Kristina Seleshanko's Blog, page 86

How to Plan a Small Vegetable Garden - How I Do It

Do you have trouble planning your garden - especially your small vegetable garden? Reader Kelly Teater of Knit Together asked me for a layout of my garden. And while I've tried to show lots of photos of my garden, I agree it may be easier to see how I do things if I share some drawings. I hope this will help you plan your own garden beds.

Main garden bed.Let's begin with what my main garden bed. It's in the back yard, near the fence. When we first moved here, it was nice and sunny. Now, due to neighbors' trees, it's part shade. That's why this year I chose to plant it only with things that don't mind shade. The bed was quite prolific this year, offering us more than enough greens (and we love our greens!), plus other goodies. It measures 12 x 14 ft., including wide pathways that my husband tills (so I don't have to hoe or hand weed them).

The bed is made up of five berms, each a couple of feet wide. I chose to make berms because our soil is heavy clay. Bringing in garden soil and turning it into berms or raised beds was the cheapest, simpliest option. (If I'd wanted to ammend our soil, it would have taken much more garden soil, plus sand, and still might not be satisfactory.) Berms or raised beds make for slightly warmer beds, too, meaning an easy jump in the spring and a slightly longer growing period in the fall. Many people ask if I have a problem with the berms eroding. I do not. In the spring, before I plant, I dig compost into each berm and reshape them a bit.

The downside to berms or raised beds is they require more watering than gardens planted directly in the soil.

As you can see from the illustration above, I planted this bed pretty intensively this year. This did not deter production, but it did require more fertilization and water. (For an idea of how close I planted things, the general recommendation for kale, according to Mother Earth News, is single plants, 1' 4" each way (minimum); rows, 1' 2" with 1' 6" row gap (minimum). My plants are only about 4 inches apart. In another example, I planted my loose leaf lettuce just 1 inch apart; Mother Earth News recommends single plants, 0' 4" each way (minimum); rows: 0' 4" with 0' 6" row gap (minimum).)

First Berm: This is primarily a kale bed. I planted a couple of varieties. In the early spring, I also interplanted radishes - twice. Also interplanted are carrots.

Second Berm: This is primarily the collards bed. To one side, I also planted some parsnips and cabbage. Again, carrots are interspersed throughout.

Third Berm: The pea bed. In early spring, I planted just a few spinach plants in this bed; for the first time, I had success with spinach - I believe because the peas helped shade this cool-weather plant. Next year, I'll plant far more spinach, planted close together. And again, there are carrots here, too.

Left Hand Berms: One has tightly spaced beets and loose leaf lettuce. (I always recommend loose leaf because if you leave three leaves behind when you harvest, leaves will just keep coming. If you plant head lettuce, you really only get one harvest.) The other held leeks (planted in late fall and overwintered), and now has winter carrots.

On the sunnier side of the bed (the right), I have pots of herbs and one grow bag of potatoes. (This year, some sort of disease got these potatoes, but last year, I had an abundant crop from this grow bag, despite the fact that it's not in full sun. And I always recommend growing herbs in pots because #1, they make take over the garden if they are planted directly into the soil and #2, it allows you to move them around into bare spots in the garden.) In the very back of the bed, against the fence, are some honeyberries (only their second year; they didn't produce this year) and thornless blackberries. Really, blackberries like sun and well drained soil, but this year those vines actually produced some really deliscious, huge berries.

Also in the backyard, and not part of this drawing, are the kiwi vine (quite ornamental, too, and growing on an arch), Jerusalem artichokes (in a grow bag), ground nuts (in a pot), and all along the back of the house, strawberries.

Front garden bed.In the front yard, right in front of the house, I have one long front garden bed. It was there when we purchased the house, but was narrow and full of heavy clay soil. This year, my husband widened it and I amended it with chicken manure and compost. (This winter, I'll add more of both, and cover it with cardboard to discourage weeds.) This is not a berm garden; everything is planted either in pots/grow bags, or directly into the level soil.

The graphic here really doesn't do the bed justice; I have both summer and winter squash in this bed, and (as you know if you've ever grown either) a single plant fills in a lot of space very quickly. So try to imagine the entire bed covered in big, beautiful squash leaves. General advice is to plant squash about 4 feet apart. I did just a bit less than this, but you'll want to be careful not to get squash too close, or you'll have problems with air circulation and sunlight, which will reduce production. As my squash gets quite large now (in September), I am training them forward, onto the lawn, to save space.

In the back of this bed, near the house, I have two columnar apple trees and three blueberry bushes in pots. There is also a brick planter that's original to the house; it contains a few cabbages, lots of wild onions, plus my vigorous ornamental and medicinal passion vine. In the left hand corner of the bed, near the front, is a rhubarb plant. (This was it's first year, so I won't get a harvest from it until next year.) Next to it is a single zucchini plant - more than enough to keep us constantly in zukes!

I also have two pattypan squash plants and two large, vining, prolific butternut squash. The two pattypans have us giving away an awful lot of food, since we don't like this summer squash once it's preserved); next year, I'll probably only plant one - which will give me more room for some other plant. I also had one buttercup squash just behind these squash; it didn't do very well. I believe it just wasn't getting enough sun because it was closer to the house. This bed also had two grow bags of potatoes, many pots of herbs, some chives planted directly into the soil, and all those volunteer tomato plants. (Which are producing some fruit - though not as much as the plants I purchased.)

Side garden.I have another tiny bed to the side of our house that holds six tomato plants, only about a foot or so apart, some onions, a handful of strawberry plants, and some wonderberries that scatter themselves throughout the bed each year. Here, everything is directly planted into the ground - which is some of the best soil in our yard. (The total of the long front bed and this small one is about 33 x 3 feet.)

From such a small amount of space, I think I get a pretty decent amount of food. (Click here to see our totals as of August.) The keys are:

* to give the plants the correct amount of sunlight
* to plant pretty closely
* to provide the correct amount of water and fertilizer.
* To grab space wherever there is some. (I'm not afraid to plant edibles among ornamentals, as long as the location is right for the plant.)
* To plant early and late season crops that don't mind some cool weather. (Examples include kale, radishes, and peas.)

I'm also careful to plant flowers nearby, to attract pollinators. My favorites are borage and nasturtiums; both self sow each year and are edible.

Could I get even more from my beds? I do think I have room to grow pole beans (or something similar) up a tepee, just behind the squash. They will get less sun, so I need to be sure to choose a plant that doesn't mind a bit of shade. And I could shrink the pathways in my main garden bed so I'd have more room for plants. But that means hubby couldn't use his tiller...and I would never hear the end of that!


All the layouts in this post were created using Mother Earth News' free vegetable garden planner.

Homeschool Preschool: Thoughts on Readiness

Does it seem like children are going to school at earlier and earlier ages? Are you worried your child should be in preschool by 3 and kindergarten by 5? Then you, my dear friend, have fallen prey to one of the worst ideas in modern schooling. The truth is children - especially very young ones - mature at different rates. One child might be ready for kindergarten by 5, but many others will need another year or two before they are truly ready.

The Rush Toward School

Until recent times, most children didn't start going to school until the age of seven or eight. And this was in an age when literacy rates were much higher than they are now and, generally speaking, children received a more stellar education. Kindergarten was not really about academics, but an invention to keep poor children out of trouble while their parents worked. Only in very recent times have some states made kindergarten mandatory - and that because kindergarten now teaches children what they used to learn in first grade. (A very odd thing, considering the first two years of college now teach kids what used to be taught in high school.)

Preschool is a very modern invention. In times past, when education was actually of a higher level in the U.S., no one would have dreamed of putting small children in school - although in the 19th century, some cities had "nursery schools" for the children of the working poor - basically, what we'd call day care.

So you can see that ideas about how soon children should go to school have changed drastically in recent years. The current idea seems to be that the earlier children start school, the better they will do in school, the better an education they will receive. Unfortunately, the facts don't support this. (See this post for statistics about early education and resulting poor social skills. This article by the Brookings Institution is one of many that explain how early education isn't helping kids academically, either.)

School Readiness: Two Rules

So when should you start your child in preschool or kindergarten? There really are only two rules regarding this:

#1: Don't send your child to preschool or kindergarten based upon her age.

#2: Wait until your child is mature enough to begin preschool or kindergarten.

#1 is pretty self explanatory. Every child matures at a different rate and maturity matters much more than age. Unless a child has a learning disability, we should never worry our child will "fall behind." Pushing a child to learn before he is ready only leads to frustration, fear, and hatred toward learning.

#2 is more difficult. How can you know your child is ready for preschool or kindergarten?

Examples from Our Story

When my daughter was five, I put her into a charter school's kindergarten class. She couldn't wait to start "real school" (as she put it). She couldn't wait to be in a classroom and have a "real teacher" (again, her term). She "knew" she was ready. And academically, she was. She knew her phonics before she could really talk. (She was a late talker, but more than makes up for that now!) She'd been doing preschool work - worksheets, writing, crafts, counting, etc. - since she was two and was quite proficient at it.

The problem was, she wasn't mature enough for kindergarten. She had a horrible time sitting still. She had a worse time concentrating for more than a few minutes. She resisted homework mightily. While she understood phonics very well, she couldn't seem to put the sounds together to read words. In short, she greatly struggled in kindergarten. So much, she was beginning to loose her love of learning.

So I pulled her out of the charter school and we repeated kindergarten another year, at home. (And no, she was not scarred by this. In fact, she didn't even know it wasn't normal. Sure, some of her old school friends went on to first grade, but she never thought it strange that she didn't.)

And my daughter wasn't the only one. Every single five year old in her class was asked to repeat kindergarten. None of them were mature enough. None of them were ready for first grade. Most were just barely ready for kindergarten the following year.

My son was a completely different story. We started homeschool preschool with him at age 3, but only in tiny doses. He liked doing manipulatives, such as sorting. He hated anything to do with writing. Or learning his letters. Or numbers. Or colors and shapes. I didn't push him, though. Pushing your child when he isn't ready is the sure fire way to make him hate school and learning.

This year, my now almost-five year old son is doing preschool again. This year, he is actually interested in learning phonics so he can eventually learn to read. This year, he's excited to learn cutting skills. This year, he wants to learn to count. This year, we believe he is truly ready to start preschool in earnest.

And so...

As parents, we need to watch our children for signs of maturity. We can't let outside pressures lead us to put children in school before they are ready, since this only results in kids who hate school, who are at the bottom of their class, and who find learning stressful. All of that is totally unnecessary If. We. Just. Slow. Down.

There is no rush. Children do not have fully mature, adult brains. Some of their brains are ready to learn to read, and some are not. And that's okay!

Also, when would you rather your child graduate high school? At a younger (and likely less mature) age? Or would you rather she has another year or two to mature before she heads off into the world?

As my husband's very wise great-grandma (who taught in a one room school house for many years) used to say, "Let them be children. They will learn. Don't panic. And especially boys...they usually take a little longer."

Words to live by!

Keeping a Canning Diary

I began keeping a canning diary two years ago, and now I find it indispensable. In an inexpensive bound, blank book, I record what I've canned, how much produce (or meat) I used, and how much it cost. I always know exactly how much I canned last year, how many pounds to harvest or buy in order to make the same amount (or more or less, depending upon my family's current needs), and whether or not I'm getting a good deal, if I'm purchasing food to can.

Your canning diary needn't be fancy; mine certainly is not:
 Easy! 

August on the Homestead

August is always a hectic month for us. There are birthdays, school prep - and lots of gardening, harvesting, and preserving.

The summer squash (pattypan and zucchini) are growing like mad. We eat some squash almost every day, and I'm preserving zucchini by making zucchini chips - a huge favorite in this household. (I still have lots of last year's shredded, frozen zucchini for things like cookies, soups, spaghetti sauce, and zucchini bread.) The pattypan is outregeously abundant. I'm giving away quite a bit, but we still have tons. I may feed the chickens with the extras - or I might try chunking it up and freezing it for soups and stews. (I might also try grating it to use like shredded zucchini.)

Butternut squash. The winter squash has given mixed results. I tried one buttercup plant this year, and it's not been very happy. I lost many buttercup to blossom end rot, even after removing blossoms from the bottoms of growing squash. Then aphids attacked the plant - and while I keep spraying them away with cold water, they keep coming back. I have so far only harvested one buttercup squash. The butternut squash, on the hand, is doing extremely well. I can't wait for it to turn color so we can begin eating it!

Kohlrabi.Because we are so inundated with squash and other fresh veggies, I decided to harvest all the kale and collards, leaving just three leaves behind on each plant. I chopped it, blanched it, and froze it (just like the dandelion greens here) - and we'll be grateful for it, come winter. (When sauteed, they really do taste just as good as fresh greens.) And by the time the summer squash is winding down, we'll have more kale and collards, as they perk up with the cooler weather.

The carrots are large and I could harvest them any time. I've decided to wait until a good frost, though,
because it increase their flavor so dramatically. I'll soon be harvesting parsnips, cabbage, and kohlrabi, too.

Apples.In the fruit department, our small columnar apple trees are pumping out apples - more this year than the last. So far, I'm leaving them on the tree and harvesting as needed. We are still getting a few strawberries and blackberries, too - and the wonderberries are beginning to come on.

Oh, and the tomatoes! This has been my best year ever growing them. I'm watering my plants less, which seems to make the green tomatoes turn red more quickly. We have more than enough to eat fresh, and I'm also freezing some to can later, when life is a little less hectic.

The critters continue to be sweet - and functional. The chickens are laying more and more consistently, and their eggs are getting larger. I keep about five or six 18-count egg cartons full of eggs in the fridge, plus some frozen eggs in the freezer - plus we give some away. The rabbit makes fantastic fertilizer at an amazing rate. And my husband almost brought home a pig this month. Yes, a pig. Even though we live in the suburbs. Even though we don't, in my opinion, have room for one. He thought it would make a great house pet. Ahem. I barely dodged that one!
The cabbage isn't very big this year. (Notice how I share them with the slugs and snails.) One of the potato grow bags did splendidly. Another was diseased and produced nothing. Another is recovering from a major eating by slugs and snails. I have several jars of zucchini chips. This is the first year our thornless blackberry has really produced. Look at the size of those berries!

2013 Produce Totals 
(All but the squash and tomatoes are from a 12 x 14 ft. garden plot; the squash and tomatoes are in an area measuring 33 x 3 ft.)
Eggs 550Chicken meat 20 ½ lbs.
Apples 6 1/2 lbs.Basil 1/2 lb.Beets 1Blackberries 3 lbs.Blueberries 7 1/2 lb.Buttercup squash 2 1/2 lbs.Calendula 8 lb.Chives 6 lbs.Cilantro 1 lb.Collards 11 lbs.Dandelion flowers ½ lb.Dandelion greens 35 lb.Dandelion Root 2 lb.Garlic: ½ lb. scapes + 1 lb. headsGreen onions 1 lb.Kale 11 ½ lbs.Kiwi 1 lb.Leeks 5 lbs.Lettuce 11 lb.Mint 1/4 lb.Oregano 1 1/4 lb.Pattypan squash 28  lbs.Parsnips 1 lb.Passion vine 1 lb.Peas 5 1/2 lbs.Potatoes 11 1/4 lbs.Radishes 8 lb.Rosemary ¼ lb.Sage 1 1/2 lb.Spinach 1 1/4 lb.Squash blossoms 2 1/2 lbs.Sunchokes 40 lbs.Strawberry 3 1/2 lbs.Tomato 19 1/2 lbs.Wild onion 2 lb.Wonderberries ¼ lb.Zucchini 37 1/2 lb.

Call for Guest Bloggers!

Most days, I work part time at home, I blog, I keep house, I garden, I homeschool...and I'm tired. I could use some help this late summer/fall!

So if you'd like to write a guest post on a Proverbs 31 Woman topic - parenting, marriage, God, gardening, homekeeping, etc. - and you want to help my awesome readers learn about your own blog, book, or website, I'd love to hear from you. Just send me an email with your story idea to kriswrite at aol dot com.

I can't wait to see what you come up with!                                                                    

Canning Pickled Green Beans (Dilly Beans)

My husband and kids are huge pickle fans. They also love green beans. So pickled green beans (sometimes called dilled beans or dilly beans) are a natural in our home. There are many, many different recipes for dilly beans, but I like this one best because it's so easy.

For the beans, you can use traditional green beans, wax beans, or even yard long beans (either chopped up or wound around the jar.)

What You'll Need:

2 lbs. green beans
4 garlic cloves (peeled)
4 teaspoons dill seed or 8 sprigs fresh dill heads
4 teaspoons canning salt
2 1/2 cups white distilled vinegar
2 1/2 cups water

Pint jars, lids, and screwbands
Water bath canner
Ladle
Plastic spoon (or other non-metallic utensil with a long handle)
Large pot
Small pot
Paper towels or clean dishcloths

How to Do It:

1. Review the guidelines for water bath canning. Prepare jars and lids. Fill a large bowl or sanitary sink with ice water.

2. Fill a large pot with water and place over medium high heat; bring to a boil.

3. Add the green beans to the pot and begin immediately timing 3 minutes. When 3 minutes have passed, remove the green beans and plunge immediately into ice water.

4. Pour any remaining water out of the large pot; pour in the vinegar and 2 1/2 cups water. Place over medium high heat; do not allow to boil.

5. Once the beans are completely cool, take a single hot jar and to it add:
1 garlic clove1 teaspoon dill seed (or 2 sprigs of fresh dill heads)1 teaspoon canning salt6. Pack the jar with beans, being sure to leave 1/4 in. headspace. (If needed, trim the ends of the beans to make them fit. If there is room at the top of the jar, add chopped beans.)

7. Pour hot vinegar-water over the beans, maintaining a 1/4 in. headspace. Bubble. Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp cloth. Add a lid and a screwband and place in the canner.

8. Repeat steps 5-7 until all the green beans are used up (or all the jars are filled).

9. Process pint jars for 10 minutes.

Makes about 4 pints.

* NOTE: If you live at a high altitude, read this important information about adjusting canning times.

Top 12 Media Recommendations for Christian Kids - by guest blogger Tanya Dennis

Note from Kristina: 

Moms have a unique viewpoint when it comes to media. When my children have been watching secular television shows, for example, their behavior and attitude usually leaves much to be desired. But if we fill our home with Christian music, movies, and other media, I always notice their actions and words are much more Christ-like. 

With that in mind, I asked blogger Tanya Dennis for her recommendations on great Christian media for children. (Her kids are a bit older than mine, and I felt she had more experience in this area than me.) Her list is terrific; I think you'll find it just as helpful as I do.


Media surrounds us. Parents, especially those in the church, often bemoan the effects of the media on younger generations. Movies, music, video games…they all influence our children. Sometimes the impact goes almost unnoticed. Other times it’s quite obvious.

I remember our first day of public school. My then first-grader came home and insisted that she have shorter skirts. “My friends said the boys won’t like me if I don’t wear short skirts.” She said this pointing to a girl wearing a “Future Mrs. Beiber” t-shirt. I was horrified.

There is good news. The media can also to influence our children for good. Christian music and movies have long been criticized for inferior quality. This certainly is warranted in some cases, but we’ve come a long way, now offering highly competitive entertainment with a faith-based education. VeggieTales and Adventures in Odyssey are great, but sometimes you want something different.

As you strive to train your children consistent with your faith, consider these alternative resources. They have proven favorites in our home.

MOVIES

Read and Share DVD Bible [SERIES]: Based on the Read and Share Bible by Gwen Ellis (illustrated by Steve Smallman), this series offers animated vignettes of Bible stories. Most volumes include several pieces from both the Old and New Testaments. A few volumes focus only on certain holidays or stories, such as Christmas. I like this series because they’re peaceful, simple, and biblically accurate. They include a large cross-reference of stories, not just the over-done Sunday School ones.

Age Appeal: 5 and under
Total running time is 60 minutes per DVD.

On the Farm with Farmer Bob [SERIES]: Featuring the voice talents of Amy Grant and Vince Gill,
these videos use farm characters to teach and re-tell parables from Scripture. Many of these are also available in a “Literacy Edition.” These offer interactive bonus features that encourage and teach fundamental phonics and beginning reading skills, each focusing on specific letters or letter blends. My kids loved the quirky talking animals. I liked the applicable lessons taught.

Age Appeal: 4-8
Videos run 40-60 minutes in length, depending on the episode.

3-2-1-Penguins! [SERIES]: The creators of VeggieTales also produced this sci-fi series that teaches moral lessons based on faith. As twins Jason and Michelle travel throughout the galaxy with their new penguin friends they learn a lot about the fruits of the spirit, about friendship and how to live lives that honor God. Their grandmother always comes in at the end to share a memory verse and wrap up the lesson.

This is very, very similar in style to VeggieTales, but it appeals more to boys, specifically, and to older kids, generally. Only seven videos were made in this series, the last in 2008. My kids still think they’re hilarious, and I’ve caught them applying the lessons to their own situations.

Age Appeal: 5-10
Total running time is 30 minutes per video.

What’s in the Bible with Buck Denver [SERIES]: This is by far my favorite Christian video series for
kids. It was created by Phil Vischer, but has very little in common with VeggieTales. Instead of teaching morals or simple Bible stories, this series dives into theology and deeper questions about faith. It’s not just what we believe, but why we believe it, how we can know that it’s true, and what is its relevance to us today. These are crucial questions and I am so grateful to this series for helping me teach my children. As I’ve lent these out to friends and all have confessed how much the kids – and adults! – learn by watching them. Truly a fantastic series, complete with catchy songs, storytelling, animation, puppets and live characters. This series is also available as church curriculum.

The only criticism for this series relates to its interpretation of Creation. Phil Vischer mentions the “Big Bang” twice in the first episode. He does not discuss evolution or the age of the earth. Rather, he emphasizes that Christians believe differently about how long a “day” is and that the most important point about Creation is not “how” but “Who.” He acknowledges the dispute, but re-focuses the discussion on God as Creator rather than the specific way He created. Even with this, I cannot recommend the series highly enough.

Age Appeal: 6 and up
Total running time is 60 minutes. This includes two 30-minute episodes per DVD.


MUSIC 
I do not like children’s choirs or CDs. My kids listen to what my husband and I listen to. Their favorite songs come from Third Day, Jeremy Camp, and Jamie Grace. However, there are a few CDs we have purchased with them in mind.

The Go Fish Guys: Their tagline is “music for kids that won’t drive parents bonkers.” Well, I can get my fill, but as far as kids’ music goes, they’re definitely at the top. With pop sounds and intricate harmonies, they teach kids through songs like “Bible Book Bop” and “The Ten Commandment Boogie.” They even have an entire VBS program based on their albums.

Seeds Family Worship: These  CDs include 12 songs per disk, each one based on Scripture. It’s a perfect way to get God’s Word in their heads and hearts.

Note from Kristina: I'd also add the Hide 'Em In Your Heart CDs by Steve Green. They feature simple but pleasant songs that really get Bible verses into our heads. Green does a nice job of targeting verses that are especially helpful to children (like "children obey your parents in the Lord" and "when I am afraid I will trust in you")

In addition, if you're looking for audiobook CDs that aren't are Adventures in Odyssey, I recommend the Jonathan Park series, which focuses on Creation science.

TABLET APPS 

I’ve not found a ton of apps that I like. Honestly, most are pretty cheesy and not worth the money. Many that are really good – like Jesus Calling – are the same, both in content and price, as bound book versions. If given a choice between a traditional book and a tablet, I’ll always prefer the book for my kids. Here are a few tablet apps that we do like.

SuperBook by CBN:(Available from the Apple Store)This offers a number of educational activities for
kids. They can read the Bible (New Living Translation), view Bible profiles, take quizzes, play games or watch videos. Age Appeal: 7-10

Granny’s Bible Dojo: (Available from the Apple Store) Something like Fruit Ninja, this game features a karate-kicking grandmother who uses her dojo to teach the books of the Bible. Players must break the board in the right order to earn prizes. Mistakes will lead to bruised and eventually broken hands. My kids and I have fun with this one! Age Appeal: 5 and up.

The American Bible Challenge Game: (available for Kindle) This app provides a fun, fast-paced Bible trivia. Any questions that are missed get added to a Bible study section that users access at the end of each level. Not only does it challenge users’ knowledge, but it also teaches and helps fill the gaps with solid Bible training. Age Appeal: 8 and up.

The Bible App: (formerly called YouVersion; available for Kindle or Apple products) This app was not created for kids, but our kids use it. It offers Bible reading plans, several versions of the Bible and daily devotional encouragements. Age Appeal: 8 and up.

Your Turn: Tell me. What are your favorite multi-media tools for your kids? 


Tanya Dennis invites readers to pursue God in the dailies, even those seemingly mundane details of parenting and suburban life. She is a former contributor to Christian Children's Book Review and the author of Big Word Bible Studies, a series of in-depth explorations through the Old Testament. Learn more at her website: www.TanyaDennisBooks.com.

When & How to Sterilize Canning Jars

A few days ago, I read an article in one of the country's most famous cooking magazines (affiliated with a very famous television network), trying to explain how to can tomatoes. It was riddled with errors – none of which were going to lead to food poisoning, thank goodness. But it was yet another reminder that as canning gains popularity again, there’s an awful lot of misinformation out there.

One area that many, many canners seem to find confusing is when to sterilize jars.

Why Sterilize Canning Jars?
The only reason to sterilize canning jars before canning is if the processing time is very short. Otherwise, the jars and their contents will be perfectly sterilized during the processing time - assuming you're using an approved recipe from Ball or the National Center for Home Food Preservation. (All canning recipes here at Proverbs 31 Woman are from one of these sources.)

When to Sterilize Canning Jars 
It is only necessary to sterilize canning jars before filling them if the processing time is under 10 minutes. Very few things fall into that category: Some jellies, jams, marmalades, and similar preserves, and perhaps some pickles in smaller jars, for example.

Anything that is processed more than 10 minutes is put in clean, hot jars that don’t need sterilizing first.

Jars in the Canner Aren't Sterile
Some people think if they put their jars in the canner and turn on the heat, making the water hot (and perhaps even simmering), they are sterilizing the jars. This is not true. This keeps the jars warm before filling them - which is necessary in order to prevent jars from breaking - but the jars aren't actually getting sterilized. (There are other ways to keep jars warm, too, including in a clean sink of hot water and in a dishwasher that has a hot "drying" temperature. I do not recommend keeping them hot in the stove, since this can lead to temperature fluctuations that can make jars break.)

How to Sterilize Canning Jars
There are people who recommend sterilizing canning jars in the oven or the dishwasher, but the only safe way to get them sterile is to boil them. Here’s how:

1. Fill your canner with water so it comes at least 2 inches above the tops of the jars. Be sure there is a rack in the bottom of the canner.

2. Add the canning jars and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes.

3. Now just leave the jars in the canner until you are ready to fill them. (Don’t take them out of the canner and let them air dry.)

It’s that simple!

A Little House on the Prairie Birthday Party

I was pretty excited when my daughter chose a Little House on the Prairie theme for her birthday party - excited partly because I love 19th century history...and partly because I saw it as a chance to pull together a fun party without a lot of expense or fuss. In the end, I think everyone had a great time, and the party came together quite easily.

The Invitation
I always send out digital invitations - but I do them in the form of a .JPG that I create on my computer, using free photo editing software. This year was especially easy; I found a black and white drawing from one of the Little House books and added some text:

"It's [name here]'s birthday! Please come to our Little House on the Prairie party - dressed in your favorite frontier costume. Join our 'half pint' for old-fashioned games, yummy food, and fun!"

I also let everyone know costumes weren't mandatory - just encouraged - and gave some ideas I knew might be easily accomplished with dress up or everyday clothes: Cowboy, Indian, railroad engineer, frontiersman, or pioneer, for example.


The Decorations
I wanted to keep this very simple, using things we already had on hand:

* A well worn (not historic or valuable) quilt as a tablecloth
* A basket of apples and a bowl of cherries (used later for games)
* A bucket lined with calico for utensils
* Old canning jars for straws and simple bouquets of flowers from our yard
* A Lincoln Log-built cabin
* Some sepia photos we had of our family in 19th century costumes
* An authentic old school slate with my daughter's age written on it (I later photographed her in costume, holding the slate.)

Although it didn't really fit in with the theme, we also put up a few balloons - because in our family, you can't have a birthday party without them!

I also considered using hay bales for outdoor seating; they are inexpensive (about $3 a piece around these parts) and I would use them later for chicken bedding - but we have too many people with allergies, an important consideration if you are thinking about using hay or straw bales.

The Food
I considered serving pioneer-inspired food but decided we had too many picky eaters. Instead, we stuck with easy picnic fare like hot dogs and burgers - and lemonade served in canning jars. I also considered making popcorn balls as party favors, but ran out of time to do this. At one point, I thought we'd make ice cream with an old fashioned, hand cranked ice cream maker. This would have been a nice addition, but I couldn't find a cranked ice cream maker to borrow.

We considered many ideas for the birthday cake - some pretty elaborate, with covered wagons or log
cabins on top. But in the end, my daughter decided she wanted a simple cake - something like Laura Ingalls might have had if Pa and Ma could have splurged on a cake. So I made a chocolate cake with white cream cheese frosting - two round layers. On the day of the party, I plucked some edible flowers from our yard (bachelor buttons and pansies) and used them to decorate the cake.

The Games
I had a lot of fun choosing old fashioned games for the party - and I think both the adults and kids enjoyed them. We played:

* Musical chairs, using music from Pa's Fiddle - a collection of music Pa played in the Little House books. (I downloaded a single song for a mere .99 cents...all I needed for our game.)

* Potato sack race - so fun, we did it a couple of times. You can find burlap sacks all over the Internet, but I was afraid some of the cheaper ones would rip. (We had older children - and some adults - using them in the game.) Even so, I bought them inexpensively - four for $3.55. They worked perfectly and I will keep them for future parties.

* Watermelon eating contest - I placed a cheap plastic party tablecloth on the picnic bench and gave each child 1/4 of a watermelon. Then we did an adult version, too.

* Cherry pit spitting contest. (If you can find a watermelon with plenty of seeds in it - difficult to do these days - you can use those instead of cherry pits.) I laid another cheap plastic tablecloth on the ground. (If adults will be playing, too, I recommend at least two tablecloths or a plastic aisle runner.) Each child ate a cherry, reserving the pit. Then, one at a time, she tried to spit it as far as she could. With a felt tip pen, I circled each child's pit and wrote her initials beside it, so there'd be no question about whose was whose. The child who spit a pit the farthest won. The kids liked this game so much, they played it many times.

* Apple bobbing. The trickiest part of this was finding smallish apples with stems; the ones I found were rather large, which made the game harder. (My daughter is also missing three front teeth, so it was especially difficult for her - but she did manage to get an apple.) I didn't have a half wine barrel, trough, or shallow, wide bucket, so I used the pot of my pressure canner. It was a bit deep, but that just meant the kids got a little more wet!

To view my Pinterest inspiration board for this party - and discover lots of great ideas I didn't use - click here. 

The Best Tasting, Easiest Applesauce Ever

A few years ago, I posted instructions for making applesauce - an annual tradition at our house. But last year I discovered an even easier - and yes, more tasty and nutritious - way to make applesauce. I think it warrants it's own post.

Before I begin, I'd like to note that there are many different ways to make applesauce. Some people swear by a food mill, for example. I don't use one for applesauce because:

1) It removes most of the skin, and the skin adds a ton of nutrition and flavor.

2) It involves cooking the apples with their seeds. Apple seeds contain arsenic, and the idea of having that cook into the applesauce just doesn't appeal to me!

The method I now use is just as easy as using a food mill (maybe easier!), but doesn't have problems number one and two, above.

AND you don't need any special equipment. If you like your applesauce lumpy, an ordinary potato masher will do. If you like it nice and smooth, I recommend using an immersion blender; I bought a $25 Oster and have used it successfully for years. In fact, I like it so well, I got rid of my traditional blender. (Immersion blenders are stick like, and you put them directly in the pot you are using; this saves time - and cleanup.)

The Apples

I usually use free apples I find in public areas, the wilderness, or neighbor's yards. It's amazing how many people have old apple trees but don't have the time or desire to pick the apples. And they are usually thrilled if someone wants to come pick them; it saves them from cleaning up a big mess under their tree.

For applesauce, you really can use any type of apple. If they are scabby or wormy, that's fine! (That just proves they are organic!) If they are apples the wind has sent to the ground, that's fine! (In fact, windfall apples are traditionally what applesauce is made from.) If they are crab apples - even the type that taste awful to eat raw - that's fine! (My family's favorite applesauce is made with crab apples. One note, though: If the crab apples are so small you could eat them in one bite, they are a real pain to core. Instead, I'd use other apples for applesauce and can those tiny crab apples whole and spiced. Click here for other things to do with crab apples.)

Also, I do recommend organic apples. Yes, you can remove the peels of non-organic apples, but that's a pain, removes much of the nutrition, and frankly, doesn't remove all the pesticides. Especially since you'll be cooking down and concentrating the apples, you'll want them chemical free.

How to Make the Best Tasting, Easiest Applesauce Ever

You will need:
A cutting board and knife
A large pot
Potato masher (optional, but recommended)
A blender (optional, but recommended; an immersion blender makes the job really easy)
Sugar (optional)
Cinnamon (optional, but recommended)
Bottled lemon juice (optional, unless you plan to can the applesauce)
Boiling water bath canning equipment or freezer bags

1. Set up the cutting board and get out your knife. Have a handy place to put cores and bad sections of the apples; I use my counter top compost bin, but a large bowl works fine, too.

2. Wash a few apples at a time, then, one at a time, cut them in quarters. Slice off the cores on each quarter and cut away any bad spots. Toss the cores and bad spots into the compost bin or bowl. (Note: It's okay to give a little of these to the chickens, but their eggs will start tasting "off" if they eat too many fruit peels. I prefer to compost apple scraps.) For
large apples, it's a good idea to cut the quarters into smaller chunks.
Removing the cores.( NOTE: One of my friends read this post and asked why I don't use an apple corer/slicer instead of a knife. I find that when using non-commercial apples - that is, apples that don't come from a grocery store - they are too irregular to work with this type of device. Crab apples are also too small for an apple corer/slicer. And if the apples are windfall or from a purely organic tree, you'll need to cut away bad parts, anyway. However, if YOU have consistently regular apples, an apple corer/slicer may be just the thing.)

3. Place the apple pieces into a measuring cup. When you have a total of 9 or 10 cups, toss them all into the large pot.

4. Add 3 cups of water to the pot and place over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and cook until the apples are tender.


5. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon. If you like, add sugar. (If you're using crab apples, you'll definitely want sugar. Use about 2 cups. For non-crab apples, I usually start with 1/2 cup of sugar, then add more to taste, if necessary.)
Cooking down the apples.6. If you'll be canning the applesauce, add 4 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice. If you won't be canning the sauce, you may still want to add about 1 1/2 teaspoons of bottled or fresh lemon juice.

PLEASE NOTE: Lemon juice is not optional if you are canning applesauce! If you don't add bottled lemon juice, your jars may become a breeding ground for botulism.
7. Stir and keep cooking until the sauce is thickened a little. Remove from the stove and allow to cool slightly.

8. If you like lumpy applesauce, carefully use the potato masher on the cooled mixture until you're happy with the consistency. Otherwise, use the immersion blender to make the sauce smooth. (If you use a traditional blender, add the apple mixture in batches.)
Pureeing the applesauce with a stick blender.9. If the applesauce is the correct consistency, move on to step 10. Otherwise, you can thicken it by cooking it a bit more. (Do not add thickeners, like flour or cornstarch, if you'll be canning the applesauce. Neither is safe in home canned products. In fact, I don't recommend adding thickeners at all; they just aren't necessary. Cook the sauce to thicken it, or add a few more apples.)

10. If you want to freeze the applesauce, allow it to cool before spooning it into freezer bags or jars.

To can the applesauce , working one jar at a time, ladle into prepared jars, leaving 1/2 in. headspace. Bubble and add a lid and ring. Repeat until the jars are full, then process pint or quart jars for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath canner. * (If you aren't an advanced canner, please review the basic canning guidelines here.)

Makes about 5 pints.

NOTE: I usually double this recipe because I make large quantities of applesauce at this time of year, and a double batch fits my canner just about perfectly.
 * NOTE: If you live at a high altitude, read this important information about adjusting canning times.