Thanks for posting this. I am very cautious when canning since it makes me very nervous, ( but not as nervous as the pressure cooker). I have one or two of those old Ball and Kerr canning books that I keep for sentimental reasons. They have lots of miles on them. LOL
mo

I think the key is always check the BTU rating of any outdoor burner. My turkey cooker is too high, I expect all may be, but always check the BTU.

Another thing is to always keep in mind is that the pressure port can clog. This happened to my step dad. He opened a cooker that still had pressure on it and got burned badly.

If he had been more careful this could have been avoided.

Larry

Seedmama, Thank you for the post. OK I got it, this could be one of the other hobbies you and Paula mentioned in other post. I am bit skeptical whether our garden would produce enough for canning? Nevertheless nothing wrong learning right preservation tips and techniques. -Chandra

Hey! How'd I get hooked in with the closet-hiding bean counter?? LOL! Just kidding...she really is a very dear friend.

And Chandra - SERIOUSLY??? You doubt what your new layout will produce???? Um...you are in severe denial, my new garden friend. I'm taking bets that you'll be back by the end of July asking for advice on what to do with all your bounty!!! Anyone??? ha!

Just another benefit of this great forum is that everyone shares their ideas and advice, just like Seedmama on this thread. There are usually some really good recipes also. I've kept most and tried several!

Good call, Seedmama, on addressing this early so we can be reminded or learn anew. Speaking of the Ball Blue Book (the "BBB"), anyone got the newest addition and how does it compare to the last one? Can't find a date, but the one I have has a cover with a lemon tart w/Blackberry Sauce and the dominate color is blue. I think the new one has lemons on it and is mostly yellow in color.

Paula

Biradarcm- I don't have a big garden but there is a produce market near here that has incredible sales. Last summer I canned 100 pounds of tomatoes, lots of berry jams.
I'm leery about buying cukes for pickles and they don't have pickling dukes anyway but I'm planting okra and cukes this year so should have that covered.
I love canning dried beans, they're cheap, delicious and so conveinent. How about soups and meats? Anyway, there are so many great things to can, i think it has saved me money and added nice, fast meals in my pantry.

Dana,

Great thread!

Paula,

The most recent copy of the Ball Blue Book is the 100th Anniversary edition published in 2009. It features a peach shortcake on the front cover with a short jar of canned peaches in the background. The cover is mostly yellow and blue, sort of the same color family as the edition you have.

I think the 100th anniversary edition is the best Ball Blue Book ever. I love the recipes, the way it is organized, etc. This edition just seems exceptionally thorough and well-organized. I can't tell you what has changed from the previous book because I've used this one for two canning years now, so I no longer remember what changed. I'm sure I noticed the changes when I first started using this one.

I've linked it below so you can see what the front cover looks like. For the price, there isn't a better canning book to be found.

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Ball Blue Book 100th Annivesary Edition

Chandra,
Assuming you effectively combat the bermuda, and you choose quality mix to fill your raised beds, I'd say you are in for a very prolific harvest. Yes, lots of uncontrollable things can happen, but if I counted correctly you've already got 8 large beds built with more to come? If you mulch and keep your weeds down, I think you'll be looking for cars to dump your excess produce in.

P-mac,
I did want to address this early. It's important enough that it dominates the talk in the Harvest Forum. So many more people are canning now than in recent histoy. By my way thinking, I can watch a new gardener try things that I anticipate aren't going to work, but let them do it for the experience. Innovation doesn't come from doing the tried and true. But to watch a beginning canner do things that could literally bring death, and not speak up would be very, very wrong. Since we haven't started talking specifically about what we're putting up yet, we can bring it up in a preventive manner. It's very important that people know to use tested recipes. There's that saying about "you don't yet know what you don't know." I'd just feel terrible if someone hurt themselves canning and we could have said something to prevent it.

My first year out of college, a group of men I worked with went to a BBQ joint for lunch. They all got botulism poisoning from improperly prepared baked potatoes. Some were hospitalized, each of them over a week of work in the middle of tax season and everyone of them lost 15 to 20 pounds. It was horrifying to see what it did to them and it made lasting impression on me.

"By my way thinking, I can watch a new gardener try things that I anticipate aren't going to work, but let them do it for the experience. Innovation doesn't come from doing the tried and true. But to watch a beginning canner do things that could literally bring death, and not speak up would be very, very wrong."

You hit the nail on the head Seedmama

I follow this forum and Garden Web for these juicy tidbits. Im quite a bit younger than most who post here and a bit of a dumb okie sometimes. I know my grandparents on both sides gardened and put up huge harvests but they passed away before I was born.

Thank you for your wisdom.

Brake4turtles,

You are very welcome. I wish you a joyous and bountiful harvest.

Seedmama

I really appreciate your warnings and cautions.
I am going to ask some specific questions on a new thread so that your thread won't go in too many directions.

Sammy