Moving on to canning now!

[MoWin]

Ok, we have the water situation taken care of, chickens ordered, seeds ordered, and fruit trees ordered. Now I am thinking about canning. (I have to keep putting the thought of spray drift again, out of my head because it is driving me insane!  My hubby has already said if they kill it again this year, he will not be as understanding and nice about it.   ) So I am moving on in my plans for putting up lots of food this year. It is kind of embarrassing to admit this, but I have not used my canner in over 7 years.  Jonny was home and he has been gone from home for 7 years.  Today I checked it out. It is a Presto brand bought at least 25 years ago if not more. I have never replaced anything on it. So I know about everything will need replaced. I figured it up and it will cost about $40 to replace everything. Yikes. I can buy a new one at Walmart for a bit over $60. Not sure about this. I would love an American canner, but they cost from $177 up to almost $400. Can't do that right now. So what should I do? Replace my canner with another Presto or just repair my old one? The canner has been stored in the bottom of one of my cabinets at the old house. It has seen better days, but might clean up pretty good. Even if I don't replace the rubber stuff and gauge, I could still use it as a water bath canner. 

I have also been looking into jar lids. Walmart carries Ball regular lids for $1.78 per dozen. They had some cheaper ones, but they are made in China and do not say BPA free. No thanks. I have checked on Amazon and other sites and even in bulk they cost more than this per dozen. I think I will start budgeting my grocery money to buy 5-10 boxes each pay period. I will also have to replace the rings, but they can be reused many times. The wide mouth lids were $2.48 per dozen. I will need some of them, but most of my jars are the regular.

This is also embarrassing to admit, but I have not been in to my cellar in over 5 years.  It is scary and creepy down there. I always had kids to go with me. LOL Kevin said fixing up the cellar and maybe even running electricity to it so I can have a light is a high priority this year.  I hope my jars are still in good shape.

You know I have been thinking....(Kevin says that is always dangerous. LOL) If I do all this work this summer....gardening, canning, raising and butchering chickens, I should have a reward, right? Maybe I will ask for another cat or a big dog for outside. Hmmm, probably not, just rambling tonight. LOL

Blessings,
Winona

[Rooney]

Wow!  You are going to be a busy lady this summer.  Do you by chance know the people that own the land next to you?  Maybe you could approach them before planting season and tell them how much you need your garden.  Could you ask them if they could do it on a day when the wind is blowing the other way?

[MoWin]

Lindsay,

The land across from us used to be owned by some wonderful neighbors who would never have done this to us. They passed on and their kids sold the land. We don't know the new owners. I think they just order the nasty spray and Sur-Gro does it on a first come first done basis. At least the boss of Sur-Gro knows how we feel. I am sure they will try to be more careful this year. Our problem is that we are north of this field. The wind is almost always out of the south in the spring and summer. Also the field is elevated, so the spray can drift even further. I am just placing this in the Lord's hands and hoping He protects our food supply this year. 

Blessings,
Winona

[Cheryl]

Winona, I also had a Presto canner for over 20 years and the only thing I ever replaced on it was the gasket.  It's still a good canner but a couple of years ago my husband bought me a new Presto.  The newer one doesn't have a dial gauge, just the 3 piece weights which jiggle.   I think I like it better since I don't have to watch the dial but can go by the sound of the "jiggle."

I never buy the Mainstay brand of lids at WM.  My mother bought some once and they didn't have a good seal rate for her, so I only buy Ball or Golden Harvest.  I find the Golden Harvest at Dollar General and Family Dollar for $1.50/dozen and I've never had a problem with them.  Almost all of my jars are used and still going strong.

[MoWin]

Cheryl, you spoke about your jars being used.  I got a chuckle out of that. My jars come from: my MIL, my mom, my grandma, the neighbor from across the road who has passed on now, garage sales and maybe 8 dozen that I bought new. LOL You could almost say my jars are a family thing. LOL 

I have used the Golden Harvest jar lids without problem. I forgot about those. I will check the Dollar Store next time I am in there. I was not impressed at all with the Mainstay lids. In fact, I have been staying away from the Mainstay brand on most things. Just not good quality. 

Blessings,
Winona