Yep, I get sick too

Right smack in the middle of deadline for the magazine, my mother being in the hospital for another bowel blockage (luckily cleared without surgery this time) and building on the new addition, I got the worst head cold I’ve had in years. You know the achy, sneezy, runny nose, coughing thing. Ugh! This is day three, and I sure hope I get past it soon. About all I could do today was wait on Mom, who’s home now, sleep, read a few seed catalogs and sleep. Oh. I mentioned that already, didn’t I? Ha ha ha. So it’s as much rest as I can get, lots of fluids, vitamin C, echinacea and aspirin.

Readers’ Questions:

Floating tomatoes

I canned tomatoes last fall and found when I now use them there is a lot of fluid in bottom of jar. What causes this?

Mary Walker
St. Clair Shores, Michigan

Tomatoes often float to the top of the canning jars during storage, especially those that were packed cold. It is nothing to worry about. As always, just make sure the jars are sealed, the tomatoes look and smell fine before use. — Jackie

Storing honey

I recently purchased some honey in bulk and it came in 5# plastic containers, (like large tubs of margarine comes in). I’m wondering how I should best store it? Should I leave it in the container it came in for long term storage, or would it be best to transfer the honey into glass jars; and if so, would I need to sterilize them first?

Donna Gutierrez
Albuquerque, New Mexico

I would sterilize quart or even pint canning jars, then ladle your honey into them, leaving 1/2″ of headspace. Using sterile lids, your honey will stay good for years and years. I had some over 10 years old that was still just as tasty as fresh. If it solidifies, just heat the jars in a pan of hot water; it will liquify as normal. — Jackie

Making instant soup

I have dried many vegetables from our garden and would like to make individual “to go” soups. In each one pint canning jar, then, I’d like to put the right amount of boullion and various vegetables that, when boiling water is added, make a large cup of soup. Have you ever done this? If so, do you have any advice or recipes?

Kristen Kraakevik
Scottsdale, Arizona

No, I haven’t. I just grab a jar of broth, throw a few handfuls of dehydrated vegetables in them and simmer with appropriate herbs. But there’s no reason you can’t make your own soup-to-go mixes like you wish. Just figure what boullion is needed for each pint, add your vegetables, and you’re in business. For ideas on combinations, read the labels on dehydrated soups in the store. Take a notebook and make notes, then tweak them to suit your tastes; most have way too much salt. — Jackie

Chicken feed hormones

In Issue 109 there was a letter from someone who wrote to you regarding their reluctance to use commercial chicken feed because it contained hormones. That got me to wondering, so I checked the ingredients label on my feed sacks. There wasn’t anything listed that sounded like a hormone. The next time I bought feed I asked my feed supplier if he put hormones in the feed he sells. He assured me that he didn’t. I pretty much forgot about it after that until recently when I did a Google search on “chicken feed hormones”. Everything the search turned up agreed that hormones have not been used in poultry feed since the 1940s.

There may be valid reasons for not using commercial feeds but apparently hormones are not one of them. Just thought you’d be interested in knowing.

F H Aydelotte
Stevensville, Pennsylvania

Thanks. I haven’t found any evidence of hormones added to commercial chicken feed either. What concerns me is the “mystery ingredients” in our feed, listed as “poultry digest”, “grain by-products” etc. I read labels on everything; people feed, pet food, livestock feed, and toilet even paper. It sometimes makes you do a double take. — Jackie

Canning your own recipes

My wife and I are getting into canning. She made her ham and beans as usual and we canned for 95 minutes at 10 lbs. We are under 1000ft elevation. Is it OK to fully cook your home recipe and then can them? Should one stay with “proven” recipes for canning? I keep reading this on the internet. This weekend we are going to can her chili.

Ron Rogers
Centerview Missouri

Yes, you can make your own recipe and can it, cooking it fully first. (but if you do, some foods may soften due to long cooking/processing times) The reason everything says “stay with proven recipes” is that some people do not process the food long enough for safe processing for the food requiring the longest processing time, often meat or another low-acid vegetable, such as potatoes or corn.

It’s safest, of course, to always use a “proven recipe”, but you can vary your spices to suit your taste, even then. — Jackie

Canning soft cheese

My wife has been making soft goat cheese for a few years. She will often freeze some for later use. She was wondering if she could can it also. Do you have a recipe to share?

Our Nubian doe is due to kid the first part of April so we are looking forward to fresh milk, cheese, ice cream and yogurt.

Brad Barrie
Strong, Maine

I haven’t canned soft cheeses yet, so can’t give any information. Sorry. But enjoy your dairy products after your doe freshens. I know I can’t wait until some of my girls freshen. I wonder if I’ll get any surprises like Velvet having triplet does, this year? — Jackie

Organic gardening

I was wondering if you could please tell me where you stand regarding the “Organic” food preference. I try to garden as organically as I can but sometimes wonder if it is worth the added expense and effort. I use fish fertilizer and other organic products but is it necessary to use organic seed and organic potting soil, etc.?

Deborah Motylinski
Brecksville, Ohio

I really believe that gardening as organically as possible will give more benefits than just tasty food. No, I don’t always buy “organically grown” seed, use grow-your-own soil and compost. I use organic and biologic insect control. BUT if I was about to lose my crop and couldn’t stop an infestation using organic materials, I might consider a chemical solution. Heavy on the might. I also might just keep using organics and hope for the best. I really, really hate chemicals of any kind. It seems an oxymoron to grow my own food so they are chemical free, then add chemicals to my soil that might be around for a long, long time. — Jackie

Draft-free chicken house

In the latest q&a you discussed a draft-free chicken house with no openings. I had thought that chickens let off a lot of moisture and needed some way for that moisture to escape. When my husband build our quick coop I had him leave a small gap at the top of the wall under the roof line. Was that a mistake? I understand that in Arkansas cold is not nearly the issue as on your place but we still have a few days and I really want to take good care of the girls, it seems like a moral obligation for all their hard work.

Stephanie Arnold
Corning, Arkansas

That was a good idea. I keep forgetting that a lot of people live in warmer climates! If I left a small gap for air, the girls would freeze. I regulate the dampness issue by making sure there are plenty of dry shavings and opening the door to the south on warmer sunny days. — Jackie

Canning leftovers and warm weather food preservation

I love your website. After getting involved as an avid reader of your website, I have purchased a large pressure canner for $300 and the next week my wife bought one for $2 at a sale. I have tried my hand at homemade cheese, butter, sausage, root beer and have canned any and everything I have thought of or read on your site with great results. Thanks, I love it.

I have two questions. Having had a very large family, my wife nor I have any clue how to cook for two (our kids are grown and gone)and we never know when a houseful will just pop in. If we make a large qty of some meal and we can/preserve the excess, won’t it be “mushy” I understand I should can it at the length of time for the longest time ingredient and all that, but if it is cooked once complete, won’t canning it make it soggy? Any tricks here?

Second, I live in SE Georgia. Most everything I read on homesteading and self reliance seems to come from someone who lives in a cold weather climate and experience some level of winter meaning snow/freezing weather. I live in a very hot climate in the summer 105 degrees plus and the winter rarely goes below freezing. Your neighbors are Elk and mine are alligators and wild hogs. Things like root cellars and other food storage methods don’t seem to apply here or do they? Do you know anything about warm/hot weather food preservation or know where a person would find information on self reliance and homesteading techniques in this type of climate. I really find nearly nothing written for hot weather climates. Lots of luck finding cool places to store anything where I live. Hope you can help.

Kevin Sakuta
Jesup, Georgia

Yes, you can home can leftover meals, such as stews, soups and even turkey, roasts and other larger meals. While some ingredients sometimes get a little soft, nearly everything turns out definitely “edible”, with most very good. It’s hard to cook for two after the kiddies have flown the nest. I went from eight kids to one in two years and still have days that a pint of this or that seems oh so small!

I’m sorry that I don’t have much hot climate advice as the warmest place I’ve lived in was northern New Mexico, but that was up on the high plains and while we got hot, we also had definite winter. How about it readers? Any advice to share with Kevin? — Jackie

Canning low-acid tomatoes

I’m going to try growing an ultra-low acid tomato this year for my mother. She developed some stomach problems and can no longer tolerate the acids in many foods, and one thing she misses the most is fresh tomatoes. My question is this: assuming my crop does well enough that there’s enough to can, what time and pressure should I use? I don’t want to add any acids to it, that would ruin the point. Do I process as if they were bell peppers? Toss a sliver of meat in each jar and process for the meat? Some will no doubt wind up as spaghetti sauce anyway.

Melanie Rehbein
Madison, Wisconsin

Good question. I would can the extra tomatoes as stewed tomatoes or tomatoes with celery. Neither requires the addition of lemon juice or other acids. Both are pressure canned. Check your Ball Blue Book for directions. The Tomatoes and Celery are canned at 10 pounds pressure for 30 minutes (pints) and 35 minutes for quarts, where the Stewed tomatoes are processed at 10 pounds for 15 minutes for pints and 20 minutes for quarts. Of course, making your spaghetti sauce would also help “get rid” of extra tomatoes real fast, with tasty results! — Jackie

Hatching goose eggs

I have two year old geese that have already started laying eggs. I want them to hatch about 6 goslings but before that I want to use the eggs. How many days, or weeks can I take the eggs and still have them lay more to hatch. I don’t want to run out at the end, but they already have about l0 in the nest.

Gail Erman
Palisade, Colorado

It highly depends on the geese and their breed. Lighter breeds, such as Chinese, lay more eggs, even at a young age. Often heavy breeds like Embden lay less eggs, especially when they are young. I’d take a couple of eggs a day until your goose quits laying and begins setting. Sometimes if you break up a clutch by taking all the eggs, the goose refuses to lay more eggs for quite some time. Other times, she will simply lay more eggs. — Jackie