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Canning

How To Can Dried Peas

December 5, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

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I combed the internet looking for how to can dried peas and came up with very little. Most posts where about canning beans with a little footnote about canning peas. Below I’m going to walk you through the step by step process of how to take those little dried marbles and turn them into a shelf stable jar of deliciousness that saves me a ton of time.

Can Dried Peas

Why Not Buy Canned Peas At The Store?

The short answer is because it’s expensive. A single can of good quality peas is easily $1.50 by me, but I’m cheap and the store brand is usually about $.60. When I buy food, I buy a lot in one shot. So by the time all is said and done, I’ve spent about $15 to $36 on 24 15oz cans of peas. Is that a lot? No. But I feel better knowing that the only thing in my jar of peas is peas.

The other part is that whole dried peas are a ton cheaper as well. I can buy a 10# of whole split peas for $15. Plus, if they are kept “right” they can last for a long time on the shelf just like they are. If I don’t want to can 10# of peas in one go, I can put them in a mylar bag with some oxygen absorbers and store it.

The reason I choose to can dried peas is because dried peas take a LONG time to cook. I have zero desire to stand in my kitchen that long so I go ahead and can them.

How To Can Dried Peas?

This recipe is the one I came up with a couple years ago and just followed the guidelines for beans. If you are a strict follower of the Ball Bible? Maybe not follow this recipe. I found Ball’s recipe produces very mushy peas that did not hold well. Since I don’t mind breaking the rules and this recipe is mine, you take on all risks associated with following it. I’ve never had a problem in all the years I’ve canned like this, but I can’t guarantee your kitchen or skills.

This method of canning peas is called dry canning. I’m not really sure why because when you dry can potatoes, you don’t add any liquid, on this one you do. I think the difference between the two is that when you are done, your peas should have soaked up most of the water.

You can find all the supplies you need on this blog post.

Step 1:

You should always be in the practice of soaking your peas or beans. This helps get all the dirt and debris off your peas and that was in the bag. However, I’ve never soaked peas or beans because there has never been a problem. I do rinse them though.

Step 2:

If you have soaked your peas, GENTLY, scoop your peas with either a cup (for quarts) or half cup measuring cup (for pints) and put them in your mason jar. If you haven’t soaked them, you don’t have to be as careful but I wouldn’t be overly rough either. Also, I suggest wide mouth but whatever works for you. At this point you can add salt if you wish, we don’t. 1 teaspoon for quarts 1/2 teaspoon for pints.

Step 3:

I work in batches, so I only fill however many jars my canner will hold. Also, I only can peas in pint jars. I don’t have a lot of use for a quart of peas. So I will fill 10 jars with peas, then fill the rest with water leaving 1″ head space. This allows for expansion of the pea.

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Step 4:

Fill your canner with the recommended water amount. My Presto 23-Qt with 3 quarts of water but be sure to check your manufacture recommendations. Then add your filled jars to the canner.

Step 5:

Bring your canner up to pressure by using your manufacture recommendations. I will usually fill my canner with 3 qts of hot water and put the burner on high. Then as my canner is reaching temperature, I will fill my jars with hot water. After about 5 minutes I will secure the lid. 10 minutes after that I add my weight. I process for meat times 90 minutes for quarts and 75 minutes for pints. For my altitude I use a 15# weight.

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Step 6: When you are done processing your jars, let the canner naturally depressurize. This can take a long time but don’t rush it! Once it’s depressurized, you can use your jar grabber and take your jars out to cool on a towel. Make sure to label!

That’s really it!

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Can Dried Peas

Pressure Canning Dried Peas

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Equipment

  • 1 Pressure Canner
  • 2 Cases Pint Jars
  • Basic Canning Supplies

Ingredients
  

  • 5 Lbs Whole Peas
  • Salt if desired

Instructions
 

  • Rinse peas and disguard any rocks, bugs, etc that may be in the bag. I've never had this problem so to be fair, I don't usually rinse.
  • Scoop 1 cup of peas into a quart jar or 1/2 cup into a pint jar
  • Fill the rest of the way with water, making sure to leave 1" headspace
  • Optional! Add 1 teaspoon for quart or 1/2 teaspoon for pint
  • Fill your pressure canner with water to manufacture recommended level
  • Add jars to canner
  • Process for 90 minutes for quarts or 75 minutes for pints
  • Allow canner to completely depressurize before opening
  • Once depressurized, pull out jars and place on a towel until you hear the beautiful *ping*
  • If any jars fail to seal, refrigerate and use within 4 days.
  • Be sure to label your jars!
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Filed Under: Canning, Canning Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: Canning, cooking, kitchen

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2023: Infrastructure And Self Reliance

October 26, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

When Jared and I sat down to go over our infrastructure for 2023; the projects, plans, and goals, we really wanted to get us to a place were the projects were done. That way we could focus our finances in other areas. Now, we all know that projects on the homestead are never truly done. But if we can get some of these bigger projects out of the way? We will be well on our way to self reliance and that is huge.

What Does Self Reliance Look Like To Us

The best way to set up goals is to ask yourself some questions. Like WHY do you want to be self reliant? What does self reliance look like to you? How are you going to become self reliant? These questions will have answers, but more often than not, they lead to more questions. But to give you our starting off point, we see self reliance as a way to decrease spending, reduce off farm hours, and create a eco-system here on the farm.

The more we become self reliant, the less we will spend at the feed and grocery store. The less money we spend at the grocery and feed store, the quicker we can pay off the farm and any debt we have. The quicker we pay off our debts, the more we can reduce off farm hours. If we can create an eco-system where our garden and land feed our livestock, and we can harvest our garden and livestock. Then we will be back to reducing our need for the feed and grocery store.

This symbiotic relationship with our land and livestock are paramount in not only becoming self reliant, but being good stewards to our land and shepherds to our herds.

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Setting Up Our Infrastructure

As I’m sure you can tell, Self Reliance is the keyword for our lives for the next few years. It is the cornerstone of every single thing we are doing and planning. So we are starting the first year with infrastructure. I talked in depth about what infrastructure is in this blog post. But the point of that post was to get you to think about your own infrastructure and what that means for your homestead.

When it comes to our homestead, we are really trying to focus on self reliance. Keeping in mind that the 3 big dreams are spending less money, reducing off farm hours, and creating an eco-system are the most important things. We created our infrastructure list and plans around that.

The goal of 2023 is to set up the homestead with those three big dreams in mind. For example: we have made the hard decision that if we can’t sell our bucklings, they will become meat goats. We’ve also made the decision that we will no longer buy chickens because we like the way they look, or how many eggs they lay. All chickens will be a meat variety instead of dual purpose. The gardens are going to go be overhauled into a “bulk garden” and a “kitchen” garden. We are going to start working on water movement so that we are no longer laying hoses throughout the property to get water to animals and gardens.

Meat

Then there’s closing the holes in our food security. One of the things we decided was to focus on heritage breeds. While they take more time to mature, they are more efficient with what they eat. We recently purchased 2 American Guinea Hogs so that we can stop relying on other farms for our pork. We are also going to be purchasing several Bourbon Red turkeys to further reduce our dependance on the grocery store or other farms.

The caveat to these animals is that we are also only going to buy animals that can work as well. One of the things that we learned at the HOA conference in Virginia, was that the animals should work for you too. Pasture rotation is a thing we knew about, but when listening to the lectures, we learned about what pigs can do for revitalizing the soil.

Gardens

Our gardens are going to look very different then they did last year. We are going to bring the pigs and chickens into our side yard and allow them to root, scratch and poop on that area and will turn it into another garden. That garden will hold all of our squash, cucumber, melon, herbs, etc. Then we will turn our old garden into the “bulk” garden for corn, tomatoes, peppers and food for the animals.

We are making lists of what we buy at the grocery store and of that, what can we grow? One of the things we can grow to spend less money growing cumin. We use a TON of cumin and at $20 a container, that’s a lot of money every year. It’s the same thing with lettuces. We feed our bearded dragons mustard, turnip, collard greens. At $4 a bag, and we by 4 bags a month? That’s a huge savings if we grow those things ourselves. Not to mention, that the pigs will eat the excess turnips.

Animals

We already discussed the hogs, turkeys and chickens. But to go a little more in depth, every single animal on our homestead is going to have a purpose. And if they require additional feed that the farm can’t produce? That is something we need to look at or they aren’t going to stay long. This has led to some hard decisions when it comes to our personal animals.

We aren’t going to just get rid of them. But this thought process has shown us the amount of money spent on the dogs, cats, dragons and snakes for pleasure, hurts our bottom line of spending less. That means 1) no new animal will be brought to the homestead unless it serves a purpose and the farm can sustain it. And 2) has made us really look into how we can feed animals alternatively without affecting their health.

Another point with the animals is keeping around animals that are not producing. The animal lover in me struggles with the idea of just butchering an animal because it is no longer useful. But the homesteader in me says, but that’s their job. It’s very conflicting and confusing.

Permaculture And Self Reliance

This word has been rattling around my head for the better part of a month. One of the things we have been talking about pre-conference was that while we could afford our $600/mo feed bill, we didn’t want to. After the conference, we realized that we could grow most of the food our animals need without having to use as much feed. This lead us to the idea of permaculture.

The plan, and resulting infrastructure, is that we are going to use electric netting to rotate the pigs and chickens throughout the property. We’ve had a lot of predator problems with our chickens and we are hoping that by giving them a safe space, with electrified netting, this will keep the predators down. For the pigs, we are planning on giving them a large space to root and poop in hopes that they will break the soil and allow the good things to get into the soil. After they have worked the soil in that area, we will move them to the next area and let them continue through the property.

While I love my compost, and we will always have and use it, the idea of schlepping wheelbarrows up hill and all over the property is not my idea of a good time. BUT I can take bedding waste, wasted hay, and other compostables and just put it in where the chickens are. They can spread it around and the soil can break it down there.

Save on Seeds

Another part of permaculture is instead of ripping out gardens when they are done, we can put the pigs, chickens or goats in there and let them “rip out” the garden. This will reduce our work load, feed them, and put them to work. That seems like a win to me.

Bringing Self Reliance Into The House

While at the HOA conference, we were told that the house is not as important as the land. I, wholeheartedly, disagree. While the personal how’s and why’s of that is not important, what is important is that having a safe, secure, and comfortable home, is just as important as the land. And yes, part of it is vanity on my end. While I don’t want the best of the best and need designer things. I do need my home to be safe, secure, and comfortable.

https://www.wickedgoodcupcakes.com/shop-online/thinking-of-you-boxes

We have to update our electrical panel, breakers, and some wiring. We need to take down some trees that would absolutely demolish our home if they fell. Then there’s the fire safety aspect of putting in tile accents in front of the fire place. We have to paint the exterior of our home because cedar siding will be damaged if it is not taken care of property. Oh, and our back deck is about to fall of the house. So while yes, the land is important so is the house.

I understand what these other homesteaders were talking about in regards to making sure that the land is the priority. But at the same time, so is the home. I know that they don’t mean, “Don’t worry about the electrical panel! You need to put pasture rotation into effect first.” But at the same time, me being comfortable in my home is equally as important as the land. And to be honest, we can do both.

The Food Storage Room

One of the other ways we are going to work on our self reliance is to finish up our food storage room. While most will call this a pantry, it’s going to be much more than that. In this storage room, we will have all of our canned goods, garden harvests, coffees, etc. It will also have a dehumidifier and vents on a thermometer to help control the temperatures. It will be insulated and have a door to keep animals out. We will also be storing our crockpots, stock pots, and other larger kitchen appliances in there so that we can reduce the amount of space they take up in the kitchen.

So I will be working on making the house comfortable for my family, while Jared is out there cutting down trees and replacing the electrical panel. I may even help him paint the house.

What Is Your Self Reliance Infrastructure

At the end of the day, you have to do what is right for your family, your land and your animals. It’s not about them or me. It’s about you and what you are trying to accomplish with your life. I hope this post has opened your eyes to what you want to do with your homestead.

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Filed Under: Animals, Canning, Chickens, Goats, How To's, Our Homestead, Pigs, Projects Tagged With: Chickens, Goats, Homestead

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The Homestead Holiday Gift Guide

October 2, 2022 by Leigh 1 Comment

The holidays are coming and with that comes the desire to get those that matter to us gifts that are meaningful and useful. If you are living on a homestead, or have relatives that do, this list is packed full of great ideas to help you get the most bang for your buck. While also get something that they will love. Some of the things on this list are things that are on our own holiday wish list. Others are things that we have already bought and absolutely love. This homestead holiday gift guide is sure to have something for your homesteader.

If you are a homesteader, and your family doesn’t know what to get you for the holidays? Share this with them. Or, if you are going to a holiday party and need a hostess gift? Check out the $0-$50 section below. It’s got a ton of great ideas.

Homestead Holiday Gift Guide

I have broken this guide up into price points because that’s important. No one wants to find the perfect gift and realize it’s outside of their price range. Also this entire post is filled with affiliate links. Buying from these links doesn’t charge you any extra but it does allow us to make some extra money for the farm. You can read more about our affiliate disclosure by clicking the link.

But First Some Housekeeping

The holiday season is a time for giving. As the giver, you are giving someone a gift that you thought they would like or that made you think of them. And friends? That is amazing. As the recipient, it is an awesome feeling when someone hands you a gift and says, “This made me think of you.” But also as a recipient, I don’t want you to waste your money on me. I would rather you donate that money to a good cause like animal rescue, save the bees, or really anything where the money actually goes to the cause.

Sometimes though, the gift giver simply wants to give you a gift. And if you are getting a gift for a homesteader, you may be a little lost on what to get them. You know they don’t want anything, but you are bound and determined to get them something. Most homesteaders would love to receive a gift that works on the farm. So let’s talk about homestead holiday gifts.

$0-$100 Gifts

First and foremost, GIFT CARDS. I can not stress this enough. I know, it seems like such an impersonal gift. But it is seriously the BEST gift I could receive and I know a lot of other people feel the same. I hate wasting money and when people buy things that I can’t use, it bothers me. Not because I’m spoiled, although that is true too. It’s because that person spent their hard earned money on things that won’t get used, can’t be returned, etc. So seriously consider gift cards to places like Home Depot, Tractor Supply and Amazon.

Tractor Supply

Digital Prints, Digital Art Work, or Printables– I have several different digital photography prints in my Etsy store and they are a huge hit. Unlike regular artwork, these are digital and can be printed at any size you want. These make fantastic hostess gifts, too. You will usually find prints for less than $10 and it doesn’t cost more than a few more dollars to have them printed at Walmart, Target, Sams, etc.

Ask About Their Amazon Wish List– Almost anyone that regularly shops on Amazon has at least one wish list. I have 10. But ask them for a link to their wish list so you can be sure to get something that they will love.

Donations– Every year there is that one person that you have absolutely no idea what to get them. I’ve got a family full of them. Instead of getting them a present that is going to hang out in the garage for the next 5 years, you know who you are, make a donation to their favorite charity. Get them a card, explain what you did, and put the receipt in the card.

Books– If your homesteader is a bookworm then I’ve got the list for you!

Homesteading

  • Back To The Basics
  • The Homesteader’s Herbal Companion
  • The Encyclopedia of Country Living
  • The First-Time Homesteader

Cookbooks

  • The Homestead Canning Cookbook
  • The Complete Guide To Pressure Canning
  • Preserving Everything
  • The Prepper’s Pantry

Animals

  • The Backyard Homestead Guide To Raising Animals
  • Butchering
  • The Ultimate Guide To Raising Farm Animals

Gear- Whether it’s stuff for butchering, milking, or building having extra gear is amazing. Gift cards would be amazing for this stuff as well because you may not know the difference between hoof trimmers to get, or which power tools they need batteries for. But I will tell you this, getting me gear so I can do my chores better? Score.

Sharp Things

  • Cold Steel Machete
  • Mtech Axe
  • Throwing Axes

Tools

  • Drill Bits, Saw Blades, and more
  • Hand tools: extra screw drivers, wrenches, socket sets, pliers and more.

Miscellaneous

  • Cast Iron, the good kind from antique stores.
  • Boots are always a plus
  • Coveralls! Seriously.

Seeds!!!!!!!! This would probably be better as a gift card, but I don’t know many homesteaders that will turn down packets of seeds. Tomatoes are usually pretty safe. Cucumbers are too if they have livestock. But check and see what they grow, and then check out Territorial Seed Company or Eden Brothers.

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Plants- Territorial Seed has some great plants including coffee plants! Etsy is also another great place to get edible plants so consider berry bushes, grape vines, etc.

$100-$250 Gifts

You had better be pretty good to get something off this list. While I know I haven’t been super good, if my family is reading this? I would like this milker please!

Greenhouse– There are some greenhouses that will come in under $250 that are great for seed starts or house plants that are too big to come inside. If you know they are short on space, a greenhouse may be a great option.

Pressure Canners– I will never say no to an additional canner. I’ve been saving up for this canner, but just having another one is a time saver for me. The All American 931 can hold 19 quart jars and is a double stack. When I’m hip deep in canning season, this helps a lot. The Presto is a great canner and you can usually only get 7 quart jars in there.

Camp stove- Along the same lines as a pressure canner, having additional burners would be amazing. Not to mention not heating up the house. This camp stove has been on my list for a while and I’m hoping to get one before next canning season.

Bench Grinder– You have no idea how quickly sharp things get dull on the homestead. Having a good bench grinder is a great gift to give. Jared is able to sharpen all the knives, scissors, shovels, axes, and more with ours.

$250+ Gifts

If you’ve got a from scratch chef that has made you some amazing meals, check out this Kitchen Aid Mixer. Yes, it’s pricey but well worth the money spent, especially if that means you are going to get some awesome home cooking from it. This one is on my wish list as well

Got a homesteader that has goats? Or other hooved creatures? Hoof Boss is definitely a time and back saver. When we have to trim hooves, it takes hours. It’s hard on the back and trying to wrangle all the goats? Well, they’re lucky they’re cute.

Chainsaws– Now, this one will need a little bit of research, but an extra chainsaw is always great to have around. Not to mention the chains, sharpening equipment, etc.

At The End Of The Day

Your homesteader will love whatever gift you give them, we are grateful like that. But if you want to give them something that they will use, or need, check out some of the offerings on the homestead holiday gift guide. Or better yet, ask them what they want or need. I’m sure they would be ecstatic to receive something they need.

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Filed Under: Animals, Canning, Chickens, Garden, Goats, How To's, Our Homestead, Pigs, Projects Tagged With: Canning, cast iron, Chickens, Chicks, cooking, Eggs, Goats, Homestead, kitchen, Welcome

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Homestead Infrastructure

September 10, 2022 by Leigh 5 Comments

Over the last several weeks, Jared and I have been going through our budget and project list for 2023. We decided that this year, we were really going to focus on the infrastructure of the homestead. I knew we couldn’t be the only one, so I wanted to put together a post on homestead infrastructure and what it means.

If you are just starting in your homestead journey, I have the deal for you! In The Homestead Bundle you will receive our Hay Calculator, Profit Calculator, Digital and Printable Garden Journal, The Backyard Homestead eBook, the Simple Budget, Schedule F worksheet, and Herd Health Sheets. That’s a $99 value for $47!

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Every homestead is different, so every infrastructure plan is going to be different. But I wanted to go through our list of homestead infrastructure with you so that you can get some ideas on what you want to do with your own homestead infrastructure and why. If you have your own ideas, please list them in the comments below!

What Is Homestead Infrastructure

The first thing we need to do is define infrastructure: “the basic physical and organizational structures and facilities (e.g. buildings, roads, power supplies) needed for the operation of a society or enterprise.”(Dictonary.com).

But what does that mean for a homestead? We aren’t necessarily operating as a society, community or enterprise. We are also not necessarily building roads, grids, or buildings on a large scale. But that doesn’t mean that the same idea doesn’t work.

When I talk about homestead infrastructure, I’m talking about barns, sheds, and other outbuildings. I’m also talking about fencing, pastures and gardens. It comes inside the house in the form of canning, storage, freezers, and energy efficiency. As your coming up with ideas on what your infrastructure will be, think about all the things in your local community.

Grocery stores= garden, fruit trees, canning

Milk, cheese, butter, eggs and meat= cows, pigs, goats, chickens

Roads= Trails or walk ways to barns, livestock pens, gardens, etc

Grids like water, electric, gas= wells, solar, firewood

Schools, community center, grocery store= home

By setting up your own infrastructure, you are going to prepare yourself, family and homestead for future success. Also remember, if you can’t do something like build a barn or put in an acre garden, that’s okay too. Just work on the things you can do.

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Why Infrastructure Is Important

When you are setting up your homestead, it is incredibly easy to get overwhelmed with the things you want to do or think you should do. I wrote a couple blog posts about setting goals, mistakes we’ve made, and things we have learned, but the biggest take away is that you need to know what you want, and how to get there.

Infrastructure on your homestead is so easily overlooked because you think you’re doing it with every project you do. But if you really stop and think about it, are you actually setting up something that is going to last for years to come, or are you simply reacting to the things you think you should be doing?

For example:

We bought goats on an impulse. Then as we bought more goats and as winter was barreling down on us, we decided to build a goat barn. They say hindsight is 20/20, and they are right. That first barn kind of works but is also kind of a disaster. Does it keep them dry? Sorta. Does it keep them warm? Yes. Will it keep predators out? Uh, maybe?

The barn is built right in a rain run off area. When we built it, we had no idea. But now it’s becoming an issue with all the summer rains we have gotten. The entire thing has about 2 inches of muck building up the sides, there are leaks in the roof and the “ventilation” we thought was a great idea? Not so much.

That being said, the infrastructure we put in? Isn’t working. That’s okay-ish. It’s a learning experience. But it’s also expensive.

Had we planned our infrastructure better it would save us money, time and a ton of frustration. That’s why it’s so important. But the learning part? That’s important, too.

Setting Up Your Homestead Infrastructure

For the planners, this is the best step. If you’re a do-er, find yourself a planner. I say that because I am a planner and I have about a million lists floating around for different projects and plans. In fact, I have a “hard copy” of my Pinterest in a 3″ binder. Jared is a do-er. He has zero desire to plan and that is just fine.

Our list of infrastructure is five pages typed and while yours doesn’t have to be that long, it does need to be that thorough. What does it need to have on it? Check out the example below:

Project: Goat Barn

Dimensions or Specs: Current: 8×13, Increase to 12×16. Current “milking area” will turn into a weaning pen and new milk parlor and kidding space created. Door from inner barn to milking area to avoid having to haul goats outside to be milked. Inner barn area will be increase to 8×10 minimum. Storage area in kidding/milking area for milking supplies. Bedding racks to get them off the ground. Gutters to IBC’s to help with water.

Resources On Hand: current barn will be torn apart, bleached/cleaned and painted. Materials that are reusable will be reused.

Resources Needed: t1-11, studs, paint, new hardware, more roofing, plywood or similar for bedding racks, screws, concrete pavers to get wood off the ground and possibly gravel in barn and in dry lot that will be created around the barn

Plan of Action: Jared and I will build a couple new goat shacks so the girls can have a place to go for the days that their barn will be moved. Barn will be torn down, cleaned and painted. New area for barn will be cleared and leveled. Water run off trenches will be “installed” to divert water from barn. Pavers placed and walls built. Interior built and painted. Pavers for milking area. Gravel, if decided, will go into inner barn, weaning area and dry lot.

Estimated cost: $1000

Homestead Infrastructure Ideas

Below are just a few of the things on our infrastructure list and each one has it’s own Project Planning Worksheet in my binder

  • IBC’s for firewood and water
  • Fencing for new livestock
  • Meat animals
  • Fence in Upper Garden
  • Goat Barn
  • Firewood/wood lot
  • Energy Efficiency
  • Yard hydrants
  • Solar panels
  • Generator
  • Hay Barn
  • Outdoor kitchen/ butchering area
  • Erosion control
  • Food Storage Room
  • Well Bladder
  • Attic Gables

Before you get overwhelmed, remember, this is MY entire 2023 focus. Paralysis by analysis is a thing and you don’t need to get overwhelmed. Make a list and see what you can do. See what it’s going to take for you to do those things. Then get to work.

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How To Can Corn

August 27, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

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Whether you got a great deal at the grocery or your garden has exploded, learning what you can do with surplus corn is great. There are so many uses for corn; feed for livestock, food for people, dry it for popcorn or dry it for corn meal. The options when it comes to corn are endless. But today, I want to show you how to can corn.

What do you need?

Corn- We had approximately 120 ears of corn and it didn’t take us long to get it all processed. It also yielded us 32 quart jars

A Pressure Canner– we have two of these that run pretty much non stop since they only hold 7qts each

Canning Tools

Jars– Pints or quarts will work

Either a corn de-cobber like this or a knife and a bunt pan

Salt is optional. We don’t use it but if you want to, make sure you have enough salt for the amount of corn you have

Don’t forget to add these items to your Walmart cart and have them do the shopping for you! It saves time and a ton of money.

Shucking Your Corn

120 ears of corn is a lot and I absolutely despise shucking corn. I will snap green beans until my fingers fall off, but shucking corn? No thank you. This is usually Jared’s job because he really enjoys it. It’s his version of green beans. If I had two bushels of green beans to go through, and he had two five dozen bags of corn? We would be in heaven. We both turn our brains off and let the beauty of our homestead take over.

After he shucked all the corn, he put it into our huge cooler filled with water. The husks and silks go to the chickens and compost for the garden. I guess we could have given it to the goats but they weren’t interested in the husks.

De-Cobbing Your Corn

There’s a million ways to skin a cat, and getting kernels off a corn cob is no different. We have tried a ton of different gadgets over the years. To be honest, the best one we have found is a knife. Those gadgets may work for a specific size of cob, or only once. The knife is going to work 100% of the time. So if you want to “waste” your money, any of those linked will work…. maybe.

We use a knife and bunt pan or just a knife and a cookie sheet. Nothing fancy. The downside of using this method is that it can dull your blades because you are constantly smacking the knife into the metal. But I like sharpening my knives so that’s not a deal breaker.

Tractor Supply

As you are getting all those delicious kernels off your cobs, keep in mind that the corn milk will spray EVERYWHERE. Don’t keep open drinks, electronics or anything that shouldn’t get wet anywhere near where you are working. Oh, and it’s extremely sticky.

As we de-cob the corn, we put all the kernels in a smaller clean cooler filled with clean water. This starts the soaking process.

After the corn has soaked for thirty minutes to one hour we will either change the water and let it soak again or we will go ahead and get it into jars. The reason we would resoak is if the water was completely white. If you don’t want to soak, don’t mind the milk, etc. Don’t soak or resoak. It won’t hurt anything.

Prepping For Canning

Once your kernels have soaked, it’s time to get them into jars. The first step to this is to make sure your jars are clean with no chips, cracks, dings, or dents. Usually, I just give them a quick wash and let them dry while I’m getting my canner ready.

I have two Presto 16qt canners and they hold seven quart jars. So when I can corn, it’s a multi day process. I also have a three burner camp stove that I can on to help keep the heat down in the house. I’m hoping to get one of these bad boys soon, but at $500 it’s a little steep right now. The trade off is the ability to stack quart jars in it.

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Getting my canner ready simply means making sure that the canner is safe to operate per my manuals instructions. Mine uses 3qts of water and once that’s in, I put it on the camp stove to get it boiling.

Back to the kernels, I start draining/straining out the kernels from the water and adding them to my jars. Once filled to a 1″ headspace, I add fresh water, wipe the rim with a damp vinegar rag and place the lid and ring. Remember only fingertip tight. That means you should only use your finger tips to tighten the ring, not your bicep.

They go into the canner as they are ready. Once my canner is filled and the water is ALMOST boiling, I will put the lid on and lock it. I usually let me canner vent for 5-10 minutes depending on how full it is. Meaning, if it’s filled with pints, I usually go 10 and quarts 5. But follow your canners instructions. Place your weight and wait for your weight to jiggle or rock. Then slowly start to lower the stove temp until the weight is barely moving. We don’t want the weight to blast off into space.

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Corn is processed at 55 minutes for pints and 85 minutes for quarts at 10# but if your elevation is over 1000 feet, go with 15#.

I also have a quick reference guide that you can download get in my members only section. Sign up below and you will be emailed the password.

It’s Done Processing, Now What?

Depending on your set up, you can just turn the burner off and let the canner depressurize naturally. Or if you have a camp stove and the other side is in use, you can CAREFULLY move the canner somewhere it can cool down. When I say careful, I mean be friggin careful! Seriously, no one needs to have their face melted off because the weight moved. If you’re using your stove at home, do not slide it. Pick it up. If you can’t pick it up. Just don’t even touch it. Seriously, it’s not worth the risk.

After the canner has cooled and the pressure valve has dropped, you can crack the lid and allow some heat to escape. I usually weight 10-20 minutes and then remove the lid completely. Once the contents have stopped boiling, I will unload the canner and place all the jars on a toweled surface.

That’s it!

It’s not hard to can corn at home. And it definitely beats store bought every day. But I’m sure you have some questions. So…..

How many ears fit into a quart or pint jar? It takes approximately 4 ears of corn per quart or two per pint.

Do you use salt? We don’t, but that’s only because we choose to season our food when we cook it.

Is there a zero waste method? Sure, you can boil down the cobs and make corn cob jelly. You can also drink the milk. Our zero waste method is to give it all to the animals. They love it.

What if I don’t like canned corn? You can absolutely freeze it instead. Just layer a cookie sheet with parchment paper and do a single layer of corn. Once frozen, put into a freezer bag.

What if I have extra jars but not a full canner? You can put them in the fridge for immediate eating or you can freeze them. Another option is to can water. This will give you sterile water in case of emergencies.

What if I don’t have coolers? Or a big cooler? Work in batches. If we know that each jar takes approximately 2-4 depending on the jar, then only do a full canner full at a time, and store the rest in the fridge. You can also use a clean sink.

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Canning Corn on the Cob

This is the fastest and easiest way to can corn on the cob
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Equipment

  • 1 Pressure Canner
  • 1 Canning Tools
  • 1 Jars Look in the post above for the rough conversions on how many jars you will need

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Corn on the cob
  • 1 Tbsp Per Quart jar Optional

Instructions
 

  • Start by shucking your corn and getting as many of the little hairs off.
  • Grab either your de-cobber or knife and start cutting the corn off the cob. This can be tricky so watch your fingers.
  • Place corn in clean water to help get the milk out. You may have to rinse and repeat if your corn was really milky
  • Using funnel, scoop corn into jars leaving 1" headspace
  • Fill with water again, leaving 1" headspace.
  • Remove any bubbles with chopsticks, straw, or other debubbling tool
  • Wipe rim with damp vinegar towel.
  • Add lid and ring and put into canner
  • Fill canner with water to manufacture recommendation. Ours is 3 quarts
  • Set it on the stove and get the water heating, we usually put ours on high as we are loading it
  • Once the canner is loaded, place your lid per manufacture instructions.
  • We let our canner vent for 5-10 minutes then place the weight on the vent pipe.
  • Once the weight starts rocking, slowly decrease the stove temp until the weight is just barely rocking.
  • Let this process for 85min for quarts and 55 for pints
  • Once the time is done, remove from heat and let the canner cool and depressurize naturally. This usually takes about 30-45min depending on processing time
  • Once the canner is safe to open, remove lid and, if the contents of your jar are not obviously boiling, pull the jars out with the jar grabby thing and place on a towel to cool completely
  • Remove rings and wash threads. Corn is extremely sticky so the rings may be hard to remove. Not doing so can lead to mold, rust and rotten food.
  • Wash the threads of your jar (where the rings were) with warm soapy water. Write the date and store

Filed Under: Canning, Canning Recipes, Recipes Tagged With: Canning, Chickens, cooking, Goats, Homestead

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Our Homestead Buying Guide

August 4, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

I’ve been getting asked a lot, “Where do you buy x?” So I figured I would take the time to list out where we buy the stuff for our goats, chickens, canning, seeds, garden stuff, and other odds and ends that we have used and really like. This is a VERY link heavy post, so here is our affiliate disclosure again. It doesn’t cost you a penny, but it does help us here on the homestead. The other thing is that I am not going to push you to buy anything that we have not already bought, tested and liked/loved. You don’t need that and to be honest, that’s not who I am. Here is the Homestead Buying Guide.

Save on Seeds

PS: if you don’t have a Honey account, or you shop online a ton, I highly suggest you download it. You can use my code here. They are great because it can automatically search for coupon codes and you earn cash back on purchases. I’ve earned $300 in the last year. It’s worth the minimal effort. AND you can add items to your honey list which will tell you when prices have dropped or if it’s at the lowest price.

Livestock

Goats

You can read any of my posts involving my goats here.

goat kidding

Before we get too far into this, I have a great course on the basics of goat care. I call it Goat Crash Course: Goat 101. In this course, I explain things like types of shelter, types of feeds and hays, basic assessments and so much more! Check it out!

Buy Now

We get most of our goat gear from Tractor Supply. Their prices can be higher than a local feed store on some things but cheaper on others. For example; my local feed store has alfalfa pellets for $17.99/ 50# bag. Tractor supply has theirs for $19.29 as of 7/31/22.

Buckets– We get these for feed, water, and so many other things. They are really useful.

Troughs- We use two different kinds. This one is the one we hang on the fence at different points to give them feed, alfalfa, or whatever else. We use this one for portability or if we are hanging a temporary feeder in a kidding pen for them.

Balling Gun– This helps us get pills down into the goats without having to worry about getting bitten. Yes, that happens a lot.

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Hoof Trimmers- We’ve bought two of these, and I’m a fan of this one. It just seems sturdier and I like it better. BUT this one from TSC is fine too. It’s not that I don’t like it per se, I just prefer the orange one. If you’ve got some money to spend, I would HIGHLY suggest the Hoof Boss. I’ve seen it used and it does a fantastic job. It is on our wish list of things to buy.

Meds- Now, I’m going to say this. We treat a lot of aliments on our homestead here. But we also have an amazing vet that we can call any time… almost. But having a few meds on hand is going to save you a ton of heartache. Meds to get from a vet: Thiamine and Banamine. Things to have on hand that you can get from a feed store: Red Cell, Probiotics, LA200, Tylan 200, Safeguard or Cydectin (or your choice of dewormer), electrolytes, Iron, B-complex, and Copper Wire Bolus. On the copper wire, make sure you get kids or adults based on what you have.

Chickens

You can read about how we brood chickens here. The list below are links to the items we have bought.

Incubator- We use this one and have had great success with it. The only thing I don’t like is the size. I wish it were bigger but beggar and choosers.

Brooder lights- We have used CHE’s like this one, but it can cause the chickens to attack other chickens. So a red light and housing is what you really need. We also use pine shavings for bedding for both the goats and the chickens.

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Feed- When we have chicks, we start them on a medicated feed. This helps with cocci and other harmful organisms. Remember, you really only need a week or two worth of this feed. What we do is feed approximately 1#/ chick. If you have two chicks, you would need 2#, if you have 50 you need 50#. This is not perfect, it’s really a guess. When we do our meat chickens, we buy one bag of chick start and that’s it.

Feeders/waterers- We use this feeder when they are little, and this one when they are bigger. However! If you’ve got some money to spend or you are only interested in buying one thing, this is the feeder you need. I love it! AND we can hang it, which really does decrease the mess. It also works fantastic with the ducklings.

On the waterer, we are still trying to find something that we love. When chicks are little, they need a ton of water, but they are also extremely messy. So finding one that isn’t going to make a mess but also be easy to fill has been difficult. This waterer is good, not great, but it will get the job done when they are little. As they get bigger, we use this one. We found that the metal ones did not hold up well at all. If you have a waterer you love, let me know in the comments.

House Supplies

Canning

Alright! I’ve been waiting to do this one!

Canners- This is my water bath canner and this is my pressure canner. I’ve got two of the presto pressure canners and I love them. One of these days, I am going to get this mack daddy. I can process 19 quarts a time. Which replaces BOTH of my other canners. The price tag is steep at around $500 but it’s got a life time warranty and it’s worth every penny.

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Jars- All I’m going to say is this: when you think you have enough, double it. Then double it again. Here’s why. I have over a thousand jars. When I can, I can for an entire year. So when I am figuring out how many jars of tomato sauce I need for the year, it’s not a couple dozen. I can 104+ quart jars. When I can green beans, it’s not a couple pints. It’s 146+ quarts and 146+ pints. Same with corn. Soups and stews is another big ticket item in my house. We are talking 200 quarts and 200 pints-ish. Sometimes it’s more. That’s already 600 quart jars that I need. So while you may not need that many, be prepared that you will need more than you think.

Funnels- Yall, you will never, and I mean never have enough funnels. I love the metal funnels and I have at least 6 of them. Make sure to get wide mouth and regular!

Jar grabby things- Get a bunch of these too. You will lose them or the handles will break while you are mid canning.

https://www.wickedgoodcupcakes.com/shop-online/thinking-of-you-boxes

Books- Canning cookbooks are some of the best investments that you can make. This book is hands down the best period. Buy it. She’s got a ton of amazing soups in there and they are divine. This is another really good one with some great recipes. If you are new to canning, I will recommend getting a Ball Book. There is a ton of great information in them. BUT after you get some experience, or after doing your own research, take it with a grain of salt. Some of the recipes are extremely convoluted and contradictory. Lastly, I’m not a Prepper, per se. BUT I do put up my own food because after the pandemic, I realized that relying on the grocery store isn’t a super smart idea. That being said, this book has some great recipes, ideas, and more for being self reliant.

Check back for more items as we find them and add them to the list!

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Filed Under: Animals, Canning, Chickens, Goats, How To's, Our Homestead, Pigs, Projects Tagged With: Canning, cast iron, Chickens, Chicks, cooking, Eggs, Goats, Homestead, kitchen

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How To Start Canning

July 21, 2022 by Leigh 1 Comment

Y’all! It’s canning season! I am beyond excited! Over the next few months I will be sharing with you ALL (okay, most) of the canning recipes that I have accumulated over the years. From things like salsa and broths to more complex stews and soups. I’ll also show you how we can basics like corn, green beans, and beans. But today? Today I want to talk to you about how to start canning.

how to start canning

How We Started Canning

I have always been fascinated by the idea that I didn’t have to go to the grocery store to buy food. You mean I could have a garden and animals that provided food for me? And I could put in a little work and have healthy food throughout the year. I also didn’t need a million freezers to store food and have to worry about a power failure? So I started researching, because that’s what I do when I don’t understand something.

I found out that canning is actually pretty simple. Put the food in a jar, tighten, and put it into a waterbath canner or pressure canner, and set the timer. The hard part comes in knowing which way to process the foods and for how long. If you don’t allow the “pearl clutchers” to get in the way, you can have shelves and shelves full of healthy food that will last for a couple years.

With this knowledge in hand, I went to work. I started with canning apple sauce and over the years, I have canned hundreds, if not thousands of jars of food.

how to start canning

Take the fear out of canning

What do I mean by pearl clutchers? Well, these are the people that whole heartedly agree that what the USDA, FDA and Ball say, you must do. There is a ton of fear about canning that is perpetuated by these organizations. They make it feel like the only thing you can can are jelly, jams, and a couple of soups. To give you an example: The Ball Book Of Canning says you cannot can chili with beans but on the next page, you can can ham and bean soup. That doesn’t make any sense.

Tractor Supply

So my take on it is this: if the store can put it in a can, or Grandma didn’t kill her entire family, then it’s probably okay to eat. If I follow basic kitchen cleanliness while I cook, follow proper canning times? It’s probably okay. When I take the jar off the shelf to make it, and it looks good, smells good and I boil it for 10 minutes? It’s probably okay to eat.

how to start canning
Random tangent

The latest update from the CDC says that in 2018 there were 242 cases of botulism in the US. Of that, only 18 were foodborne. Only 3 of those cases were linked to home canned food. You can read the full article here. Does it happen? Absolutely. But there are 329.5 million people in the US as of 2020. That means that your chance of consuming botulism is pretty close to zero.

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Do your research, find solid recipes, and get to canning. It will be okay.

Let’s Get Started

So you have decided to take the plunge and start canning. But what do you need to get started? My friends over at Southern Dream Homestead has a great blog post on canning and I highly suggest it. But the short version is this:

Water Bath Canner, the first ad, similar to the one below. I like it simply because I can use the pot for various other things. When I am pressure canning, I use huge pots for soups and stews making 36 Quarts at a time. This can also be used as an old fashion stock pot and as a water bath canner. The utility is great!

The second picture is my pressure canner. At $165 it’s a little steep BUT try finding one at Walmart, Target or other stores. They may have it cheaper. Edit to add: Here is a link for a pressure canner from Walmart.

The third picture is arguably the most important when it comes to canning. Great recipes. I have made several of soups/ stews in this cook book and they are absolutely divine. The chicken chowder and enchilada soup are family favorites.

The fourth is a great cook book with easy to follow instructions. It’s got processing times, instructions and a couple quick cheat sheets for you. The fifth is a pretty cool canning book that has some more off the wall can-able things but also shows you how to use them in part two.

I also have a quick reference guide that you can download get in my members only section. Sign up below and you will be emailed the password.

Lastly, you need tools. This one is a bit more expensive, but the tools feel a little more quality than some of the others. Regardless, you should probably get a couple sets of jar grabbers, funnels, ladles, etc.

You may have noticed that I left out jars. Get Ball Mason Jars, period. Yes, you may have some success with other jars. You may even find some obscure brand that holds up amazing. However, Ball is tried and true for a reason, their jars will literally stand the test of time. But PLEASE don’t buy them from amazon. You are going to pay through the nose for them.

The best place I have found for mason jars is Wal-Mart. Depending on where you live, your prices will vary, but I can get a case of quart mason jars for around $16 and a case of pint for $12. Half gallons come in a 6pk for $12. Amazon wants to double or triple that price. So shop around. Oh, and stock up on lids whenever you can find them.

Save on Seeds

Finally, get yourself some good sturdy shelves. You do not want to spend an entire summer canning your heart out, getting burns, and sore muscles to have your plastic shelves fail. I’ve got a great tutorial on how we built our canning shelves and after several years, we still love them.

So get your supplies and get started in the kitchen. I promise you, when you don’t want to sweat your butt off making dinner, that can of chili or chicken noodle soup is going to taste amazing. You can find my make ahead pickle brine and green bean recipes by clicking the links. Those are two very easy ways to get started on your canning journey.

how to start canning
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Filed Under: Canning, Canning Recipes, How To's Tagged With: Canning, cooking, Homestead, kitchen, Welcome

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Make Ahead Pickling Brine

July 16, 2022 by Leigh 13 Comments

Jump to Recipe

If your garden is anything like mine, we’ve got a couple of pickling cucumbers every day, but never enough to can a big batch of dill pickles. Or you’ve got a couple of peppers but can’t do much with them because there’s only five today, 3 tomorrow and 17 on Wednesday. Welcome to the world of gardening, right? If you think there’s nothing you can do about it, think again! I’ve got a solution to your pickle…. see what I did there? Read on for my pickling brine and famous dill pickle recipe.

What Is Pickling Brine?

Simply put, pickling brine is just the solution that is going help preserve your fruits or veggies. The brine is vinegar, salt, and water. That’s it. Some people add sugar to cut the vinegar and salt down but I don’t. When I want a pickle, I want it to be salty, vinegar-y, and delicious.

pickling brine
I quadrupled the recipe and made 6 half gallon jars brine and two quart jars of dill pickles

What can you use Pickling Brine for?

Anything. Literally. Obviously pickles is the first choice but I have used left over brine for brisket, pulled pork, marinades, and Jared’s Bloody Mary’s. The options are endless. We will also pickle peppers, onions, carrots and okra. You can even use it in some fruits if you want. The best part is that you can make a batch, throw it in the fridge or on the shelf and always have it on hand.

How to make the Brine

The brine is so easy to make, you can’t screw it up. The recipe is 10c of water, 3/4c salt, and 2c vinegar. Don’t worry, I have a recipe card at the bottom for my favorite dill pickles. You can add sugar and the ratio for the recipe above is 1-1.5c sugar.

Also, you do not need fancy pickling/ canning vinegar or salt. Skip the upcharge on those items, they are pretty much the same as regular salt or vinegar. I do use pink Himalayan salt but that’s just because that’s what I always have on hand.

pickling brine
The reddish/brown tinge is due to horrible lighting in my kitchen and the pink salt

I add all of the ingredients above to a big stock pot of water. Also, I use stainless steel pots because it’s not reactive…. and it’s the only thing I have on hand that will handle the quantity I make. Next, use hot water to start dissolving the salt and bring everything to a boil.

Once it’s boiling I will can it into whatever size mason jars I have, wipe the rim, add a ring and lid, then wait for the glorious pings. I do not process them in a canner.

If I don’t get a ping, I just throw that one in the fridge to use first. Why don’t I water bath it? Because the pH of the pickling solution (without sugar) is 3.2. Not many organisms are going to grow in that. And the heat from the boiling brine will create a vacuum seal from the jar. But if you want to water bath can this to make sure that it is shelf stable, you just need to process for 15 minutes for quarts and 25 for half gallon.

All of that being said, I cannot guarantee the safety of your food. If you follow this recipe, you do it at your own risk. I don’t know if you, your kitchen, or cooking utensils are clean/ sterile or how knowledgeable you are on canning. I have to say all of this because… lawyers.

Now, do you want the recipe for crunchy home canned dill pickles? Remember, you do this at your own risk because not only will you eat every single jar in one day, but you will also be *gasp* open kettle canning all of this.

pickling brine
Fresh canned dill pickles

What is open kettling?

Before we get started too far into the recipe, I’ve had a lot of people ask what is open kettle canning. Simply put, it is using HOT food in HOT jars with HOT liquid. For this example, we are using hot jars that have been sterilized and kept hot with hot water. We are using a boiling brine and clean/ fresh cukes. Since the jar is hot and sterile combined with the boiling brine which is highly acidic, you don’t have to process.

As a side note, you can also heat your jars in your oven once sterile. I will put my jars, lids and rings in the oven at about 250*. This reduces your risks of shattering and having to handle jars full of hot water.

The problem with home canned pickles and salsa specifically is that the veggies get turned to mush when they are heated for cooking and then heated again during the water bath. Even the most stout veggies are going to be mushy when you heat them too long. A cuke and tomato? Forget it. They will not stand up and you will end up with mushy pickles and soup for salsa.

The term open kettle was first found in 1914 as a form of home preservation, but stopped in the 1980’s. Many canners still use open kettle to preserve tons of foods. Some of us, myself included, only open kettle HIGHLY acidic foods. So the choice is yours, I choose to do research and figure things out on my own.

I also have a quick reference guide that you can download get in my members only section. Sign up below and you will be emailed the password.

Home Canned Dill Pickles

Open Kettled Homemade Dill Pickles
5 from 3 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 2 hours hrs
Cook Time 0 minutes mins
Servings 7 Quarts

Equipment

  • 1 15 qt Stock pot Larger if you are doubling or tripling recipe
  • 1 Ladle
  • 1 Whisk
  • 7 Qt Wide Mouth Mason Jars
  • 1 Debubbler
  • Can Grabber
  • Canning Funnel

Ingredients
  

  • 10 Cups Water
  • 2 Cups White Vinegar
  • 3/4 Cups Salt
  • 15ish Pickling cucumbers You can use any cukes just make sure that they are approx 6in long and not overripe
  • 7ish Tablespoons Diced Garlic
  • 7ish Bay Leaves
  • 7ish Tablespoons Dill Leaves You can use fresh dill at at least one medium sprig PER jar

Instructions
 

  • Making Your Brine
  • Add Water, vinegar and salt to stock pot and get it to boiling, stirring occasionally to dissolve salt
  • Start working on Cucumbers
  • Fill a bowl or sink with ICE COLD water
  • Cut off both ends of cuke then slice for spears, chips, or whatever pickle you want
  • Place in cold water as you get your jars ready
  • Start heating your jars, lids and rings. You can do this by running your jars through a sterilizing cycle in your dishwasher, placing in your oven on 250 or in hot water. It doesn't really matter as long as they are clean and hot.
  • **Please use a jar grabber, hot pad, or something, these jars are hot and the brine needs to stay boiling**
  • Once your brine is boiling and ready, Take hot jar and add 1T garlic, 1T Dill (or sprig), 1 Bay leaf to the bottom
  • Add your cukes, You are going to pack them in there so make sure to be careful
  • Put your canning funnel on top and then ladle your HOT brine over cukes, leaving 1" head space.
  • Wipe rim with vinegar towel, add lid and ring then set aside on a towel to start cooling
  • Repeat until you are out of cukes or brine.
  • Place a towel over all of the jars and listen for the pings over the next couple hours.
  • Whatever doesn't ping, place in refrigerator. But give it a couple of days before you eat it so they are actually pickled.
  • If you have left over brine, go ahead and fill any HOT jars you have. Same as above. Place funnel and ladle in brine
  • Wipe rim, add lid and ring and set with the others to cool under a towel.
Keyword canning, DIll pickles, Pickle Brine
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Homestead Lessons: We Learn The Hard Way

April 30, 2022 by Leigh 7 Comments

Originally, this post was about the all the homestead lessons we learned the first year. But you never stop learning, especially when you homestead. So I wanted to go over all the homestead lessons we have picked up along the way. And the list keeps growing and growing.

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Homestead Lessons:

The Animals

Goats are not entry level animals. Seriously, wait until you have good fencing, a good vet, and patience!

Chickens are cool, roosters are not. I threaten George with the stock pot daily.

Goats eat WAY more than you think they do.

Goat math is a thing. I’m still confused how our numbers jumped from 2 to 7….. Now, we are hovering around 15.

Chicken poop is slippery on concrete. Be careful when you start chasing chickens through your basement.

Animals will die. Yes, it’s hard.

Building

Build it right the first time. I cannot tell you the amount of times we have had to rebuild fences.

But also understand that you will rebuild things. It’s inevitable.

Don’t let the husband borrow your tools. Ever. Seriously, don’t do it. This man has broken more tape measures….

You are way more capable than you think you are. So is your husband.

Garden

Find a local farm stand. Even if you have a garden.

Canning is addictive. Get more jars than you think you will ever need, then double it.

Enjoy the abundance, even when you are drowning in cucumbers.

Learn to start your own plants. It’s WAY cheaper.

Keep a garden journal!

Buy the seeds…. yes, all of them.

Try new varieties. Even if you have ones you love, try different ones.

Plant the flowers. Yes, all of them.

Planning

Have a plan A, B, C, D and E. Maybe go ahead and plan for F, G and H too. Just to be safe.

Estimate how much firewood you will use, and then double it. Maybe triple if you live in a crazy weather state like Georgia.

Patience is the biggest lesson you will learn.

An emergency fund is going to be your saving grace when you buy a house. But when you buy a homestead? You should probably triple the amount you think you’ll need.

You are going to blow through that emergency fund when your goats get sick, dog needs surgery, well pump goes out and water heater explodes all in one month.

Understand things are going to happen that are beyond your control. Roll with it. A good attitude will get you through it.

Save on Seeds

Start a blog to detail the antics and chaos of your life. In a year, you will look back and laugh.

Learn to say no. Especially to your husband when he says goats would be a great idea 2 months into owning your homestead.

You are living the life you always wanted in a way you never dreamed. You are blessed beyond measure.

A homestead is what you make it. It starts with HOME for a reason. Enjoy it.

Bear the freeloader

Since buying our homestead, I have learned so much. These are just a few of the homestead lessons we have picked up along the way. I could write 100 more and still not be at the end of my list. But it has been worth every single penny, sleepless night, and fight. I would not trade my life for the world and all the money. Here’s to the next year on the homestead. May it be as entertaining and interesting as the last.

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Filed Under: Animals, Canning, Chickens, Goats, How To's, Our Homestead, Pigs, Projects Tagged With: Chickens, Goats, Homestead, Projects, Welcome

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Homestead Daily Schedule

April 28, 2022 by Leigh Leave a Comment

On our homestead, this looks a little different than most. Due to our work schedules, one of us is gone 48 of 72 hours. Sometimes more. However, the goats still need to be milked, fed and let out. Chickens and ducks still need feed, water, and be let out. Dogs are also hungry and need to go to the bathroom. And all the other chores need to be done. So regardless of who is home, the daily schedule looks pretty much the same.

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Save on Seeds

What Is Our Daily Schedule?

Most days start around 8am. Earlier for the one going to work. Blu gets her morning meds and mom needs coffee. The first set of dogs are let out and showers start. Jaxson gets his bandages changed and the boys start working on their chores. I will usually start a load of laundry and work on it throughout the day.

Tractor Supply

Each kid rotates chores for the month. One has chickens, dogs, cats, counters, and bathrooms. The other has goats, dishes, cars, and dragons. They will flip every month unless they really like a chore. Jaxson really likes the chickens and ducks. Chase really likes the goats. If they want to switch they can, if not they keep it.

Now we also make sure that they have fed, watered, and let out all of the animals as well as check to make sure bedding is good and everything is picked up for the most part. We start our chores for the morning, which generally includes helping whichever child needs the most help. Since Jaxson is currently injured, he needs more help with the chickens.

George

After everyone is done and animals are fed, we start working on school work, this is usually around 930-10. Jared and I have different views on this. Usually I let them unschool and Jared is more structured. Unschooling is when the child directs what they would like to learn about. I feel like this gives them the opportunity to learn about the things that interest them and helps them learn better. Jared prefers to help them with “normal” school work.

Neither way is wrong and the boys seem to enjoy having the flexibility. Win Win.

After eating lunch, we usually start working on whatever projects we have for the day. It could be finishing the chicken coop, canning, working on the garden, or firewood. Earlier this month we got our new buck and Jared had to rush to get the buck pen finished, so having the flexibility to get these things done is pretty awesome.

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This still counts as their schooling since they are learning things like how to follow the instructions on how to put together a metal shed. Or how much firewood makes a cord and then measuring the stack that they’ve made. They also get crash courses in animal husbandry if an animal gets sick and needs medications. They’ve also been a huge help in the garden and ask a ton of great questions. Most that I don’t have an answer to, so we ask google a lot of questions.

Around 5 or so, the garden gets watered. And as long as no one gets hurt, JAXSON, dinner is around 6-7. After dinner chores are much the same as morning chores except in reverse. Animals get fed, watered, and put up.

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The boys are allowed to play on their electronics until 930 and then it’s showers and start getting ready for bed. Currently, Jaxson gets bandage changed and then lays with his foot propped until bed time.

That’s about it. Every homestead is different and come summer/fall there will be a ton of canning in there as well but for the most part the day to day life is pretty mundane. Though the occasional trip the the vet, doctor or ER is not out of the realm of possibility.

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Filed Under: Animals, Canning, Chickens, Garden, Goats, Homeschool, How To's, Our Homestead, Pigs, Projects Tagged With: Canning, cast iron, Chickens, Chicks, cooking, Eggs, Goats, Homestead, kitchen, Welcome

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My name is Leigh and I am the owner of Steel Raven Farms. I am also the mom of two wonderful boys, wife to a pretty nifty man for the last 15 years and paramedic to boot. We want to bring you along on our crazy journey of Homesteading and all that entails!

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