Critter. The recipe for making strawberry jam by just boiling it without pectin?? I would pitch it. I remember my mom saying that the boiling really takes a lot of the taste away. So using pectin is preferred as you don't boil the jam or jelly so long. I generally use liquid pectin though I do have some powdered. Will have to look up why you would use one over the other.

I'm back and found this interesting article:

It is true that you cannot just substitute liquid and powdered pectin, because they work in different ways. You have to change the recipe.

For liquid pectin, you bring all ingredients to a boil, boil for 10 minutes, then squeeze in the liquid pectin, boil for 1 minute, then process.

For powdered pectin you bring all ingredients (including powdered pectin) except sugar to a boil. add sugar all at once,
boil 1 minute, then process.

Thank you - I didn't even know there WAS a liquid pectin!

Oh my..... Well then the article should prove informative. Certainly was to me.

Look for "Pomona Universal Pectin." It is a different type of powdered pectin that has a great deal of recipe flexibility. You can find in health food stores or at farmers markets. I buy mine online from Amazon.com. The company website for the pectin is http://www.pomonapectin.com/

I use it for a variety of jellies, jams, and preserves. It is great for low-sugar recipes and "all-fruit".

David

We have kind of moved on from the "getting off the ground" conversation, but I'd like to offer my two-cents anyway. I've avoiding having to get on the ground by using my tractor-style swivel seat cart. It works very well to get me near the ground, without requiring any kneeling!

David

I've seen those but wondered if they were low enough to get to the ground. But the swivel seat would be a plus! I have starred this post so I can refer back to it for the pectin, I want to try some this year. I'd like to use less sugar but I like to do freezer jam. @david_reaves does it work also for freezer jam?

I potted up my peppers today. I had 68 that were big enough to pot up. I have planted a second batch because of poor germination on some and I got two different varieties in the seed sway so I'll plant them tomorrow.

I also potted up the kale and Asian greens and some tiny coleus. I'm hoping potting up will stimulate them to grow a bit faster!

New rotation plan for the garden is done so now I can start mowing cover crop and getting the ground ready. I hate the raking part! But I always love the first planting in the garden. I have to make sure I mulch everything with chopped straw though because I will not have a lot of time for weeding this year.

I'm shooting for next weekend to have the cool weather crops out, plugs of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, seeds of root crops and peas.

I have scoliosis, which makes bending the HARDEST part.
I just sit and get muddy.....

Arlene,

The garden scoot is low enough to get to the ground. You can adjust the seat up or down using the threads on the swivel. You do still have to bend over, of course.

The pectin can be used for freezer jams as well as in jars. I haven't used it that way, but the website includes a good bit of information. Look at section #3 in the frequently asked questions (FAQ). http://www.pomonapectin.com/fa...

David

Thanks for the link, d reaves. I plant to try that when I can get it.

Typical gardener typo: I plantT to try that....

Or perhaps an intentional funny.

AHA!

I also clicked on the link. (cut the end of my middle finger so typing is a bit painful - at least for the letter E) I would like to cut down on the sugar in my jam and jelly.

I just ordered some of that pectin from Amazon. Got enough to be freight free, plus was able to tag along a book on finding Polish history and some fertilizer stakes for my pond lilies. I scored!! Their site also had some recipes for rhubarb/strawberry jam which Damien loves. And BluBarb (blueberry/rhubarb) jelly for me. And a recipe to make for blueberry pies that you can can up.

Thanks again for the information

I also looked up "pick it yourself" farms out in the valley. Or did I mention this already. There are two that I could find and they have fruit and vegetables. I sent an email to a young friend with three smaller children. She is a nurse and is very conscious of using fresh or at least healthy food choices. I suggested we could go together and pick. She gets fresh food, and if she helps me pick, then I will can any she might want along with mine. We both get fresh as well as canned food that we can control the contents thereof. My garden can provide a lot of fresh but isn't big enough to warrant massive canning exercises. I look at things I cook in the kitchen for potential canning candidates like spaghetti sauce, soups, chili. Would appreciate any recipes that can up well -- one jar meal types. That way we can have a nice meal one evening and not eat it for a week. Even the best recipe gets old after the third day.

Merle would be proud!

Oberon46 said:recipes that can up well -- one jar meal types. That way we can have a nice meal one evening and not eat it for a week. Even the best recipe gets old after the third day.

I've always used my freezer that way.
I taught myself to cook after I was on my own.
Recipes serve 6-8 people most of the time (or did in the 80s).
So I would cook a batch, eat a serving, and freeze the rest in individual sized containers.

I'll see if I can get you one recipe I use that has enough tomatoes in it I know it would be acidic enough to freeze.

Do you also pressure can for non-acidic things?

Up date on survivors. After the coldest winter in 25 years, I had a few survivors in the winter garden. The broccoli that was heading when the temps dropeed to 10 degrees had thier heads frozen, but the plants survived and now producing side shoots. Cabbage looks terrible, but heads are still usable. Mustard, rutabagas, and collards survived through cold, snow, ice and earthquake. overwintered English peas, smooth seeded Willet Wonders did not miss a beat. Wrinkle seeded ( Dark Green Perfection) did not survive the cold spell.

Thanks for the info. That is incredibly helpful for me to decide what to attempt to plant early and then later in the year getting onto possible frosts. I printed it off for reference