Q and A: Homestead water and Re-canning from #10 cans

Homestead water

My husband and I are looking for retirement property. Somewhat of a survival retreat for now then converting to a homestead when we retire. We of course are concerned first and foremost with water. What is the recommended gpm for a family of 4? Do we need a separate water source for critters and garden, or just a higher gpm well?

Tracey Morris
Salinas, California

An “average” well should put out 10 gallons per minute. But that’s just a ballpark figure. In reality, you can do with much less with a little tweaking. For instance, although our well puts out 15 gallons per minute, it doesn’t fill through cracks in the bedrock that fast. We can water for about an hour and half at that rate, then we have to turn the well off and wait an hour for it to catch up. It’s really not been a problem. We just have to alternate our water uses. For instance, we’ll fill two large stock tanks in the morning, then fill two other tanks in another pasture in the afternoon. We try to make sure NONE of them get too low. Then it’s quick and easy to fill them, one after another. When I watered the garden from the well, I did have to rest the well periodically. Many solar pumps put out much less, but often these pumps pump into a large holding tank which waters livestock or gravity feeds a home.

The main thing with a well is to be sure that it does not go dry in the summer and that the water is good to drink. No, you don’t have to have a separate water source for critters and garden. One good well will do the trick nicely. We remedied our “resting the well” by pumping garden and orchard water from our spring basin via a gasoline water pump. We can water with eight sprinklers at once and not draw down the spring pond at all. What a labor saver! — Jackie

Re-canning from #10 cans

I know that you have said that you re-can olives that you buy in the #10 cans, but is there anything else that comes in #10 cans that will take the heat/pressure of re-canning? I ask because once in awhile, I find dented #10 cans of tomato products at our local bent and dent store but it takes up freezer space to store what I don’t use after opening the can.

Debi
Howe, Indiana

Debi, you can re-can nearly everything you get in a #10 can! I, also, have gotten salvage #10 cans for VERY little and have re-canned them when my garden was only so-so on new homesteads. Some of the things I’ve re-canned are: tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, tomatoes with chiles, spaghetti sauce, baked beans, chili dog sauce, catsup, peaches, and jalapeño slices (these soften, but taste great). I also make recipes using the #10 cans to home can, such as using tomato paste to thicken home canned salsa, using tomato sauce in home canned spaghetti sauce with meat, chili dog sauce as an ingredient in home canned chili. Just be sure to process each recipe for the length of time required for the longest processing time, at 10 pounds pressure if it requires pressure canning, of the ingredient in the recipe requiring the longest time — usually meat. — Jackie