting out some started plants that have been hardened off (exposed for short periods to the weather in a protected location at first). A drip irrigation system or ditch irrigation will be valuable to be sure your plants receive plenty of water, as needed.

A partial shade may be necessary in the day to protect the plants from sun scald. You might check out some local U.S. varieties for hot weather, as they will produce more for you. Good luck with your tomatoes! — Jackie

Ready to live off-grid

Ready to live off the grid, I have 80 A. in Tennessee. Love it, can you tell me where I can get info on building a solar cabin, and any other info.

Sam Perry
Mandeville, Louisiana

You might check out kansaswindpower.net and backwoodssolar.com for a start. Then I’d go to the library and see what they or inter-library loan have available on solar living/building. There’s tons of information available out there, including BHM’s own Jeff Yago and his past articles on the subject. — Jackie

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Our new black lab pup, Spencer, is the smartest dog I’ve ever raised.  He learned to sit at six weeks of age, and was potty trained shortly thereafter.  In the winter!  Of course all puppies like to chew on wood, so when I split firewood, Spencer was right there to grab a chunk and chew on it.  So AH HA, I thought.  Why not teach him to bring in firewood????

So first I’d just encourage him to bring in his little piece of wood.  Then I’d pick up a small, handy sized piece and give it to him and praise him when he’d carry it awhile toward the house.  Then I’d encourage him to carry it while I carried in an armload of wood, always giving him a dog biscuit when he made it all the way into the house.  Now he picks up his own wood!

When I do horse chores, he roams the pasture and picks up a chunk to bring home.  Or when I split wood, he grabs a nice piece and trots right up to the door and waits for me to open it.  Now if I can just teach him to put it into the stove!!!  Oh well, I’m happy with his progress so far.  I’ll bet before long I can open the door, point to the wood pile and tell him to get firewood.  Won’t be much longer, I think.  It’s so much fun to teach him and he enjoys the learning.  He always has a big smile on his face.

Readers’ questions:

Seed company stories

Love your column and blog.  Thought I’d share a similar experience I had with nursery plants from a seed company. Last year, Shumway sent our strawberry plants waaaaay too early for No. Mn. and most rotted before it was time to plant. They were true to their word and gave me a credit for all the plants that failed. This year when I called in my order for seeds and the replacement plants, they told me the planned ship date for the strawberries. I explained that the date would be much to early and that that was why I was using a credit. The nice lady asked, ” okay, when *would* you like us to ship?” Funny. All these years we struggled with keeping nursery stock alive until it was time to plant and all I had to do was ask!   Maybe Gurney’s will be just as helpful for you next time. Keep up the great work!

Mary Ann  Wycoff
Embarrass, Minnesota

I’m glad you had good luck with Shumways; I have, too.  But Gurneys?  No. Since they got bought out their quality, prices AND service are way down. Check the web site, Dave’s Garden; Watchdog and you’ll see what I mean.  And I always give companies the benefit of the doubt.  On my order, I asked for a late April shipment because we live in northern Minnesota.  I don’t think the first week in April quite qualifies.  Sorry.  No more Gurneys for me.  But Fedco, on the other hand, I can’t praise high enough. — Jackie

Pressure canner for beginner

What brand and size pressure canner do you recommend to a beginner? I want to can meat and chicken and turkey very soon. Are european jars more economical  over time or are Ball or Kerr  jars most economical. You are awesome.  Thank you for sharing your wisdom. Enjoyed your  article in #111 – especially the statement “smart, huh?”.  you are so real and down to earth.

Dolly (Nellie)  Jenkins
Balch Springs, Texas

I would get the biggest canner, within reason, that you can afford. They are more economical to can with because you can put up more food at a time with the same energy expended.  Personally, I like the canner that Lehmans carries; no gasket to eventually replace.  But any of the new pressure canners work just fine.  Don’t waste your money on a pressure “cooker/canner”; they are too small and don’t can worth a darned. I use American canning jars; Ball,Kerr and Golden Harvest…as well as any other reused jars that a lid and ring will screw down firmly on.  There are a few that appear to be the same but the ring with a lid in it will just spin and spin, never tightening down.  The European jars are pretty, but too expensive.  I’m using jars that are 50 years old and still perfect.  Pretty
good track record, considering how many cannings they’ve seen.  Congratulations on starting canning.  I promise you’ll LOVE it! — Jackie

Fleas out of control

It is barely spring and aleady the fleas are out of control. I have been using DE and it helped until they invaded the chicken coop. There are now thousands and  there seems to be no end to their increase. I’ve read everything on the internet but still have so many especially after I go to gather eggs. Your best suggestions will be appreciated. Thank you, Nita Holstine

Randal  Holstine
Hawley, Texas

Here’s what I’d do;  I would completely clean out the chicken coop, removing ALL old litter, nest box filler, manure…everything.  Then hose down the coop with bleach water; pressure wash it if you have a pressure washer…or can borrow or rent one.  Let the coop dry well, then dust the nests, as well as the floor, with rotenone powder. Also dust the chickens as they roost that night, holding them upside down by the feet so you get their “arm pits” and into their feathers.  Repeat the dusting in one week and you’ll see a dramatic decrease in your little buggers. — Jackie

Soil testing kit

I want to add limestone (pulverized) to my raised beds to help prevent blossom end rot. I have 2 beds each is 4 ft x 10 feet.  the bag I bought only gives amounts for huge gardens.  How much should I add?  Can too much be bad?

Cathy Ostrowski
Amherst, New York

Buy yourself a cheap soil testing kit.  Then sprinkle your limestone on the surface of your beds.  Work it in and then check your pH; you want it between 6.8 and 7.  Work more in, if needed, working it into at least  the top 6 inches of your beds.  I’ve had luck by tossing a handful of crushed egg shells into each planting hole, covered with an inch of dirt, then planting the tomato plant.  The roots absorb the calcium and the egg shells\ also help give the plant good drainage. — Jackie

Upside-down tomato planters

Really enjoyed all your articles in the recent “Economic Squeeze” edition.

Joanna  Wilcox
Boone, North Carolina

Yes, these planters really do work, whether it’s the commercial planters or just a 5 gallon bucket with a few holes cut in it. The key is to use good soil, fertilize regularly, either with manure tea or a chemical fertilizer, such as Miracle Gro.  And WATER, WATER, WATER…they tend to dry out when the weather’s hot.  And, Yes, they do grow big tomatoes! — Jackie

Shelf life of canned poultry

How long is the shelf life for canned poultry, beef and other meat? Thanks

Cindy Hills
Wild Rose, Wisconsin

These foods have a very long shelf life;practically forever!  As long as they are stored in decent conditions so the jar lids don’t get moisture on them and rust, and the seal remains good, those jars will remain full of good tasting, nutritious food, for years and years.  This is why I LOVE to can!  Talk about your food security! — Jackie

Ready to make the move

Well, the time has come.  After years of planning, saving and investigation – we are ready to move out West to a family agreed upon place.  Actually, we are one job interview away from going this
summer.

Patricia Graig-Tiso
Oneonta, New York

Of course you have concerns!  Anyone with half a brain will, when changing homes so drastically.  But we did it, and so can you.  Keep your family communications open and ask that everyone help in the tightening up, when needed, and pitching in to make your new home a great one.  (So your kids want to have a game room that looks like a jail!  Do it.  Or they want a round garden of their own.)  Treat them like adults and they’ll surprise you.

As for the elevation; no problems for most people.  We moved from 1,200 feet to 7,400 feet and the only differences I could see were that I huffed and puffed while climing steep hills more and my potatoes took longer to get soft when I boiled them.  No biggie.  Of course I had to can my foods at a higher pressure than when we lived on the  “flat”.

Zone 4?  Don’t I wish!!!  We live in zone 3 and still grow a terrific garden with plenty of flowers.  There are, of course, less options in zone 4, as opposed to zone 6, but we still have lots of choices.  You just have to use a few season extenders; it’s totally do-able!  Enjoy your adventure! — Jackie

Canning bean soup

I am making navy bean soup using a ham bone.  How can I can the rest?  I do not have freezer space.

Leona Martel
Stratford, South Dakota

Piece of cake, Leona.  Just pick as much of the meat off the ham bone that you can, stir it into the soup, heat it again, then ladle it into hot jars, to within an inch of the top.  You’ll be processing it at 10 pounds pressure (unless you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet and must consult your canning manual for directions in increasing your pressure to suit your altitude) for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts. Enjoy your “instant meals”! — Jackie

Problem with deer

We live in northern Wisconsin near a large national forest.  We also garden and grow most of our own veggies to can.  However, not only do we have snow in April, but we also have a problem with the neighborhood deer.  Our gardens are carved out of an area between large pines and maples – this makes the sunny areas not contiguous and difficult to fence conventionally.  We’ve used net fencing and deer spray, put up strands of fishing line for the deer to run into, tried having the dogs do their thing on the perimeter of our land, but nothing has helped.  This year we’re going to put conventional fencing around at least 3 sides of our two largest gardens, but that still leaves an opening.  This year the lilacs are showing buds and the deer have already sampled them. Last year they at least waited until they leafed out.  I’ve found some new stuff that has cloves, garlic, dried blood and meat meal to spread around the perimeter, but that’s really expensive.  (The dogs think it tastes just fine!) Any ideas?

Michele Green
Eagle River, Wisconsin

About the best “spray” product against deer is Liquid Fence, but it’s not 100% effective.  I’m sorry, but the only safe anti deer protection is to totally fence in your garden area.  For us that means fencing in not only our garden, but our orchard and our entire house yard.  I’ve been buying fence all year, and finally have enough to do it.  It’s NOT cheap, but it does keep them out.  You’ll need 6′ high welded 2″x4″ 14 gauge wire fencing and 8′ T posts.  Luckily, my last 3 rolls I got on a half-price sale at our local L&M Supply.  No more “Where did the flowers go?  Oh no.  Not the green beans!!!”.
Horray!!!! — Jackie

Preserving eggs

I am getting plenty of eggs this year and want to know is there any other way to can them besides pickeling?

Rebecca Douglas
Okeechobee, Florida

Sorry, none that I know of.  Any readers have a great idea? — Jackie

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I’ve ordered lots of trees and bramble fruits for our orchard this year; I keep seeing these things bringing higher and higher outrageous prices and decided THIS year I’d get the orchard booted up. Okay, but every day now, I’m getting a box or plastic bag full of trees and plants! The best have come from Starks and Fedco, although I did get some AWESOME Hanson’s bush cherries from Exciting Gardens, which I didn’t expect. The worst were from Gurneys, arriving four weeks ahead of decent planting time here in northern Minnesota, when we had two feet of snow on the ground…and another two feet three days later. I’m sure those folks have internet access and could see weather patterns across the country. But evidently, they don’t care. So no more Gurneys orders for me!

I’ve got almost everything in, the day it came or as soon as we had DIRT showing. So far, so good. I always soak the trees/plants a couple of hours before I plant them, in case they’re partially dehydrated, so I’ve got a mop bucket in the tub full of fresh water…and trees! I’m so excited and our weather’s helping out with nice warm days and rain periodically. Wish us luck!

Readers’ questions:

Health insurance

I was looking at another homestead blog and the topic of health insurance was mentioned. Do you have health insurance? Through the state or paid for by yourself? This other blog stated thay were a homesteader and used the state health insurance program. Is this really self reliance? Depending on the government and fellow tax payers to pay thier insurance? My opinion is no, this is not self reliance, it is using your neighbors to pay your way. I am a very conservative person and do not believe in anyone paying my way. I work hard for a living and don’t think my hard earned money should be given to someone else. Just curious as to what your thinking was on this issue.

Kevin Gray
Ellendale, Minnesota

In a way, David and I are lucky. As my late husband, Bob, had a 100% service connected disability through the VA (agent orange), David and I receive survivors’ benefits which include CHAMP VA insurance. I don’t feel this is putting our health care on our neighbors, as Bob died as a result of his service in the Marine Corps, in Vietnam. It’s lucky we DID have the insurance, as my cancer surgery and treatment, and last summer, David’s bout with flesh eating bacteria would have really, really hurt us financially.

There is a Christian share-pay type of medical help, where thousands of people are banding together to help share the burden of each others’ medical care. If we did not have health insurance, I would seriously consider joining this group. www.medi-share.org It is not an insurance company, but a co-op of sorts.

There IS no perfect answer for homesteaders. Some opt for just letting nature take its course, but I couldn’t have done this when David was suffering so badly with the flesh eating bacteria, knowing that he would die without treatment. End of story. — Jackie

Thanks for the articles

I just wanted you to know how much your articles mean to me and how much help they have been since we have got our own 10 acre with pigs goats and chickens and horses.

Mary Ingold
Kalispell, Montana

Thanks a lot, Mary. I really enjoy the interaction with fellow homesteaders in the magazine and blog. I’ll bet you’re having the time of your life on your new homestead! — Jackie

Buying hypodermic needles

Where can I buy hypodermic needles for my medical kit, like you suggest?

Stephen Nagy
Ocoee, Florida

You can buy them at any farm and ranch store, on the internet from such sources as Nasco or Hoeggers Goat Supply. Or the next time you are at your vet’s, ask him/her for a few. Just explain why you want ‘em or you MIGHT get a few raised eyebrows. Stores just sell them without a problem. Farmers and ranchers use them by the box with vaccinations, antibiotics, etc. — Jackie

Canning leftovers

I will be cooking for a crowd and making a large quantity of chili, which will include pre-canned kidney beans. I would like to can the leftovers. Do I still process the chili for the longest time for pints and quarts? I have the same question for soups with meat, meat pasta sauces, stews, etc. Usually, I freeze these, but now that I finally have a pressure canner, I would really like to use this method.

Rosemarie Wesolek
Mahaffey, Pennsylvania

Yes, you can certainly can up your leftovers. And yes, you still need to process them for the full 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts, regardless if they have been precooked or not. — Jackie

No yolk in chicken egg

In the past week, I’ve had 2 chickens lay tiny eggs, almost like a bird’s egg. We broke one open to discover there was no yolk, just the white. Do you know what might be the cause of this? One chicken was a bantam, and the other an Australorp. Both are around 7 years old, but still lay pretty regularly.

Michelle Klose
Kaufman, Texas

This isn’t as uncommon as it might seem, nor is it anything to be concerned about. Sometimes a tiny bit of tissue sloughs off from the ovary or oviduct and an egg begins to form around it…with no yolk. It is “strange”, in that you had two hens recently that did this. Nothing to worry about. — Jackie

Storing rice long-term

Jackie, my wife and i love your articles and we have been advid readers since American Survival Guide went belly up and then switched to BHM. My question is what is the best way to prepare rice for long term storage. We are an Asian house and want to store approx 500 pounds for emergencies.

Howard Sobel
Lorton, Virginia

The best way I’ve found to store large amounts of wheat, corn and rice for long term storage is to go to a bakery or large grocery store with an in-house bakery. They usually have three to six gallon food grade pails with locking lids that they sell very cheaply or even give away. Because you want to store it long term, it would be a good idea to freeze each bag or pail for about two days, just to kill any possible insect eggs in the rice before you store it. Then just pour it into clean, dry pails and lock down the lids. For extra protection, you can run a band of duct tape around the edge of the lid. Then mark on the pail what you have in it and when\you put it into your pantry. Rice is good for years and years that way; I’m eating rice out of a bucket I put up in 1989!!! And the rice is perfect, too! — Jackie

Canned bacon

To answer the question about canned bacon, of all the places to look try www.canned-bacon.com/. It seems it will soon be in production in Ohio. Thanks for all the knowledge you share.

Randy Grider
Marion, Illinois

Thanks for the information! There’s been a lot of interest in the canned bacon. Readers will love you! — Jackie

Comments on vet antibiotics

Not really a question, but a comment on your article on first aid/medical supplies in the latest BWH magazine. You suggested keeping a supply of antibiotics on hand and that your doctor might write a prescription for you to do that. No need to see your doctor!

Many antibiotics that are prescription for humans are OTC for some veterinary uses. Not only can you save a trip to the doc and a bill from the doc, but the antibiotics used in veterinary practice are often purer than those used for human practice. Many of the antibiotics are OTC for fish, and fish are very sensitive to some of the additives and binders that are commonly used for human drugs.

You can get a bottle of 100 100 mg Doxycycline for birds for $29.99 at:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=5059+5992+12269&pcatid=12269

Penicillin, Ampicillin, Tetracycline, Amoxicillin, Cephalexin, Erythromycin can all be purchased for anywhere from $14.99 – $35.99 per 100 (per 60 for erythro) at:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4615+12101&pcatid=12101

I’ve used Foster & Smith and can personally vouch for them, but you might be able to find them even cheaper from different sources.

I’m not a doctor and don’t even play one on tv, so I’m not going to recommend that anyone use a drug for anything other than its intended on-label use. But you can do with the information what you will.

William Shadle
Myerstown, Pennsylvania

Thanks Bill. I’ve used these sources also. But in my position, I can’t “advise” readers to do so. LAWSUIT! But as you said, animal/fish/bird antibiotics are just as good as human. My husband, who was a veterinarian, told me when he was in vet school, they visited several drug companies and watched the manufacture and packaging of antibiotics and other meds. The conveyor ran pills down to a Y; the left side got a veterinary label; the right, a human label! (Now we know why dog anitbiotic syrup is cherry flavored!) — Jackie

Canning store-bought butter

This may be a wacky question, but can you can butter from storebought butter? I normally freeze mine, but was curious if it could be done. If so, would love to have the processing time and directions.

Andrea Del Gardo
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Yes! All you have to do is to gently heat the butter to melt it; a double boiler works well for this. Then ladle into hot, sterilized jars to within half an inch of the top of the jar, wipe the rim of the jar clean and put a hot, previously simmered lid on and screw down the ring firmly tight. Process in a boiling water bath for 40 minutes. The butter tastes fresh when you open a jar, although it does separate a little. Better than NO butter, for sure!!! — Jackie

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After a week of back to back blizzards, the sun came out and the temperature climbed to 50 degrees today. It was SO nice. And today my son Bill and his wife, Kelly came up to help Mom celebrate her 92nd birthday. Of course their son, Mason, came with them and both Greatgrandma and Grandma got to play with him and be wowed by his frequent smiles!

He was afraid of the chickens, but it won’t be long before he’s ready for a pony. His daddy was riding his pony, Sprite, while still in diapers. And they had years of history together. They went to lots and lots of horse shows, to compete with not only kids Bill’s age, but also adults on expensive horses. And you know what? They won a lot! We had Sprite until she was 42; she was a member of the family. I hope we can find Mason such a good pony!

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Readers’ questions:

Cracked corn for chickens

I only have a handful of chickens and have access to pleny of free field corn. I would like to make my own “cracked corn”. What kind of grinder do I need? And, do you have any suggestions on where to get one?. Thank you SO MUCH for all of your help and articles. You are a treasure trove and I bow to your feet. I also have many other questions- how is it best to ask, snail mail or like this?

Grace johnston
Tangier, Indiana

If you have field corn, GREAT!!! You don’t need to crack corn for chickens. They digest it fine whole, and really prefer it that way. There really isn’t a home grinder for cracked corn, other than using your grain mill, which is plenty labor intensive for the results given.

You can certainly ask questions either way. Via snail mail shares the answer with a lot more readers. — Jackie

Uses for pig fat/suet

What are some uses for pig fat/suet, besides lard? Is there other uses such as candles or something? Thank you, I enjoy your writings and the knowledge you give out. This means a lot to me and helps out so much.

Scott Michael
Canyon City, Oregon

You can make soap from pork fat! Candles don’t work because pork fat has a low melting temperature and the candles won’t handle hot temperatures before melting down. (You could make fat oil lamps in a pinch, but I don’t think you’d like the results, otherwise; it tends to smoke and not put out great light.) Soap is a much better alternative. — Jackie

Canning bacon

How does one can bacon?

Kimberly Baxter Packwood
Ames, Iowa

You can home can bacon, but you’ll need “real” bacon, not store bacon, because store bacon is too fat and not “solid” enough to hold up for canning. I canned my own bacon by first smoking it, then cutting it into chunks that would fit into a wide mouth pint or quart jar. You don’t can it sliced. I heat the bacon in a roasting pan, in the oven at 200 degrees until it’s hot all the way through. Then I pack it into hot jars to within 1/2″ of the top. Bacon, as with all meat, is processed for 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes at quarts, at 10 pounds pressure.(Check your canning manual if you live at an altitude above 1,000 feet and must adjust your pressure to suit your altitude.) Bacon is canned without adding liquid.

Important note: As far as I know, there isn’t an approved method of canning bacon, but this has worked well for me. Consider it an “experimental” method. — Jackie

Canned bacon

This is a response to the question asked by Pete Gibson in the May/June issue regarding canned bacon. It used to be manufactured by Celebrity Foods Canned Bacon but has not been available for approximately 10 years. According to the company’s web site it will soon be available again produced in Ohio under direct license from MRE wholesalers.com. Thought this might be of interest to the readers of BHM. Their web site shows them opening a can that was 20 years old and the product still good. Great idea for storing in case of an emergency.

Bill Lahnen
Lakewood, New York

Thanks for the info, Bill. There’s been a lot of interest in canned bacon, and for good reason; it’s a great product. I’ll be waiting to see it once again on the market! — Jackie

Freecycle groups, dehydrating

I hope you have plowed yourself out. We are getting snow this weekend in PA, but not like you. Thank goodness!! Recently, I joined a “free to join” group -”freecycle”, which, by the way, you probably would love. It’s an organization where people give others what they no longer need to help keep things out of landfills. The main stipulation for being able to join and participate is that every thing is “free”, absolutely no money exchanged. Today I received a slightly used dehydrator. If it’s been used, I would be really surprised, it’s still in the original box and spanking clean.

I’ve noticed that in several of your answers to questions, you mention your preference for dehydrating. Could you please tell me what you dehydrate and give me some tips for success. Onions are on sale for a really good price this week. I use a lot of onions and wanted to know if you have been successful drying them and how you do it. Also, potatoes. After they are dried … can’t they be used for frying, mashed or only in casseroles? What’s the storage method?

If you are interested in more information about “freecycle”, go to www.freecycle.org then browse the many groups by specific states. There are groups all over the US and possibly in your area, which might help you get things you need for your homestead and also possibly help someone else. Today was the first time I requested one of the offers and have gratefully benefited. Thanks for any advise you have time to offer. Since your advice helps me all the time, I hope I have given you something to help you too.

Rosemarie Wesolek
Mahaffey, Pennsylvania

I’m sure many readers will pick up on your tip about freecycle. I do know about them, but just don’t have the time to go so far out of town; there’s none within 35 miles of us and most of the better stuff
is in Duluth, 80 some miles south. Mom kind of ties me down as to my “going”. I dehydrate a whole lot of foods, as well as canning them. I dehydrate peas, carrots, onions, fruits of all kinds, asparagus, tomatoes, corn, squash, jerky and a whole lot more. Onions are dead easy; I just slice them into whole rounds, then lay them on the dehydrator trays, in a single layer. When they are dry, I either put them in jars that way or whiz them through the blender to make chunks or powder. These, I put on cookie sheets in the oven, with only the pilot light on and stir until they are really dry; they tend to clump without this extra drying.

To do potatoes, I slice them into salt water to keep them from blackening. Then I drain them and drop them into boiling water for a minute. Then I drain them and lay them out onto the dehydrator trays. The boiling keeps them fromdarkening during dehydrating. No, you can’t make French fries out of them, but you can rehydrate them and then make fried potatoes out of them. Or you can make potatoes augratin, scalloped potatoes or the like. Dehydrated foods are very good and take up little room on the shelf. I lovethat! — Jackie

Gooseberries not producing

I ordered & planted some Gooseberrys plants May-2005.They were 2 yr.old plants called (Hinnonmaki ) the red kind.Well they have never produced anything but they grew. Last fall I moved them & replanted to another place as I thought that might help. Why don’t they produce any fruit? What am i doing wrong? Thanks for the great info you give..

Sharon Beck
Sikeston, Missouri

Have patience. Most trees and shrubs, including gooseberries need a little time to sink their roots down and get over the shock of transplanting. This can take a year or more; often several years.
Moving them just delayed things. If they’re getting sunlight, a little compost and kept weed free, you will get fruit. — Jackie

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Well, today our friend and neighbor, Jerry Yourczeck, drove his truck and trailer down to my son, Bill’s place with me, to pick up the Friesian filly I’ve been paying on all winter.  I was excited; it was the first time I’ve bought a horse in over 18 years.  And Ladyhawk was kind of "you’ve survived cancer" treat to myself.
 
Her breeder and her husband drove her up from Gays Mills, Wisconsin and we met at Bill and Kelly’s so neither of us had to drive overly far.
 
It was love at first sight.  Her pictures weren’t lying.  She’s gorgeous!  And on her lower legs were the start of the fine wavy feathering that is the trademark of the Friesian horse.
 
She was calm and cooperative, hauled well and we got her home in fine shape.  You should have seen our donkeys, Moose and Beauty!  They wondered what the heck I’d brought home.  They were afraid of her, even though she’s smaller than they are.  But in a few days they’ll all be buddies.
 
I even got to visit my newest grandson, Mason, while I was there.  He’s growing so fast and is oh too cute!  What a smile! I had a great day, even though it was over too fast.
 
Now I’ve got a new baby in our barn to play with.  Not as cute as Mason, but gorgeous nevertheless!!

Readers’ questions:

Finding  bush berries

You have mentioned in your writings about bush cherries. I am having a hard time finding a
source to buy them .Can you reccomend one?

Kendy Lucas
West Plains, Missouri

Several mail order nurseries carry Hansen’s bush cherries and Nanking cherries.  Jungs has the Hansen’s bush cherries.  These are very good for jams and jellies and not too bad to eat out of hand, but they are stretching it when they say "good for pies".  I’m sure not going to pit all those small cherries!!!!  The bushes are very beautiful in full bloom in the spring, so they also make a great edible landscaping shrub. — Jackie

Starting with food storage

I have been digging through the Emergency Preparedness and Survival Guide, and it is the
best, realistic book on this topic that I have found. The sections on food preparation are excellent, and it is apparent that as you are preparing for an emergency, you are also eating better, healthier food! Where is the best place to start with food storage? Should I try canning first, or food dehydrating? Any thoughts on the best place to start? I hope that within the next year I can do some of both!

Taylor Mack
Ruston, Louisiana

The best place to start is anywhere, anything.  The best time?  NOW!  Pick up foods that are good storage candidates, when they come on sale every time you grocery shop.  Just a few extras every time, and you’ll soon be on your way to a fat pantry.  Then, as you get the time, begin canning and dehydrating the "easy" foods, fruits, green beans, etc.  Once you find out how easy and fun it is….not to mention how good the foods are….you’ll get hooked.  It happens to most everyone who tries it!  I often can AND dehydrate the same foods I’m processing.  I’ll do up a big batch of green beans, for instance, canning what will fit into my canner, then dehydrate the rest.  That way I have lots of each.  I promise you’ll love it and the secure feeling it gives you! — Jackie

Dill pickles

I’ve spent several days looking through your blog and Canning 101. I love the articles you write for BHM! I’m excited about canning some of the dry beans I have from this past issue. The question I have is dill pickles. I love them, but mine are terrible! Mushy and yucky. All the canning books say that you have to boiling water bath them, that seems ridiculous since they sit in vinegar. Are yours processed this way? Any suggestions?

Harvard Rexburg
Idaho

Yes, I water bath my dill pickles.  BUT I do it for only 10 minutes, usually, and DO NOT boil them before I pack them into the jars.  The more you boil a cucumber, the softer it gets.  DUH!  With my sliced pickles, I only bring them TO a boil, then quickly pack them and water bath them for 10 minutes, working very quickly so they don’t sit in hot juice or a hot water bath for overly long.
 
And when you do your pickles, always use very fresh cucumbers and soak them in a very cold salt brine to crisp them up before you pickle them.
 
If you don’t water bath process pickles, you’ll end up with part of the pickle sticking up above the brine, which will then spoil and mold.  Yucky stuff! — Jackie

Canning spaghetti

My wife wants to pressure can spagetti meat sauce and pasta (together) for the kids to use on camping trips. Can this be done safely?One of your recent articles cautions against this. However store processed products exist so there must be a way. I am cautious about home canning as the potential for botulism is terrifying to me. Especially to think I could be lax or ignorant in food preparation and harm my children. Any info would be appreciated as my wife and I are divided over this issue.

Allen Brown
Ponce de Leon, Florida

You CAN add pasta to your spaghetti/meat sauce.  Just don’t over-do it so that the end product is very thick.  This can cause the very center of the food in the jar to remain too cool to process safely.  What I do is to make up my sauce, then add the spaghetti, and just barely get it limp enough to fit into the jars easily.  Remember that spaghetti, like all pasta, swells quite a bit during canning, so allow for that, not packing too much into the jar.  Simply process for the time required for the spaghetti with meat sauce.
 
Don’t worry so much about the botulism thing; it’s really quite rare, more of a "possibility", rather than a common occurrence. — Jackie

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The last few days have been busy ones.  I’ve been transplanting dozens and dozens of tiny tomato plants into styrofoam cups and deep six packs.  I fill the container, mark the variety on the side to be SURE I know what the plants are, make a small hole in the center with a teaspoon, use the teaspoon to work the plant loose from the flat, taking care to hold it by the leaf, not the stem, then lowering it into the hole and pushing the soil down on both sides of the plantlet.
 
Then David has been busy too.  So far, he’s made 6 trips home with firewood from the clearcut up north, plus 6 loads that he’s stockpiled at our carpenter friend, Tom’s land near the woods.  And some of that ash is HUGE!  David can’t reach around some of the trunks.  When he loaded it on the truck, the 3/4 ton truck squatted so bad that the springs straightened out!
 
We’re weird about wood here; we already have almost enough for next winter, plus some saw logs.  And David will keep hauling until breakup.  In the north, breakup is the end of all wood cutting in low areas because when the frost goes out, you can’t access the wood, even with a four wheel drive or ATV.  So right now, it’s a horse race to get as much hauled before spring springs.  Much of our lives is ruled by Nature around here in the backwoods.  And that’s not such a bad thing at all.

The computer problem still isn’t fixed, but I did manage to attach this photo, after a while meditating in front of a blank monitor.

Readers’ questions:

Raising chicken food

Due to the rising cost of "everything"..what kind of chicken food can I raise in my garden for the chickens to eat during our Maine winters. During the summer they are free-range and doing quite
well. What’s the best kind of corn to grow for chickens and what other crop will be best for them. I currently have 11 hens and will get a rooster (at least for a few months)in the spring.

Anita Chandler
Monmouth, Maine

Luckily chickens are not picky eaters!  You can just let several rows of your sweet corn mature.  You can later pick it when the leaves are dry and store it in a dry spot away from rodents.  But chickens can eat a lot of other extra garden produce.  Mine love all the extra squash I can grow.  I just bring it into the basement and give them a squash a day or every other day.  It’s fun to feed, too.  I just whop it down on the ground and the squash pops like a pinata.  The chickens come running.  They love it.  They especially love the seeds, which are high in protein, too.
 
Of course they’ll also eat your kitchen scraps; potato peels, crushed egg shells, carrot peels, leftover vegetables and fruit, bread that has gone stale (they don’t even mind a little mold!), leftover salads, withered rutabagas and turnips from the cellar; chickens love them all….and they help with the feed bill a whole lot.  You can even sprout some seeds for them; like wheat or oats.  Of course, the price of wheat is climbing so badly…but you don’t need much to make a whole big pan of four inch high wheatgrass.
 
Love my chickens and luckily, they’re easy to feed! — Jackie

Raised beds, “making” soil

We are planning to move to Grand Marais, MN, an area of the state with which you are undoubtedly familiar. I want to plant a garden there and as you probably know, there cannot be more than 8-10 inches of topsoil in any area on the Laurentian Shield–any deeper and you hit bedrock. I know my garden will have to be a raised bed because even compost and manure don’t do much for improving solid basalt and granite. Do you have any recommendations for tomatoes, peppers, and squashes (both summer and winter) for zone 4 (maybe 3 if we’re over the hill from the big lake) and what does well in a raised bed.

Laurie Hill
Hudson, Wisconsin

Nice area!  We looked seriously at some raw land about 17 miles southwest of Grand Marais, but it was really, really isolated and we figured we’d end up taking care of my elderly parents….which we did 2 years later, and didn’t think we should get land with only ATV access over 7 miles, then 12 miles on an unplowed forest service road.  Actually, there’s more soil than you think, in some areas, depending on where you locate.  Up on the hill, it’s shallower; over the hill, deeper.
 
A whole lot of crops do well in raised beds; most actually.  We’ve had good luck with Oregon Spring and Bush Goliath tomatoes, as both of these are relatively well behaved determinate plants that don’t sprawl too much.  All peppers do well, as the plants are relatively small and erect.  As for squash, you can grow bush squash or make smaller raised "hills" and put vining squash just about anywhere.
 
You can also "make" soil, over the years by mounding compost up on your garden area, tilling it in, adding more, tilling that in, and so on.  It takes awhile, but you can actually build up a productive, large garden "mound" in this way.  Mix leaves, sawdust, rotted manure, pine needles, peat moss and straw well together with some soil, and pretty darned soon, you’ll have a big raised area to plant in.  And even on the shallow soil, you’ll find that a lot does well up there, due to the moisture from the lake effect.  There are a lot of good gardens up north on the Arrowhead!  Good luck and welcome to Minnesota! — Jackie

Hopi Pale Grey seeds

I am “still” trying to get some Hopi Pale Grey seeds. Any more suggestions? Would you happen to have 3-4 seeds you are willing to part with?

Connie Hatley
Winthrop, Washington

Good news!!! Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com) or 2278 Baker Creek Road, Mansfield, MO  65704 has lots of Hopi Pale Grey seeds this year!!!  I’m so relieved that someone is once again carrying this great squash.  If you, for some reason, can’t get them there, let me know and I’ll send you some.  And Yes, I will be saving my kind-of-wild Montana petunia seeds.  I’ll let everyone know, and will have a limited amount (God willing!) to share this fall.  Remind me then, okay? — Jackie

Thanks for the inspiration

Not a question, but a thanks: Jackie, you’ve been an inspiration. This week I put a new Briggs &
Stratton engine on the Troy-Bilt tiller my grandfather bought when I was a baby (35 or 36 years ago)
and got the ground tilled for my 1200-sqft garden – the first garden I’ve done since my parents last had one when I was a teenager, 20+ years ago.

Aaron Neal
Fort Worth, Texas

Wow!  I’m so happy you’re up and running.  My old, old TroyBilt, bought in 1976 finally bit the dust a few years ago, after several rebuilds.  (We used it a LOT, including a 3 acre market garden.)  I loved it so much, we bought another one, and have tilled a lot of ground with it.
 
I hope your garden is very bountiful, this year and in the years to come.  The best of luck! — Jackie

Dealing with milk stone

Recently I was given a beautiful stainless steel milk bucket (to replace a plastic one getting rather worn out.) I was told that milk , after a while, makes something called milk stone, and needs to be cleaned with a special sort of soap. In your experience, is there another way to clean buckets adequately with household ingredients (like soda or something)? I have stainless steel pots that I just wash with regular dish soap. I threw out the dishwasher as I can do a better job than it can so I just use regular soap on all the dishes and am wondering why the bucket wouldn’t fair just as well.

Gail Erman
Palisade, Colorado

Milk stone is a deposit that adheres to milking equipment that is used very heavily.  I have never found it a problem in homestead milking conditions. Yes, you can treat your milk pail like your other stainless steel equipment.  Just make sure you rinse your pail well and drain it to dry.  Wiping it dry could possibly put bacteria on the clean pail from your dish towel. — Jackie

Jackie on the Oprah show?

I just sent some of your info to the Oprah Show. Please get busy writing your autobiography and be sure to include all your knowledge of some many things that I have read about. I think they should send some Oprah producers (or Oprah and Gayle) to come and spend some time with you. How do you get your snail mail? How long does it take you to get to the nearest town? I’m totally fascinated
with your lifestyle.

Joanna Wilcox
Boone, North Carolina

I doubt that Oprah would be interested in our "boring" lifestyle, but hey, we love it!  We get our snail mail through our old mailbox, way out on the road, a mile away.  It comes through the Angora post office, twelve miles away.  But Angora isn’t really a town, town; it has but a few buildings and is a dot on the highway.  Our nearest town is Cook (population 600) and it is 16 miles northeast of us.  If I drive into town, it usually takes me about 25 minutes; five of those on our driveway, which the top speed is 15 mph because of the humps and bumps.  Of course sometimes it takes longer if I see something interesting.  So far on our drive we’ve seen wolves, bears, fishers, a lynx, a cougar, lots of deer and smaller woodland creatures.  One morning I had to stop and watch a huge bald eagle sitting low in a pine, eating a piece of meat.
 
We’re actually quite civilized here; we get UPS and even FedEx!  Wow!  Of course they sure hate to come into our place.  I think they’re scared so far off the road. — Jackie

Safe canned Navy beans

I recently canned ten quarts of navy beans. They were dried. I soaked them for 18 hours, boiled them for one hour, and filled the jars. I processed them for 90 minutes at 10 pounds pressure.
When the processing was complete, I noticed that all of the jars lost quite a bit of liquid. All jars sealed. Will they be safe to eat, without much liquid?

Bruce Clark
Interlaken, New York

Yes, the beans will be safe to eat, provided they sealed well.  This loss of liquid happens when we fill the jars a bit too full with liquid or when the pressure fluctuates during processing.  You know; oops, it’s 14 pounds.  I’ll turn it down.  Eeek!  Now it’s 9 pounds.  Back up.  It happens.  Don’t worry. — Jackie

Making sure the kids get enough to eat

I have new baby goats, among them a set of quads and a set of triplets. They seem to be doing great. They are very active! Would you supplement with bottles or just let the nannys take care of them?

Kathryn Harris
Fresno, California

When you have more than twin baby goats, you’ll have to actively make sure they all get enough to eat.  You usually have a pig or two in the bunch, and they won’t let the weaker or less agressive kids eat.  If you know the doe has enough milk to feed all the kids (be sure of this) you can stand by and play switch the kids so they all have equal turns at the teats.  Or you can milk the doe and divide her milk, feeding by bottle twice a day.
 
If she doesn’t have enough milk, as they demand more while growing, you can supplement her milk with powdered milk replacer.  Use either goat milk replacer or lamb.  The calf replacer is much cheaper but will give them the scours (diarrhea) and they won’t do well on it. — Jackie

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