Originally posted by: seastar on 8/28/2007 12:26:28 PM

Lil and Baby,
Pickled dilled okra is one of my favorite canned veges. Speaking of okra, not only did our garden not get watered but last week our freezer went out. I had put up 2 quart bags of butter beans, 10 quart bags of purple hull peas or pink eyes some call them, 10 quart bags of cut up orka ready to fry, 4 quart bags of whole okra and 36 ears of corn plus grocery bought food. Of course we lost it all. ` We had a lightening strike that took the freezer out. We contacted our insurance and they are going to gives us the money to replace freezer and food lost. Of course, since the items of fresh produce I put up are all gone now except the corn and maybe I can get some more okra, I won't have the really good stuff in the freezer to eat. So I really wished I live close to some of you who have a good garden so I could come and pick some fresh veges to eat.

Janis

Originally posted by: boopnut on 8/29/2007 4:58:43 AM

Bet it tastes better than regular cooked okra! But the deep fried okra was growing on me.

Deb

Originally posted by: LavenderFrost on 8/29/2007 6:19:20 AM

Geez Janis, you must be thinking you should never leave home again!

Originally posted by: silversong on 8/29/2007 6:51:13 AM

too bad you did not get it turned off right after the strike. my mom worked for a repair man for a while and he said that what usuly happens in a strike is the oil heats up and exspnds, or something, anyway if you turn off the freezer and let it sit for a little bit then it should be ok unless the wiring fries. do let the new one sit ab hour or so after you get it just in case the oil gets shook up in travil.
oh and you can just lay the beans out or a food dehydrater or 200 in your oven can speed the dring up a bit.

Originally posted by: baby on 8/29/2007 10:03:16 AM

Janis that horrible all that hard work. My heart goes out to you

Originally posted by: Ter on 8/29/2007 7:25:58 PM

Janis - sorry to hear about the loss of the freezer and food - we had a lighning strike here in 2005 - it took out all of my phone lines, computer, pump in the well, and pump in septic system....fortunately our insurance company was wonderful to deal with.

Our friend down the road got hit about a week later and lost her freezer and food - I remember her having to go to the grocery store and getting replacement costs on all of her grocery items....what a mess - I hope your ordeal goes a little smoother. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Originally posted by: Rudy on 8/30/2007 3:04:52 AM

Oh Janis..i am so sorry...thank goodness your insurance is covering the cost of the food...although in no way can the insurance ever make up for all of the hard work you put into it ....

Originally posted by: Linda T. on 8/30/2007 8:49:04 PM

Janis, I'm sorry to hear about loosing the foods in your freezer. That is one thing that I'm always afraid of. Some day I will learn to put up food with a pressure canner.
Linda T.

Originally posted by: seastar on 8/30/2007 10:48:42 PM

Ladies,

It really was a downer.

Speaking of canning I found what we call in Arkansas Horticulture Beans, they are kind of a glorified pinto bean, but here thery are called Carolina Evening something Bean and I want a bushel to put up. The lady at the produce market is going to get me some and if I don't have a new freezer by then I will have to can them. Now I have never canned beans before. I know how to can tomatoes in a canner and I have used a the hot pack before with them but not quite sure about beans so if any of you can help I would appreciate it.

Janis

Originally posted by: gmalil on 9/1/2007 7:47:12 PM

The garden is going great guns! we made salsa and pickled more okra today. YUM
Our son and his fiance came out and helped and were rewarded with some of the finished product as well as a raid of the garden.
It was the first time that I had noticed how HUGE some of the zucca gourds are getting!! WOOHOO! they are gigantic!
(I must have patience!)
LIL

Originally posted by: Linda T. on 9/2/2007 10:10:57 PM

With the canning beans, you have to utilize the pressure canner. Well, this year I did not get enough beans for much of anything.

I someday want to try my hand at canning some beans or peas or something just to see if I can do it.
Linda T.

Originally posted by: thisnthat on 9/5/2007 5:34:48 PM

I just read in the newspaper in the Home and Garden Section... To keep deer away from your garden, hang a bar of deoderant soap near your garden. Change it about every one to two weeks. They dont like the scent.
Hermy

Originally posted by: gmalil on 9/5/2007 9:13:05 PM

YOU KNOW!!! I AM CLAIMING THAT MY GOURD VINES ARE KEEPING THE DEER AWAY! they have only eaten 2 watermelons! the gourds, pretty much surround the melon patch....so maybe that poem I found spoke the truth about deer not liking the smell of the gourd leaves ??!?!?! that is what i tell my husband anyhow.

proud of my gourds!
LIL

Originally posted by: silversong on 9/8/2007 5:30:52 PM

sounds good to me. if i ever get a garden i will pland gourds on the boarders. little spiny black/red catapillers eat what was left of my mayops. oh well there was one i refrained from eating so there will be more vines next year.

Originally posted by: Pine Nut on 9/9/2007 6:16:06 AM

I have read over & over that you MUST use a pressure cooker to can beans...because there is not enough acid in them to can properly. Like there is in tomatoes. I would like to give it a try but admit i'm a bit afraid of the pressure cooker..I know nothing about them, except that they can explode.

I have tons of green tomatoes...Hope they can hang on long enough to ripen up. Otherwise i do pick them green & let them ripen in the house. I don't wrap in paper because I find it hard to keep up on what they are doing when they are all wrapped up. I get the beer flats from the liquor store, wash them in water with a T. bleach to kill any fungi/whatever & lay them in single layers. this way you can see a rotting one right away.

Originally posted by: thisnthat on 9/9/2007 11:57:45 AM

My mom loves her Pressure Cooker.
Me...I am afraid of them. They can explode. That did happen when I was little, lid popped off food went everywhere. No big deal but enough to scare me. My mom says the new ones are much better and if you follow the directions it wont explode. I dont know......

Originally posted by: Ter on 9/9/2007 12:46:52 PM

I love my pressure cooker...can't imagine life without it - what a time saver.

They say that you must use a pressure cooker for beans and meats, etc....because a regular water canner cannot get hot enough to kill the bacteria in them.

I've never had any problems with any of my pressure canners, and I use them all the time.

Originally posted by: silversong on 9/9/2007 5:30:39 PM

what dose acid have to do with canning? mom dose her beans in a water bath. she has also used the presure cooker and says that the new ones are better and don't normaly exsplode if they have a biult in release valve that holds the pressure up to a point and then alowes it to "leak" if it gets too high.
she has done alot this year, tomatoes,beans,peppers,peaches(from californa all arky peaches froze this year) nectoreans(same sorce), dad has californea grapes for wine this year (the white so it will be a bit differnt from concord or muskydine)and mom is still hoping for a fall crop of veggeies.

Originally posted by: gmalil on 9/12/2007 6:05:24 AM

I think I better be making room to move my Angelwing begonia inside! It will be freezing before we know it!
The garden is still going strong in some areas...the okra is now as tall as dh, need to make some more pickles and freeze some for frying and boiling...he likes it fried, i like it boiled.
The melon vines are about all dead, exposing lots of melons to eat! I could do a watermelon/cantaloupe diet!

LIL

Originally posted by: silversong on 9/12/2007 9:09:59 AM

i made three waiste high, 4ft wide piles of weeds yesterday and still have alot to go. that was only 1/3 of the back yard. i have plans for the creek this winter but i need to get there befor i can do anything.

Originally posted by: LavenderFrost on 9/13/2007 8:02:12 AM

Oh my goodness, Silversong. Sounds like you have a bigger mess than I do. Well, maybe. lol

Originally posted by: boopnut on 9/13/2007 9:38:03 AM

I don't know what to do with our tomatoes other than giving them away. I don't can. Is there a simple way to freeze them? I think my mom just peels them and freezes.

Any ideas?

Deb, who doesn't really cook

Originally posted by: silversong on 9/13/2007 11:48:25 AM

sure, just dump them in ziplock bags and freeze. no rep needed, and when they thaw the skin just peels off them. greet sub for canning them and no work.

Originally posted by: gmalil on 9/13/2007 12:13:46 PM

WOW!! that sounds easy enough!
i might just have to give that a try!

LIL

Originally posted by: boopnut on 9/13/2007 1:22:28 PM

Oh, and I have the Food Saver system with the vacuum bags. Will try that!

Thanks!
Deb

Originally posted by: Pine Nut on 9/13/2007 7:20:13 PM

It's been so cold out & my work schedule is kinda crappy..10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. so I haven't been out to look at it..I just know we haven't frozen over yet...i have some beans & a few ripe tomatoes out there...a couple small cukes.

Originally posted by: Stephanie61 on 9/18/2007 6:34:53 PM

It appears my garden is finished for the season. The freeze we had last week wreaked havoc on it. I still have a few tomatoes ripening but that's about it. I did manage to get a few watermelons and cantalopes. They were on the small side but very sweet inside. Lots of green beans and peas in the freezer. My pumpkin vines had a ton of blooms but didn't produce the first pumpkin for me. Oh well, maybe next year. We are planning to have an all raised bed garden next year with hopes of getting things in a little earlier.

Originally posted by: Ter on 9/19/2007 6:48:26 PM

Ours is done for the most part - I still have a few heads of cabbage to pick, and potatoes to dig...working on tomatoes now - made sauce both yesterday and today - and another batch scheduled for tomorrow...then some salsa - picked some grapes today too.