Canning with flour and apple trees with fire blight

I made your mustard beans the other day, but am wondering about the flour in it. I am assuming it’s safe to can, but am wondering what makes it safe? Is it the amount of sugar/vinegar?
 
Also, our 23 year old apple trees have fire blight. It is impossible to get all of it pruned from them as they are so large. Is this a lost cause? We trimmed as much as we could, but I still see some in the upper branches. Should we just cull them?
 
Liz Wheeler
Miles City, Montana

The thing with recipes with added flour is that most of them make a recipe that is too thick to safely can. The mustard bean pickles have plenty of vinegar and sugar but the small amount of flour doesn’t make the “sauce” too thick, more like honey mustard dipping sauce, not like very thick gravy.

I’d try to give those trees a chance by taking off the top of the tree. You can use a chainsaw and whack off the entire top branches that show fireblight infection. In commercial orchards, many use a tree topping machine mounted on a hydraulic arm of a tractor; sort of like a brush hog to give all of the trees a periodic flat-top, making the trees spread out and be easier to pick. So don’t be afraid to be a bit drastic in your pruning. It just may save those trees. Be sure to burn the affected branches so you don’t spread the disease by leaving them lying around. — Jackie

Dehydrated zucchini

While answering another reader’s question, you mentioned that you use sliced, dehydrated zucchini in many recipes. I’d love to know how you use it. You may have mentioned this in your cookbook, but I’ve loaned it to a friend and can’t check right now.

Lisa Smith
Sunbury, Pennsylvania

I toss a handful or two into my potatoes au gratin and scalloped potatoes. I also use it as an ingredient in mixed casseroles, stews, and soups to name a few. You can also rehydrate it and drain, then toss into a batch of fried potatoes and onions about halfway through cooking. The dehydrated zucchini is VERY versatile! — Jackie

7 COMMENTS

  1. Lisa, I think I did share the info about the radishes. I got my love of gardening from my great-grandfather, but I learned older techniques from reading – Jackie’s blog, an organic homesteading yahoo group, and books (Carrots love Tomatoes was the first one I read, but there is now lots of info online). I learned to just try to implement a few things each year, 1 to 5 new ideas or plants. More than that and my mind exploded and I didn’t do anything! -April

  2. arm2008, are you the reader that shared about the radishes? I think you might be. If so, thank you again for sharing your tip. It really helped me.

    I’m going to look for that book….and scatter some radish seeds. :)

  3. The bees love the radish blossoms, too, and the more they like my garden the more time they spend there – double bonus! At the end of the season I shake some of the dried pods out over the garden and I usually get some very early radishes as a treat in the spring.

    For more beneficial garden pairings read up on “Companion Planting.”
    -April

  5. Hi Anita,
    I planted my squash in rows with a soaker hose permanently in place along side the row. Then I planted the radishes all along the row, right up against the squash seeds. The other reader told me to leave the radishes to grow right along with the squash. Right now, the radish plants are tall and blooming. (The radishes are also producing seed pods which are a tasty treat that my children and I snack on while in the garden. ) The radish plants might look like big weeds to some people, but keeping the plants alive is all I care about right now.

    I made good use of that soaker hose all summer, too, and kept my squash well watered.
    I also recently learned about spraying the squash plants with a 50/50 solution of milk and water to combat fungus and blight.
    So, I did all of these things.
    I sure hope you can get your squash to produce next summer. I know how disappointing it can be to lose your squash plants. This is the first time I’ve been able to keep them alive this long.

  6. Lisa,
    I’m interested in how you planted your radishes and squash together. I lost all of my Hopi Pale Gray plants this year. Since I plant them in hills would I plant the radishes around the hills and leave them until the squash plants are well established?
    Thanks?

    Anita
    Whitewater, CO

  7. Thanks, Jackie, for answering my question. I’m looking forward to trying this out.
    I have to tell you that my Hopi pale grey squash are doing well. Last year the plants died early on because of disease spread by the squash beetle. One of your readers suggested that I try planting radishes with my squash to deter the beetles. I did that, and, thankfully, my squash plants are loaded with nice big squash. I’m anticipating a great harvest.

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