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megajas

Canning & grinding questions...

megajas
16 years ago

Ok, we're looking to get a 2nd home/vacation/retirement place... we've been looking to buy something on a motor boat lake ... but I'm really more interested in getting acreage. We live on 1 acre in a subdivision, so I am limited to what I can do/have (no chickens or goats, I HAVE had rabbits, dogs, cats, parrots, lizards, fish ... you get the idea). This past year we did a big remodeling project in the back with a 140' stone retaining wall. This fall we are building (7) 2'x8' raised beds and getting them ready for spring plantings for my herbs and vegetables. This fall I am also seed saving and doing a bunch of cuttings, ect ... to over winter. Ok, my goal here is to make THIS property as productive as possible/ self sufficient (3:1 plantings for the birds, squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, ect) and start doing canning/preserving and baking more homemade breads. I was trying to figure out our household usage in canned goods and products ... but need to know things like, if I am canning corn, how much corn would be needed for a quart (off cobb)? Or Green beans/carrots/peas? So I can figure on how much we will get out of our plot. Apples/Peaches/Pears for a quart of sliced canned fruit?

We are growing organic here... so I know everything will be healthier ... but cost wise, is there any savings versus buying store bought? What about in making your own breads? How much does it work out to per loaf if you buy your grains, grind it, & bake the bread?

Thank you for any help ... I am trying to cut costs while improving my family's eatting habits.

Hopefully if I can show how this works out here, my hubby will be more inclined to look at larger/more rural lot locations & options without thinking I am REALLY goofy.

-Bonnie (PS- we are feeding a family of 6 + my 2 grandparents atm)

Comments (3)

  • vaherbmom
    16 years ago

    Hi Bonnie,

    I have several great reference books for figuring amounts of fresh produce=how much canned. One is called Keeping the Harvest, another is Stocking Up and another is Putting Food By. I'll bet they have the latter two in your local library, or could get them via inter-library loan.

    Recently I saw a newer one at the library called "Preserving Food for Busy People" or something like that, but I don't know what it contains.

    I'll try to get a chance to look up corn as an example and see what I find in my books, but I do know that Keeping the Harvest has some really helpful charts that I use frequently to figure how many cannerloads I can get from a bushel of peaches, for example. Of course, it would always be only an estimate, but it's usually pretty close.

    I don't see how you could spend more on your food by gardening and canning than by purchasing it in the store. Just don't go for any really expensive garden equipment like a rototiller (which you won't need with raised beds anyway).

  • vaherbmom
    16 years ago

    Hi, sorry it took me a couple days. I was able to look at the chart in Keeping the Harvest and it says that 3 to 6 fresh husks of corn will make one quart canned. So for each 7 qt cannerload you would plan to harvest at least 42-47 larger ears.

    There are many similar, helpful charts in the book.

    Hth

  • gran2
    16 years ago

    This is such an exciting time -- all the planning and anticipation! Good for you!

    Anticipating a harvest is so very difficult -- you never know what kind of year you're going to have. The trick is getting too much the first year and not being able to keep up with it. Start small then build. I raise pole beans - blue lakes, a great, reliable variety. This year I put out a couple of short rows of Derbys for a friend who doesn't care for the blue lake flavor. Thank goodness, because the friend petered out, the year was exceptionally dry, and the pole beans didn't bear significantly until the season was about over. The derbys kept us in beans all summer and outdid themselves in stress situations. See? Never know. Hmmm -- if you get a 2 1/2 gal (regular size) galvanized bucket full of green beans, that's about 4 quarts. Peas? Pick all day and shell all night and you'll have 2-3 pints. I picked 2 5-gal buckets once and got 9 pints. Of course, by the time I got them all finished, the nutritional value was zip.

    About the canning -- if you've never canned before, be sure that your instruction book was printed within the last 10 years. Stocking Up (a Rodale Book) is wonderful, but old. I think there's one or two sequels to it to bring methods up to date. Remember that vegetables aren't the same as they were 20-30 years ago. The chemistry has changed. University of Georgia has about the best guide I've found, all tested recipes, etc. It's available in book form (I got a copy at the library) and also on line (Soeasytopreserve.com) . Don't forget to use your Cooperative Extension office as a resource.

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