Yesterday was the first big harvest of the gardens.
We rolled the dice this year on everything and planted really early. Last year our planting on time left me with nothing but burnt up plants and empty shelves. Heck, I already have watermelons on the vine this year!Yesterday we harvested the carrots and this was the first time I have had carrots this size. Some were three fingers wide and eight inches long. It is amazing how good soil and rain water makes these things grow. No chemicals, no fertilizer, nothing but pure old mother nature.
I didn't want to wait and take a chance on loosing any so right a way I dragged out the pressure canner and got after it. After finding out mine was missing a part, I had to borrow my mom's canner and being I never used this one before I was as nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. The wife said it was like she was having another baby or something. To my defense, I am just really cautious with these things.
After cleaning, pealing and cleaning again, I cut them in about one inch long pieces to keep the carrots from getting over cooked and mushy while in the canner. I hate mushy carrots.
I packed the already hot jars leaving one inch head room and then added boiling water. Then put them in the canner set to ten pounds and processed for 30 minutes.
I chose to use quart jars because one jar is a complete side dish for the family.
Next are the Potatoes and I have some Hamburger meat I need to get canned up as well. As soon as the tomatoes are ready I will doing a couple of cases of Spaghetti Sauce with meat.
So there you go, rocking it Homesteading style here on the Mini Farm
Awesome job! Glad it's working out this year for you. It's depressing going through all that work and reaping no rewards. Those carrots will taste even better when you get to crack open your first jar.
ReplyDeleteThanks Izzy, I want to eat them now. I left some uncanned just for that reason.
DeleteThey look great! I love carrots but they have a hard time growing here in the spring/summer (same season, more or less). Gonna try some in the fall, if my much less than stellar ones don't grow this season.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to hear the spaghetti sauce recipe. I hope to get enough tomatoes to try out at least sauce.
DFW I never had this good of a harvest before so I was really excited.
DeleteThe Spaghetti sauce will be my first time to can it so it will be a learning experience.
MDR, Wow, your carrots look fabulous! I'm so happy you have a beautiful harvest this year. I agree, I would be right on canning my carrots if they looked like yours. Now that you've canned them, ship them this way :-) (Just Teasing). I can't wait to hear and see more pictures on your next harvest. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandy. Compared to last year this is fantastic. We got so tired of eating store bought foods over the winter.
DeleteI'm a bit jealous over here in the pacific NW. Still can't get my beans and peas going. Wish we had warm weather early. Lol - good harvest. I'm wondering if you are going to plant more carrots (or something else?) in the spot you cleared out of carrots? How many quarts did you get? I know what you mean about quarts. Don't hardly bother with pints cause of 6 in the family.
ReplyDelete~God Bless
mamamcmann5 I wished we were in a cooler climate. It has already been in the 90s here and I am not ready for it.
DeleteI still have some carrots in the ground that I did not pull on the end of the raised bed but I also planted corn in with the carrots a while back. The corn is up about 24" tall now. The carrots were on the inside rows of the corn so the stalks kinda shaded the carrots.
I will have about 14 quarts in all when the rest is pulled.
Thanks for the comment
So glad to hear you say the canner makes you nervous. I just tried to can chicken soup last weekend and you would a thought I was waiting for a nuclear attack. The man bought me one of those American pressure canners without the gasket. Just a metal seal. The cook book is so confusing I couldn't figure out how long to cook most of that stuff. I figured 90 minutes on the soup packed with raw vegis and cooked chicken and stock and hot packed but it looks awful to me. Not so sure I like that canner. You carrots look good though. I see another PNW blogger reads your blog and we are both freezing out butts off still and trying to get the peas to grow.
ReplyDeleteSista, I am nervous just frying bacon when the kids are in the house.
DeleteMy canner was missing a vent valve that I just ordered for $14 bucks. It has a gauge on it to see where you are at as far as pressure. I had to borrow my moms and hers has the weight and I have never used it before so I had to play with the heat to keep the weight at a light rocking instead of the quick hammering.
I don't know anything about a canner without a gasket so that one is new to me.
The way I have always done it is Vegetables in quarts cook for about 30 minutes and meats 90.
I hope y'all up there get warmer weather soon so you can get on with the gardens.
Yup, I got a new canner this year and it was like I had never canned before. You just sit there watching it like it was a monster....and then nothing happens and it works just like it is supposed to. I just planted my carrots so hopefully with this rain (finally) they will get going.
ReplyDeleteBecky I think I pulled out what hair I had left. The missing part to mine is being shipped next week so I will have it back in service and I can give my mom's canner back.
DeleteGood luck on your carrots, I plan to replant in the fall.
Well done! Can't believe you have stuff to can already. Dang I can't wait to get down south!! :)
ReplyDeleteStephanie, you mean when you came down to visit you didn't get a garden started? LOL
DeleteMaybe you will get one in by the fall. If you have to move into the apartment like you were saying, one good thing about the South is that most Churches have a community garden, at least were I am, and you can help out and reap the benefits.
Good luck with the move.
buddy - those are some awesome looking carrots - woohoo! i am going to do the same as you this year - i shouldn't really be planting anything until end May but i think i am going to bite the bullet and start putting seedlings and seeds out in a few days. as for the pressure canner - i won't go near the thing. we have a propane stand thingy that we use the pressure canner on and never indoors - i have heard too many horror stories about 12 cans of beans blowing up all over the ceiling and such. and the thing scares me to death so jambaloney does the canning. i do all of the prep so it's a good trade-off. again, though - those are some gorgeous carrots!
ReplyDeleteyour friend,
kymber
Thanks Kymber, with all the safe guards the new ones have in place I feel they are a lot safer than Grandmaw's old canner. There is no way I would cook with one of those.
DeleteIF your system works then it is a good one. Good luck on your seeds.
Nice job. We have already had some sweet corn.(Publix) Heck back in MN it just got planted and it will be July or Aug. before its ready.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rob, My corn right now is about 2 feet tall. I planted it along the sides of the raised beds where the carrots were at. It will be a couple of months before I will get any corn and it will not be enough to can. I don't have the room to grow that much so it will be roasted and eaten off the cob.
Deletei know everyone has said the same, but those are some "high cotton" carrots!!!
ReplyDeletethe valve looks like an American Standard like we have... i was nervous at first - i don't blame you for being cautious!!
but they do the job - this year we are hoping for a massive harvest and will put the canner through it's paces!
awesome buddy!
Thanks Jam.
DeleteI don't know what the brand name is on this one, like I said I borrowed it from my mom.
My little $14 part will be in next week so I can fire mine up for the first time this year doing hamburger meat.
Good luck on your massive harvest. I hope you have more than you can use.
Lovely! Nice work!
ReplyDeleteThanks Rae
DeleteThose turned out really pretty! Good job!
ReplyDeleteThank you SFG
Delete