Comments on: Let’s Talk SOUP!

By: Sandra

Sandra — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:18:29 +0000

I am a little behind on my reading all the posts. Remember Dub telling me to meet Bonnie. Met her before this in a couple of places. This is really a great intro to Bonnie. Adrenalin junkie just like me! Always looking for something more to do.
Son’s diagnosis for my Adrenalin malady is Anxious. Said they make pills for that.
Said I “no” just think of all the life and knowing how things work I’ll miss if I do that. Not well quite some time ago. Went to the Doctor and the Doctor said “What’s the problem?” and I said my adrenometer is empty. Ha. Doctor said we’ll just have to fix that. She knows me quite well. HELLLOOO Bonnie. Thanks for much.

By: Bonnie Hollingsworth

Bonnie Hollingsworth — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:41:04 +0000

Hello Kunoichi!
An informative post, and appreciated. You are totally right, as you know! Some of our “Georgia farmer” friends and relatives did exactly that; let one field lay fallow while others were planted. Some planted winter “ground cover” crops and grasses, but I have no idea what they were. They also rotated the crops. I always wished chufas were a cold weather crop as I dearly loved them, but alas, they are not! Did you ever wonder how the old-timers, many without even a formal education got so wise about such things? I sure have. My mama was raised in the Okeefenokee Swamp, educated herself after she was grown and married, and was sharp as a tack! Anyway, back to crops.

I don’t have a large space here, and to let anything lie fallow would mean I just didn’t grow a garden that year! We do add a little lime, and we mulch quite heavily to save water, time, and work. I guess Heaven smiles on us as we are usually quite successful with our garden. Great information that you posted; I enjoyed reading it and am in total agreement for those who have enough land and space. I will try to watch for more from you. Thanks for posting this. I am now hopeful that our winter in this area is over for the year. Yesterday I noticed that I have asparagus up all over the bed. It was a pleasant surprise, as I had not paid attention because of all the cold weather here the last few weeks. Easter usually brings us a little more cold and/or bad weather here. I think I’ll be adventurous this year and go get some peas planted today!

By: Bonnie Hollingsworth

Bonnie Hollingsworth — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:51:18 +0000

Hey Sandy; apologies………..I should have answered your questions in full. As for the leftover soup, you can most certainly re-can it and it will be fine. I usually freeze mine, but you have to also accept the fact that after freezing, if you have potatoes in it, the texture of the ‘taters will change a little. They’re not bad at all, just a little change in texture.

I think somewhere in Ridin’ Out The Recession “water bathing” has already been explained. It’s just a term for canning tomatoes in a big old pot so your jars are completely covered with water, and then boiling for a little while to complete the process. You need at least one inch, but preferable two inches over your lids. Now, the government (USDA) would have you believe that it just isn’t “safe” to water bath to can anymore. What has changed? Not a darned thing except that maybe because of less acidity in the tomatoes you might add a little lemon juice to your jars! Gosh! If they scare people away from home gardening and canning, what a boon for the farmers that the feds pay to NOT grow crops! OOPS! Politics sneaking in here, so I guess I’ll just sign off for now. Be clean, be informed, and happy canning to ya!

By: admin

admin — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:25:51 +0000

Hey Sandy, good hearing from you! Boy, you sure hit the nail on the head in regards to Bonnie! She’s extremely knowledgeable, and a great lady to boot! We’ll get you headed down the right road, just hang on!

Thanks for continuing to visit, and see you next time!

D&D

By: admin

admin — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 12:23:05 +0000

Hello Kunoichi, how are you? Thanks for your input once more! I believe you’re 100% correct in the rotation of your garden vegetable, especially with corn. You may want to follow up behind your corn with a next planting being peas. Corn saps the nitrogen in your soil, peas replace nitrogen. We plant our corn, and other veggies in our spring garden, then in our fall garden, we plant the whole garden in peas. Didn’t know I was doing it correctly when we started it, but ended up I was doing something right for a change!! This definitely isn’t how it usually works out for me, but the old saying is that the law of averages…

Lasagna Gardening? Sounds promising as you say in like the raised bed gardens! We’ll be doing a little write up on that sometime this week. Thank you once again!Great input as always, and please keep coming back and pointing us in the right direction!

D&D

By: Sandy Grant

Sandy Grant — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 09:10:12 +0000

Questions for Bonnie the expert for sure………Canned ground chuck? How much do you put in a jar and do you add any liquid, seasoning etc?
Potatoes……After you can them, how do you use them, mashed potatoes? Mine always seem to be mushy…….over cooking?
Could you explain “water-bathing” your tomatoes.
If you cooked a large amount of soup and want to keep the leftovers………do you just put it in jars and pressurize it long enough to seal it or would it be best to freeze it?
I sound as though I am going to have an industrious week but these questions just keep popping up.

By: Kunoichi

Kunoichi — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 07:34:57 +0000

re: soil, have you considered using the three field system? Rotate the fields between having one section lie fallow, a second planted with legumes, and the third planted with everything else.

I haven’t had a chance to try it myself, but “lasagna gardening” is supposed to be a great way to build up healthy soil, and would be ideal for your raised beds.

http://organicgardening.about.com/od/startinganorganicgarden/a/lasagnagarden.htm