Canning Stuff.

[Larry Caldwell]

We have been battling ground squirrels and blue jays. The former stripped every fruit out of the orchard this year in a couple of day light raids. I think that they were extra hungry because of the drought. They burrow, and have no trouble climbing 8'.

I have come to the conclusion that I have to make a large aviary like enclosure, with screening going 24" underground. It is going to be interesting.

So nothing much to put by this year.

All the best,

Peter

No canned squirrel? We had a real infestation, and I got my 28 gauge out preparatory to harvesting a dozen or two, when they all disappeared almost overnight. I think we tempted a serious predator, like a marten or a mink, who treated our yard like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

 

[mapper]

Been a mixed bag this year for fruit, my peach trees didn't set anything due to a cold, wet spring had to battle peach leaf curl even on the resistant varieties. Th Bartlett pears only produced a couple of dozen pears, but the varieties that require chilling the fruit for 30 days after picking did fine. The Bartlett's are recovering from a severe aphid infestation last year and that may be why, the others are too but not as severely affected.
We normally buy Yakima peaches but their crop is about 20 percent of normal this year due to the same spring conditions as we had.
There is a huge difference in the taste and texture of our home canned fruit from what can be found in the supermarket, it may end up costing us more when we buy fruit but it just tastes better!
I did get out in front of the meadow voles this year and haven't had any problems with them in the cantaloupe and squash patch this year. Started giving vine ripened cantaloupe to friends and neighbors last week!

 

[ponytug]

No canned squirrel? We had a real infestation, and I got my 28 gauge out preparatory to harvesting a dozen or two, when they all disappeared almost overnight. I think we tempted a serious predator, like a marten or a mink, who treated our yard like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

I can only wish for a marten or mink...If ferrets weren't banned here, I would have a couple as pets.

I trap an average of two ground squirrels a day around the barns from February through November, and I know I am not reducing the population. It is all about reducing damage to foundations. One of the local coyotes is semi tame, and follows along at a good distance when i run my "trap line". In return, I toss the ground squirrels in defined locations. He follows my wife in the early morning when she walks as she spooks mice in the grass. Our shepherd tolerates it when walking the driveway but goes on high alert when the coyotes come by the house outside the fence. "Mine!" Funny, but I don't want her playing with coyotes either; I have heard of too many dogs lured out and killed.

All the best,

Peter

 

[cqaigy2]

No canned squirrel? We had a real infestation, and I got my 28 gauge out preparatory to harvesting a dozen or two, when they all disappeared almost overnight. I think we tempted a serious predator, like a marten or a mink, who treated our yard like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

28 gauge, i've not seen one of those. We don't have many squirrels around here, thank goodnes.

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Someone asked how long canned goods last. I have some canned salmon that is 6 years old and still just as good as the day we canned it. I always check for any signs of it being bad before eating it and to date not one can has gone bad. My dill pickles and pickled beans are good for over a year but not for 2 years.

This puzzled me when I heard that dill pickles go bad, because mine never do. I think the difference may be that I crock ferment mine, which digests all the sugars. I just had a 3 year old dill for lunch, and it was just as crisp and sour as the day it was canned.

 

[scaredychicken]

Larry, perhaps remove the dog hair from the tomato sauce first

Wild Skunk encounters are no fun, ... but i love watching them from a distance

 

[Oaktree]

Years ago I constructed a 8’ tall deer fence around my garden and orchard. It works well. The fence is over an acre in size.

That must have cost a few bucks!

Fortunately, critters aren't really a big problem for me other than crows (spring planting) and racoons (corn). I do fence off the corn when it starts to get ripe, which helps somewhat but that's it.

Like Ponytug, harvest is a bit meager this year, but it has more to do with poor yield due to a dry early summer than anything else. Greens (lettuce, spinach, swiss chard) were/are unusually abundant, but none lend themselves to preserving.

 

[McKainM]

What a day. We canned a bunch of tomato base, including garden vegetables. Hey, it was free produce, thanks to some gardener friends. The last canner was boiling merrily away and I decided to take the dogs for their evening walk. They vanished up the hill, and my standard poodle came back covered with skunk stink. Then my springer came back with the skunk. She was so proud! She had to kill it herself, but she retrieved it for me! She did not understand when I got a pitchfork and relocated the body to an open field where carrion birds will find it.

Now we have to deal with eau de skunk for a couple weeks. After a full day of processing food, we were very tired, but Susan bathed both of them.

The tomato sauce will make great minestrone, spaghetti sauce, and other tomato dishes.

** save your hard work with tomatoes!

This is what I have used on my dogs and if you use dawn dish soap it helps with the oil from the spray. It may need to be done a few times.

Here are a couple of home remedies to effectively eliminate the skunk stench from your clothes: Mix 1 part of hydrogen peroxide with 6 parts of water and soak the skunk-smelling clothes in the solution for one hour. Next, wring the solution out of the clothes and wash them with a mild detergent.
Reference: healthnbodytips.org/how-to-get-rid-of-skunk-smell.html/#:~:text=Here%…

 

[jyoutz]

We have been battling ground squirrels and blue jays. The former stripped every fruit out of the orchard this year in a couple of day light raids. I think that they were extra hungry because of the drought. They burrow, and have no trouble climbing 8'.

I have come to the conclusion that I have to make a large aviary like enclosure, with screening going 24" underground. It is going to be interesting.

So nothing much to put by this year.

All the best,

Peter

Look at this product for blue jays. It’s what I use to keep birds from destroying my orchard.

Homepage

Repel birds from your crops and facilities by using natural bird distress calls. Contact Bird Gard for a free custom proposal.

www.birdgard.com

 

[jyoutz]

That must have cost a few bucks!

Fortunately, critters aren't really a big problem for me other than crows (spring planting) and racoons (corn). I do fence off the corn when it starts to get ripe, which helps somewhat but that's it.

Like Ponytug, harvest is a bit meager this year, but it has more to do with poor yield due to a dry early summer than anything else. Greens (lettuce, spinach, swiss chard) were/are unusually abundant, but none lend themselves to preserving.

It did cost to build the fence, but I used high tensile woven wire, so it’s still as good as new. Drill stem pipe corner braces in concrete, 10’ T posts and two stacked 4’ rolls of woven wire. My son and I built it ourselves with some help from the neighbors 3ph auger for the corner braces.