greenhouser wrote: Today everyone sits in front of a TV or PC and seldom shares moments, times, sharing like that any more.

Isn't that sad!?

My husband and I both stopped watching tv before we met (we've been married 2 years this July), as we realized that living alone, a tv became a hole in the wall that your time fell into, and decided not to resume when we got married. As a result, we are pop-culture retards, but spend much more time talking and interacting than many couples do.

People used to have to entertain themselves, so they talked, read or sang together (or had canning parties!), got together to sew or build things, and in general shared their lives the way we do not, nowadays.

Don't get me wrong, I love all the conveniences of modern life, and you might have to shoot me to get my computer away from me...but I wonder sometimes, what we're leaving behind.

We're leaving behind warm memories of family and sharing and enjoying the companionship of real human beings, not talking actors on a screen as we sit, each in his or her own little world, gaping mindlessly at a babbling TV. The generation now had no concept of what life was like in those days only 40 or 5o years ago. They don't even get to eat dinner together no less share the responsibility for the family's welfare and general survival. It is indeed sad.

How young is young? I am 42, have been canning for about five years. Not so very young, but I will note that I'm the first to can voluntarily in my family in 3 generations. My mother had not interest, and my grandmother did it only during the war out of necessity. So there are definitely some of us who are coming to this activity rather than leaving it!

I started to can when I lived in the big city, too--- grew my whole year's worth of tomato products in a small city backyard. Now I live in a small town, and have a bigger yard, but I' be canning no matter where I lived. It's true most of my city friends don't share this hobby---some often say they'd like to try it, but they never actually have the time or energy.

And, as Shirley said in another thread, I wouldn't do it if I didn't enjoy it. But I do, and I love the quality of the result. And the feeling of looking at rows of jars in the pantry can't be beat!

Zabby, who also spends plenty of time gaping at talking actors on a babbling TV, and makes no apologies for it---like I said, I do what pleases *me*

Canning feeds the soul as well as the tummy. Looking at those jars full of food after a long session of warmer than normal hours just gives you a satisfaction hard to beat.

I canned when my kids were little and we were pretty much self-sufficient or trying to be. Now that I have grandkids and greatgrands along with back problems, etc..old age.. I still can with help. To find the beauty in a full glass jar sparkling on the counter as it cools just can yourself. It doesn't matter what you can, some things I freeze, it's just doing it even if only a few jars.

Ok so I get sentimental about canning, it's work but it's worth it.

Jackie

Here, I saw a dwarf pear tree that my dad had planted never bearing any fruits. I thought that it may be the lack of pollination due to very early flowering. I went out one spring and used a Q-tip to manually pollinate. I was amazed that it had at least 30 tiny pears a month later. Something black had started to get onto the leaves, which soon fell off then the fruits fell off. It was dug up and destroyed. Nearby, was a very healthy quince tree and it was doing well, except for a few brown spots on a few of the fruits. It never saw any sprays as did the pear. I had to remove the quince as it was planted only 3 feet from the shed's door. Now, after a LOT of research, I still grow blueberries, as they do quite well, as well as a small peach tree, 5 apple trees, and disease, and insect resistant Asian pear trees. All of these have been doing well, and two of the apples are big producers now. Its all a matter of the types of fruits you can grow. Because of very early flowering on some trees or bushes, I have a colony of orchard mason bees. The birds do love the blueberries and are very active for feeding their young. I feed the birds in winter only, so they are always around looking for a meal. The nice part is they also love to congregate around my vegetable garden to look for worms and bugs. At broccoli harvest time, sparrows even seem to roost in the plants, just to get some nice caterpillers. I even see their young family chirping away while the parents bring them to the food sources. Mother nature is a little forgiving, but it takes patience and time, plus a proactive approach to keep things growing in a garden. TLC in a garden makes for a happy garden.. Proactive means to organically protect your garden from damages due to diseases or bugs. Without it, you can only expect back the little effort you put into it. Seeing a few broccoli plants having all the leaves chewed off tells me I have some kind of bug eating them. Last evening I sprayed neem and some other organic products to help protect the tender leaves of the damaged plante as well as the healthier looking neighbors. If all goes well the plants will recover and will eventually produce a product. I've got many young and tender lettuce plants now, and none are attacked yet. I expect with my proactive approach towards the problems, that even the lettuce will be harvested soon. Squirrels here, are a rodent pest and are dealt with in a lethal manner, as are chipmunks. Without the use of traps, they would be the winners and not me.

To: awm03

I feel that way about Smuckers orange marmalade. I've yet to taste anyone's home made orange marmalade to come even close to Smuckers. Unfortunately I had to give up bread and sweetened marmalade.

To: zabby17

Neither my grandmother or mother canned. Both grew nice sized gardens as both owned their own homes with large yards in NYC. My grandparents ate from the garden from spring to fall but never preserved anything. My parents grew mainly tomatoes and peppers. So it was my Aunt upstate who was the first canner. She canned through necessity more than as a hobby. It was also evening entertainment for the family all summer and fall. None were big TV watchers and with only 3 fuzzy snowy channels, the TV didn't invite watching. Now in their 80s and alone, they don't can or garden as they did before. They even replaced the wood-stove that heated their old house with some kind of modern Gas unit.

Nothing wrong with TV unless it starts to become the central interest of the household. I don't think that's a good thing, but that's just my personal opinion.

To: Jackie

I well understand the satisfaction of seeing those colorful rows of canned food lining the shelves or cooling on the counter. :)

To: ksrogers

We grow as organically as possible. Organic gardening is fine if you can afford the outrageously priced blood and bone meal. Wood ash we have in abundance from the fireplace and sulfur and Ironite are affordable. Blood and bone meal are not, so we must use 10-10-10 plus all the organic matter we can compost yearly. Insects are a real serious garden menace here in the south as are fungal diseases.

I use that bacterial product on my collards. I use Neem oil and when necessary, a 10% Sevin dust. Our soil, until worked a few years, is a poor alkaline clay. Without the addition of compost nothing but weeds will grow in it.

We also feed the birds all winter but when the breeding season comes, most leave. I have never seen a bird eat a hornworm or green cabbage worm, out two worst pests here next to squash vine borers.

Sevin is not an organic product. Suggest you use pyrethrins or rotenone, or a combination of both. Birds are smart, as the tomato horn worm is very poisonous to birds. The horn worms eat the tomato leaves which are poisonous, so they create their own toxins. For cabbage worms, the birds will go after a few younger ones. Here, the birds roost and nest nearby all the time, that includes nuthatch, titmouse, cardinals, chickadee, junco, and several others who are anly around in warmer weather. I see young birds on the ground fluttering their wings while the parents frantically find them a bug or two. Some of early blueberries are now turning and the birds are sitting nearby just waiting for them to ripen. All the bright blue honeyberries are gone now. Robins are still finding worms in the soil.
I don't like to use 10-10-10 fertilizer as its a bit too strong. What I do when planting my transplants is to add a little 4-4-4 fer to each hole and then plant, then sprinkle a little more. Its been a month now, so everything gets a spray of liquid kelp on all the greens, as well as a little more fertilizer. The broccoli is getting huge now, but the cukes are still way too small to give anything.
I was shocked today during a heavy rain. A loud BOOM and a flash at teh same time told me that we had a very close lightning strke. One of my phones jumps off its cradle whan that happens, as 30 seconds later I heard the beep beep of the open phone line. Luckily nothing got fried. Bt is a good product to use on caterpillers.

Well I'm 24 and I've been doing this for about 3 years now (so I think I win youngest). People look at like I'm crazy when I mention that this is what I do with my free time, but they sure don't turn jars of jam down.
greenhouser--sevin is really nasty stuff. It's been known to kill pets and I certainly wouldn't want it on anything I was going to eat.

I can remember my Mother and Grandmother canning but have learned on my own. Once we retired and I had more time and a backyard garden canning became an extension of the garden. I like the idea of knowing what we are putting in our bodies.

Rachelellen....'Domestic Engineer'....that's cute! I'll have to remember that!

Well, I'm 37 and have only been canning for the past couple of years. I'm also in Florida, in which finding other people that can and preserve is like finding a needle in a haystack. It seems that only some of my 'old timer' friends remember the days when people did preserving on a regular basis.

I think it is coming back, but slowly and in more 'garden friendly' areas. Down here, it's just too bloody hot to really grow much variety, plus it's really stressful on the plants and they don't produce as easily as northern gardners. And there's only so much one can do with an orange!

I think people will be forced to look for more economic ways to save on food. Once you have the equipment, the rest if fairly cheap to no cost for ingredients (if you have access or grow your own).

For those looking for jars:
Check out your local freecycle connection or recycling station. If you post a request for canning jars on www.freecycle.org, I'm betting you'll get a huge response. Most people want to get rid of their jars, but they don't want to throw them away. And the ones that do, your recycle station will sell them to you at pennies per jar.

I have a friend that works at Habitat for Humanity and gives me TONS of jars every year. People dump off their jars like it's nobody's business.

Here is a link that might be useful: Find jars in your area

Was a Walmart today an visited the canning isle. I bought 2 pkgs. of the 8 oz. Ball freezer plastics for my jam. To my surprise, Ball quarts were $8.00 and Golden Harvest quarts were $7.76. Also, had 16 quart Presto pressure canners for $59.76. Made in China of course. On the box read it holds 7 quarts or 10 pints and 12 year warranty. Same as my 23 quart Mirro. The odd thing was, the canner did not have a pressure gauge, only the 3 piece weight. I was tempted, but I didn't.

Im 51 and grew up with my dad growing a small fresh garden. My mom froze tomatoes but that was about it. When I was 12, I had the pleasure of viewing my 72 year old auntÂs canning and root cellar. I got the canning bug then and that summer made more pickles than we could eat or I could give away. Over years, IÂve done a lot of freezing and canning. I mostly can sweet gherkins, jams, salsa, roasted red pepper spread, pasta sauce and bruschetta but this year IÂm hoping to do some green beans, beets and corn as well.

The folks at work think I'm nuts but just today a woman that I work with came in with a dozen canning jars she bought a yard sale for me. I gladly reimbursed her the $3 cost!

My family loves my canning and my children's friends are always asking if they can have toast with jam (homemade bread of course) or salsa & chips.

And yes canning is a chronic life long affliction! :-)

To: ksrogers

I stopped using pyrethrins and rotenone some time ago. I'm convinced the pests are immune to both. I live in a rural area so the insect pests have been exposed to just about everything out there for years.

Do you raise your own meat animals also?

To: jenniesue,

You probably are the youngest.

As for the Sevin dust. I don't know of anything else I can use that works. Any suggestions?

To: gardengrl

I belong to two recycle groups and asked for canning jars several times. Only one person responded. She lived too far for us to drive for only 6 jars worth $3.25. I checked out all the nearby second hand stores such as Goodwill and not one jar turned up.

People drop off tons of jars at Habitat for Humanity?!?!?! Here they build homes for the working poor and don't handle canning jars.

How do you find recycle stations that sort the jars and remove the canning jars? Here all glass bottles and jars go into large dumpsters and most are broken. They do not allow people to crawl into the dumpsters or bins to remove jars. It's for their own safety.

To: moosemac

When I canned in the past I mainly canned tomatoes, string beans, pears and beets. I did corn a few times but the corn ear worms got most of the crop so I stopped growing corn. I tried summer squash but it came out real bad. inedible. Mush. I made pickles a few times but no one ate them. We're not pickle eaters. Jams and jellies aren't worth canning here because the cost is so high for fruit and berries. It's cheaper to buy it at the store. We find Smuckers is the best brand. I never tasted homemade better than that brand. We use very little jams and jellies, even the sugar free variety. I'm not sure what salsa is.

Gardening is also a lifelong affliction. :)

NO, I have no room here for any animals or livestock of any kind. Its too 'zoned' for residential. There is still a pig farm a 1/4 mile away though, but has been there for 60+ years. Neem can help as can Bt products, of which there is no known resistance to either. Neem can act both as a repellent and a digestive upset for bugs. Bt also makes chewing bugs starve once they eat sprayed leaves. Today, in the rain, I watched the sparrows flitting around my broccoli plants grabbing at bugs. Some of the bugs had just eaten some Bt I sprayed there two days ago, so they were already weak. One mocking bird was sitting on a cucumber leaf just waiting for a bug to show up nearby. There are a few different strengths of pyrethrins and also rotenone. A spreader sticker may also help, or a non petrolium oil spray based on canola oil or similar. These would only be used to suffocate the bugs and have to be sprayed directly on them to be effective.

For those with canners that hold 7 quart canning jars, sorry, they have now gone METRIC so you can only fit 6 quarts in the canners now. The reason, they are not 32 ounces anymore, but 33.4 or some odd number close to that. Same with pints. That includes only the latest Golden Harvest and Ball jars made after about 4-5 years ago.

To: ksrogers

We're retired now and on a limited income. The cost of spraying our gardens with Neem Oil is prohibitive. The BT powder works ok for the worms on the collards, but the tomato horn-worms don't seem to mind it. Then there's the squash vine borers. It never ends. I already gave up on corn because of the ear-worm problem here.

We don't have as many birds here as we did in the past in the summer. I almost never see them in the gardens although the house-wrens and purple finches, robins and cardinals will nest on our property. I will see an occasional toad, turtle or snake in the gardens. We leave them alone. One old box turtle comes to the compost heap and eats away on any split discarded tomatoes. I'm concerned she'll get run over with the lawn mower some day. I keep reminding my husband to watch out for her.......

habit for humanity runs thrift stores that sell furniture and other household goods. They are usually really great stores, but there may not be any in your area. I found a brand new box of the 4 oz jars at mine a couple months ago which was super exciting because those are pricey.
Finding jars in thrift stores or freecycle really depends on the area you live and how many people used to can.
That said, I've seen a lot of people requesting jars on craiglist this spring. Most have said they are trying canning for the first time this summer.

Fixed income here, too, even for that, Medicare part B is now killing me with penalties due to a later enrollment after part A. There is no way to appeal a decision and I must face thousands in costs for copays, deductables, and premiums. It may not be now, but soon the house may have to be sold and I lose everything I worked hard for. My only pleasure is my garden and what it produces for me. Any and all money I have goes into its upkeep, and has been that way since I bought the house years ago. I am getting too old to kneel and plant a lot, and have many other health issues, but I still manage to buy a small bottle of Neem, or other insect preventer. I also use scent lures and sticky traps. Cuke beetles here are a curse, so they get the traps, as do the broccoli, the fruit trees, and even my tiny greenhouse. I grew corn and used Bt on it when it was first showing signs of silks. Tomato hornwarms here, are very few if any, last year I did have a few leaf stem losses, but never saw a single hornworm. The biggest issue is weeds weeds weeds.. My garden is all covered with black plastic fabric cloth and its been reused about 5 years now. Weeds are shin high outside that, and I don't like using any killers that can affect the garden plants. One year, I sprayed very near my blueberry bushes and, the berries had mottled white spots on the ripe ones. Supplying the wild birds with plenty to eat in winter does help. The feeders come down about the beginning of May, and by then bugs are starting to show up. Admittedly, I still feed the birds, but its from all the blueberries that are not picked off the bushes, as thats their favorite feeding area now.

The source below has pure neem oil concentrate at the cheapest price, without any surfacents added. Glycerine or Castile soap can be added to help it spread and stick better to foliage. I have even seen neem trees being sold, so you can grow your own. The site below sells the product that uses just one ounce of neem per gallon of water. Avoid RTU (Ready To Use) products, as your just paying for all that water someone else has put in.

Greenhouser, yes, there are Habitat thrift stores. That's where I get my jars, but it's kinda out in the boonies, so I imagine a lot of the local donations come from farms and people who don't can anymore.

As with freecycle and craigslist, you have to be consistent and run regular adds. It's hit or miss, but sometimes there are people who pop up and want to dump a lot of jars. If you're add is up regularly, then you have better chances.

With the local recycle station, sometimes if you call and talk to the people there, they will hook you up.

greenhouser - Please try growing corn again. Put a couple drops of mineral oil (readily available at any drug store) in the corn where the silk begins to form. Repeat every week. It does work.

As for my history of canning: I learned how to can in 1975 from my dear mother-in-law - jam from the neglected plum tree outside our rented 100 year old house, bushels of green beans went into the pressure canner, apple pie filling in many jars, sweetened cherries the size of ping-pong balls, huge sweet wild blackberries in Oregon and Washington where they take over whole acres - - here in NC they are insipid but as rampant and I have to baby the thornless canes I had to buy.

Having to move around the country as a contractor I stopped canning but kept the pressure canner and the Squeezo, luckily. Now, some 30 years later, I have a fenced acre of garden devoted to food production. I gathered over 600 canning jars for free(that's 50 DOZEN) by requesting them on Freecycle and Craigslist, and bought new lids and bands on-line in bulk. A couple of years ago I became a market gardener and sell fresh produce and fruits at the local farmers' market. I built out a summer canning kitchen in my detached garage and had it inspected, got FDA certified to sell acidified foods, and I plan on filling every one of those jars. I can't sell pressure canned foods, actually no one should according to the FDA, but jams and acidified foods will fill my market table this summer. I do freeze a lot of produce for my family (I can't sell them because the FDA says they are not "shelf stable") and think my niche will be to also offer low sodium and sugar-free canned goods as we all get wiser about what we eat and the long term effects, per LindaLou's comments. All my stuff is naturally grown, no chemical -cides, but I can't say "organic" because the government owns that word and you all have to jump through 50 thousand hoops to be and remain certified "organic" and to use that word. Many of my customers are looking for locally grown, chemical-free, and tasty produce and fruits, while some could care less about my growing methods. I prefer to offer what is good for them and that means no chemicals. It is a challenge for sure. But, one thing I learned is that I should only grow what I know. We have fire blight - so no pears; Japanese Beetles - so a regime of Neem is essential; Raccoons - so no corn; foxes - so the berries are inside the electrified fence; SVB's so someone else will have to grow squash for me to eat; very hot humid summers so no rhubarb; etc. This fall I'll put in more blueberries, more fig and Asian AP trees, and lots more asparagus, because nothing bothers THEM. And, I'll be making pickled everything this summer.

Nancy

(BTW anyone in OR or WA want to trade some wild blackberries or rooted canes for?)

To: jenniesue

How do you locate these stores run by Habitat For Humanity? What are they called?

To: nancedar

I haven't tried Craig's list but Freecycle, and I belong to two, turned up one woman with 6 jars. The cost of gasoline didn't make it worthwhile to go get them. I could buy them cheaper.

We have all the plant diseases you mention here in TN plus Asparagus beetles immune to everything. I don't grow asparagus anymore either. The beetles destroyed the last asparagus bed so when we moved up here, I didn't bother planting any. As for corn, even if the oil worked, we now live where there are crows and raccoons and deer. I wouldn't get much corn for myself not to mention I'm on a low carb diet and corn is very high carb/sugar/starch.

I am a senior who loves to can. Although my mother, her mother and aunts all canned, I didn't learn from any of them. In the mid 60s I had my first experience when stationed in San Antonio, TX and living in a rental house that had a plum tree and a peach tree. Got myself some canning jars, some pectin, a Ball Blue Book, a water bath canner and went at it. The plum preserves turned out perfect and so good. The peach, well, it made excellent topping. I didn't do much other than preserves until the 70s when I was back in Indiana. That's when I got the smaller Mirro pressure canner and started on home grown veggies. Had another plum tree and a great pie cherry tree as well. Many years later moved to a place with two sugar pear (seckle) trees, a huge mulberry tree and tons and tons of black raspberry bushes. Bought a Victorio strainer and had a ball. I started canning again last year after many years of not doing so. I now have my Mirro canner and my late mother's 22 qt. Mirro canner. Had to buy another Victorio strainer (used) because I never found mine after my DH stored it when we moved here over 20 years ago. Also got my younger sister back into canning last year after her not having done so for over ten years, and bought her a canner as well as a lot of canning jars and a Victorio strainer (used). She is teaching her eight year old granddaughter how to can.

We are on fixed income, too. My husband is 100% disabled Vietnam Vet., I'm on Social Security and it does help to have a garden. Where we live there were loads of used canning jars in garage sales for very low prices last summer, but they were selling very rapidly. I was lucky enough to have tons of them, but I still bought more to supplement what I had and to share with my sister who lives on a shoestring. You might also want to watch for estate sales or sales at farms where they are selling the property and retiring. I also watch for lids and rings on sale at the end of the season and buy as many as I can or pick up extra lids for both of us for $1.49 per dozen as I can just prior to the canning season. It has benefited both of us. Also, I can't stand the sugar free preserves at the store. No flavor to them as far as I'm concerned. I make my own using Pomona's and Splenda and have been delighted to be able to make the ones I've seen on this forum.

Greenhouser, I was going to also suggest you try growing corn again, only planting your squash in with it because raccoons do not like to go through the squash vines to get to the corn, but if you have trouble growing squash, that would not be of any help to you. Also, did I miss something or were you serious about the salsa and didn't get an answer? Its a condiment that is excellent for using as a dip for Tostitoes and similar corn chips which I know you do not eat. It would be great as a veggie dip and I should think you could use it as an dressing for some meats. Type "salsa" in the search box and you'll come up with the recipes here including, I believe it is, linda lou's out of this world recipe.

Oh, one more thing, I do believe canning has picked up a lot in the last year or so. Last summer when I was trying to find a good used canner for my sister (couldn't find my smaller one at the time due to DH's excellent storage habits) every garage sale I went to said they had had one, but it sold right off the bat and the only ones left at the flea markets were really bad news ones.

Bcskye- Whay not give that acid blend a try. I found that it also wakes up a bland store bought jam.

To: bcskye

I had to Google salsa. I saw it was something neither of us would eat. We're not snackers and the ingredients didn't look all that appetizing. As I said before, our family isn't into pickles or relishes. When I made pickles years ago no one ate them.

I've been all over town this past month and no one had used canning jars. I hit every second store including Goodwill more than once.

I still haven't heard from Wally World about my canner. :*(

My Mother use to can and I remember helping her as a young boy. I have been gardening and canning for about ten years
and I'm 44 now. My Wife helps me pick what we grow but I do all the canning. I make salsa, tomato juice, pickles, and blueberry, blackberry, and plum jam.
Jim

Salsa means sauce. I throw some tomatoes, green pepper and onion in the food processor. Then drain it to get the water out and add some basil or parsley and let it sit for a little while.

Use it as a dip for chips or put it on eggs in the morning or use it as a salad dressing. I have never canned it. It's best fresh. However I am sure some of the recipes for canned salsa are great too.

Zeuspaul

Its a very bad time right now to search of used canning jars at thrift stores. Only because many others have the same idea. Usually you should start looking for them in November through April, when canning season quiets down.

To: jim_6b

I noticed men canners on this Forum. When I was young in the 1950s and 60s the men did most of the planting and harvesting and the women and girls did the canning. I'm glad to see things have changed. I even see male nurses in the hospital here and many female police offices. :)

To: ksrogers

Oh I plan on looking this fall and winter as I pass those stores in town all the time. I will also ask on and off on Freecycle.

Zeuspaul

Once I looked it up I saw right away it's something we wouldn't eat.

I'm 33 and just wanted to add that I started canning last year (only put up 17 pints - dipping my toe in - to speak). This year I'm going to be doing A LOT of canning.

My neighbor who is 36 wants to learn to can also - so I'm going to teach her (thank god for good directions!) ;)

Laura

Freecycle should be a good place to get jars. I have seen a lot of posts for them lately.
I get all of my jars from family, friends and people at work. Most people have a few jars laying around not being used and are usually willing to give them away.
Something else I use to do that most people don't know about was sew. My Grandmother had one of those old sewing machines that was pedal powered and I remember watching her. She taught me how to thread the machine and fill the bobin with thread and how to sew. My Wife bought a sewing machine at a yard sale recently and I came home from work one day and she was sitting at the kitchen table very frustated because she didn't know how to operate it. In just a few minutes I had it ready to go and showed her how it worked. She was happy but at the same time I think she was a little worried because I knew how to do that.

I just had to reply to this, although it's a bit late.

I'm not older. I like to can and my 8 year old loves to help. As a matter of fact, I did dozens of pickles a few years ago, and all of her friends loved them, so I have several little girls in the neighborhood that want to help care for the "pickle plants" this year and learn to make pickles for themselves. The moms, on the other hand, want to learn to make jam. I find this rather amusing. All of them have learned to save and return my jars when I give them something homemade.

I asked my mom about canning being a lost art at lunch today. She is elderly, and grew up on a farm, when if you didn't can it you didn't have it. She thinks that canning is making a comeback, too.

I certainly believe canning is a rediscovered art. My sister and I have both returned to canning in our 40's after decades away, much to the amusement of our mom.

To: whynotmi

And with the price of food going up weekly I think economics will play a role in bringing it back. Add to that the insecticides on and in our foods, the salmonella scares and other unpleasantries.....

I too am 33 yrs old and have been canning since my early twenties. Started out with Dill Beans and peaches and pears. Have stretched out to apple sauce and this year I have done 30 qts of Dill Beans 17qts and 13pts of green beans already. Plan on doing apple sauce in jelly jars for my little niece and trying Annie's Salsa. Also want to can my own tomatoes and tomato sauce since I use those so much through the winter. I think it is a passed down tradition, I remember helping my mother. I love homemade jams and refuse to buy them. My husband loves when I freeze corn and if I have to buy any he calls it 'fake corn'. I'm hoping to spoil my 4yr old son on home preserved goodness!! May we all pass the torch eventually!!

With three years under her belt jenniesue (funny my sister's name is Jenni Sue) beats me. I'm also 24, but this will be my first year and I'm only making jam. Growing up I lived in a small farming community, so I've been acquainted with canning since a young age. My mom used to make blackberry jam from the wild ones she gathered. My dad still grows his own cucumbers and garlic and pickles them.

I skinned and de-pitted about a bazillion peaches over the course of 6 hours this weekend, and still have another third of my peaches to go. This weekend I'll have a couple pals over and we're going to make about 12 batches of jam. Then I'll still have some frozen for cobblers. I'm planting an elderberry bush this fall so only a couple years until I'll be canning elderberry jam too.

Canning is VERY trendy in the Bay Area, and I think it's all about the green movement. All the domestic pursuits are making a come-back.

There was an article in the New York Times yesterday about the resurgence of canning!

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I am a "Young & Vibrant 58" HAH When I was 23, I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus, that's 35 years ago. At that time, they knew little of the disease and treatment was horrible (MASSIVE doses of steroids that they would never give you now.) Anyway, I was told I would be in a wheelchair in 5 years and dead in ten and that I better make provision for my very young son. SCAREY stuff!

I started reading everything I could find and read a great article out of Germany that talked about the "commercial" additives in store-bought canned and jarred foods and what effect they had on your immune system. I should also add that I had a herd of dairy goats, made all my own cheeses and yogurt, grew all my own food and meat (just chicken)but I had not canned since helping my mom when little. Long story short, I have not eaten store-bought cans or jars of anything for 35 years. I have since given up chicken unless you raise them, it is filled with tetracyclene which stores in your tissue. I do eat fish. I am utterly convinved that by taking charge of my own body and disease and eating only what I grew, I have defied the odds and if the grim reaper wants me, the boy has to catch me! Quickly, with fuel charges going up, produce in Wyoming, which all has to be trucked in has gone through the roof! Bell peppers are 2.29 EACH YIKES!

It appears that canning is making a come back, especially in the day and age when growing your own food is making a big come back, as well.

Freezers and readily available and cheap frozen (and canned) foods really cut into canning after World War II.

One interesting tidbit that I was sort of surprised to find about canning...

During World War II most metals, especially those used in canning lids and rings (steel and zinc, especially), and the rubber used in the sealing compounds, were were of EXTREME importance to the war effort.

Most items that were made with those metals and with rubber were virtually unobtainable during the war.

Except when it came to canning supplies.

Home canning supplies were given very high production priority during the war because the government wanted as many people as possible to grow their own vegetables to free up transportation and commercial farming for the war effort.

Because home freezing was still a wave of the future, the only good method of bulk preservation of Victory Garden produce was home canning.

During the height of the Victory Garden during the war, those gardens produced nearly 40% of all fruits and vegetables consumed by the home front.

Both of my Grandmothers grew and canned huge amounts of food during the war. Both had large yards available that could be turned into gardens. I have a photograph of my one Grandmother in her garden showing just how much of the back and side yards were given over to the garden -- quite substantial. In fact, my Grandfather and the next door neighbor (good friends of my Grandparents) pulled down the fence between the yards to make more room for canning, and the two families shared the planting, tending, harvesting, and canning tasks.

My Dad remembers in the fall after everything was pulled in that the one end of the basement would be filled with jars of preserved vegetables and fruit.

Mom used to can a bit when I was growing up. There are some special family recipes that we still make, but it was something she didn't do often.

Two years ago, Mom canned nearly 50 quarts of pears from the tree in the yard, the same tree that provided canned pears to Dad when he was growing up (Mom and Dad bought my Grandparent's house from their estate).

Unfortunately, the tree is now gone, a storm took it out.

This past year I actually canned apple maple conserves. That was the first time I'd done any canning since high school helping Mom.

I'm already making plans to can more this year. I'm going to can the conserves, I'm hoping to make peach jam, and I really want to can apple butter this year, too.

I probably will continue to freeze my sauerkraut, though. For some reason I prefer the texture of frozen over canned.

I'm not too young but 36. I've been canning about 9 years. I learned from the Ball Blue book but I do have fond memories of making grape and current jelly with my grandma when I was very young. I still maintain that the perfect combo is unsalted butter and current jelly on warm toast.

When I tell people I can I get a mixture of responses. Sometimes people are mildly surprised. Sometimes they very much admire the effort, green sensibility, and industriousness. But I've not yet met someone who didn't know what I was talking about. I live in a typical midwestern city/suburban area right now. I will say that when I lived in a rural area - alot more people were alot more familiar with the process. What I miss about rural life (with respect to canning) is the farmers markets that sell overstock in bulk for cheap. In and around the city the farmers markets are gourmet and a single peach was 89 cents - no discount for bulk.

My MIL cans with me sometimes. But since I'm book taught and very conservative with the published guidelines, she sometimes finds my "following the book/recipe/rules" tedious or frustrating. She still lives by the "if it didn't kill me last year (or so far) then it must be good." I think I'm too new to the process to trust anything but the guidelines. My profession is also one for compliance to regulations so like I said - I tend to the conservative side.

I think canning is making a comeback sort of like hybrid cars are going mainstream. I'm overjoyed that more people are sharing my addiction.

Cindy

I think it makes sense not to waste your surplus production and I have limited freezer space so canning or drying is the way I preserve it. Yes it is lots of work but if you figure the cost of organically grown produce it is still worth doing IMO. I also feel a big sense of accomplishment when I know that what I am eating has been grown responsibly and can provide for around 70% of my total annual fruit and vegetable consumption for 2 people over the year all in the space of just a 300 sq ft yard.

Of course, I have to make a plug that part of the motivation I have is I don't believe the absolute necessities for survival like food should be taxed and is one of many factors why the poor has an obesity problem.

I'm 54 and just started canning this year. My folks were from Brooklyn (not much reason for canning there), but when we moved to a small town, my mom starting putting up preserves. We would go in the woods and pick wild strawberries and blueberries for her to make into jams she sealed with wax. I never forgot how good that strawberry jam was.

I've been gardening for 25 years but always felt intimidated by canning. This year I decided to take the plunge. So far I've made herb jelly, figs in Earl Grey, and the best pickles I've had in a long time. This weekend I will be putting up tomato butter, tomato sauce, and pickled beets. It's hot work, but I too like to see the jars lined up in the pantry. In fact, stocking up on bulk foods is what decided me to get into canning.

crankyoldman: I too am from Brooklyn NY originally. I firs canned with an Aunt who lived upstate near Oneonta. I started to can in the early 1980s using the BBB and booklet that came with my first canner. I recently got back into canning this spring.