Although we aren’t homesteaders I am doing the challenge and preserving something every day this month! Almost 80 years old and am having the time of my life! Have always canned, but has taken me to the next level! Thanks, Sara for inspiring me!
I'm 76 and doing the challenge, too! Just missed one day so far, and doubled up what I did the next day. I, too, thank Sara for being a good inspiration!
Wonderful- I’m so busy picking blackberries, apples, pears and caring for chickens- that I don’t always have time to preserve it. Thankfully my mom who is 78 has been cutting up apples for me. Going to try blackberry applesauce 😁. Made rhubarb applesauce last week- yummy. My favorite jam is cherry rhubarb. Blessings to everyone.
I just dump my tomato seeds on paper towels, rinse them once in a fine strainer, transferring multiple times, spread out to paper towels, then under the ceiling fan to dry. If they stick to the paper towel and are totally dry, fine. Package them that way and just put the seeds with the paper towel in the soil for planting. No stinky bowls. No mold. No fruit flies.
I'm considering running my Freeze dryer like this this fall and winter, just keep it going all the time. It would be good to watch, because I run out of ideas!
Happy anniversary! 23 years is wonderful. My dear David and I made it to 35 years at the end of March. He passed away the beginning of June just 8 days shy of his 62nd birthday. Cherish your time with your love!!
I’m so sorry you lost your dear husband at such a young age! My husband and I have been married almost 47 years. It’s hard for us to think about losing the other one.
Dearest Rebecca, my condolences to you. This year we celebrated 41yrs of marriage, longer than some of my work colleagues have been alive! Your dear David is watching over you sweetheart, I've no doubt about that xx
Happy Anniversary😁 I made some of Kevin's cucumber drink that he made last week and everybody loves it 💗 getting them to drink this instead of soda or Kool aid is a win win for me 👍 thank you 🌻
I ask the same thing a few videos ago one viewer said that Manufacturer stop including it and recommended not using the pillow thing. Maybe it did not make a difference or was material was effected by the processing?
I've been thinking about Kevin's cucumber limeade for several days now. It's perfect weather here in upstate NY (hot & humid) for a batch of it, and I've got the ingredients, so, I'm gonna make it! Im looking forward to tasting it!
You and Kevin have so much information and so easy to understand your directions.Thank you, you are my favorite thing to watch.Please keep up the great work.
I put my broth in the refrigerator overnight. You can take the layer of fat off much easier. I clean and save the fat for frying....chicken! You can also make body lotion/face cream with the fat. It's full of collagen.
@Kmann ! My guess is surface area smoked. Cut anything in 1/2, 1/4's, or smaller you are increasing the amount of surface area exposed to the smoke. Example, when smoking a shoulder roast, for pulled pork, I cut it into 4 pieces. 1) it cooks more quickly, and 2) when shredded and mixed back together again you get a more intense "smoke" flavor. Surface area being smoked is the key. Hope this helps.
This complication type of video is cool (compared to a one project video) cause it shows how you balance and manage multiple things over the whole day. How you maximize your time getting lots of preservations done
Sarah, I am loving watching your preserving videos. Ordinarily, I would be frantic preserving things every day myself, but my area of Western North Carolina has been experiencing terrible flooding. Fields of green peppers, tomatoes, etc. are all ruined. The extensive rain has ruined much of my home garden, and what hasn't been ruined I don't have the heart to can. So many people are suffering here and lives have been lost. I know I need to be stronger and remember how my ancestors had to keep going even when things were hard. I am going to try to put some stuff up next week.
When saving seeds like dill and parsley, I start in the garden with mesh bags tied around seed heads, so the wind doesn’t scatter them, and then finish off in a brown paper bag until I get time to process into labeled envelopes. Sadly, there have been many times when I have planted from the paper bag . . .
I don’t bother planting dill anymore. It just grows like a weed all over my garden. If I don’t like where it’s located, then I pull it, but I always make sure to never pull it all. Same goes for cilantro and chamomile.
Sarah, you are superwoman! You’re amazing, your knowledge and teaching skills are to be commended! Love your videos and very grateful you sharing so much. Thank you for your hard work, God bless!
When you freeze your excess to freeze dry later can I suggest that you lay them flat in a freezer bag as thick as you would put them on the tray. Then all you have to do is take the freezer bag off and set that Frozen slab of peppers or whatever right onto the tray and slip it right into the freeze dryer Frozen. So much easier that way. True you have to use more bags that way but it's so much less work and mess.
Why would anyone give thumbs down to this video?? Some people really need to lighten up. If preserving food isn’t for you then why follow this channel? Personally,I wish I had more time and space to grow and preserve foods!
I like to grind them up in a mortar and pestle and keep the powder in a jar in the garage, and mix it in when I make up a batch of organic fertilizer specially for tomatoes and peppers. Helps prevent blossom-end rot. :)
I am 61 years old. Just became a homesteader in 2017. We grow our own veggies and herbs. Thank you Sarah for inspiring me with this challenge. It has been a blast. I did miss one day. Oh well.
I am loving these preserving videos! Thanks so much for all your hard work! I have completely given up television and only watch UA-cam. I have learned so much from you and your channel. Congratulations on your anniversary!
Sarah, I have also been doing the challenge. I have made pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, canned butternut squash, zucchini, pickled peppers, dehydrated zucchini, herbs, peppers, beets, beet greens with baby spinach, kale and Swiss chard. Made green powder out of that. Dehydrated garlic, and onions. Made powders out of all dehydrated veges. Now I am getting ready to make corn cob syrup and can corn. More tomatoes picked today, it never ends.
I really am enjoying watching each week to see all the things you're preserving during this challenge!! 😊 Congratulations on 23 years! 🎉 My Honey and I are less than 4 months from our 30th! It's so awesome to be married to your best friend and soul-mate. I'm glad you and Kevin took some time for yourselves. It's so great watching all the changes taking place in your lives. The girls are growing-up, the "big" farm is advancing SO MUCH, Kevin's folks have moved into town, AND you have that HUGE new greenhouse! WOW!!! I love watching you guys, and consider you part of my extended family. You are, always, in my thoughts and prayers. Take care and God bless!! LesaGail< in SC
I harvested tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash and next up making pesto for freezer. Feels great to look in the box freezer to see it almost full of what I’ve grown. Happy Anniversary 💕 Always take time for yourself! Nothing goes to waste when you have farm animals.
Hi Sarah, I learned a couple of things from this video, I've been waiting for my parsley to go to seed but it seems to be taking a long time. I thought it would have happened by now, but the flowers still look fresh. I saw the way you got the tomatoe seeds out 🤯 mind blown, I would cut the tomatoes and get them out that way. I put the seeds on paper towel and let them dry that way. Pick them off and package them. Never heard of fermenting them like that. Keep up the good work, I'm enjoying watching you guys 😀.
I agree, I put my tomato seeds on coffee filters, let them dry, write name on filter and store right on the filter. Just pick off what is needed the next year and plant them. No messing around with fermenting them.
Years ago my mother in law showed me how to save tomato seeds. What I do is take the seeds from the tomato place them on a paper towel on a paper plate and set aside. After a few days to a week the seeds are dry and peel off the paper towel then I store them in a envelope in the freezer until I use them the next year. I've actually been able to use seeds that have been frozen several years. Nice thing is no stinky tomato seeds. Might be worth a try.
Happy Anniversary folks, I would love to see more garden videos,I miss being in my garden everyday weeding picking sharping even though I had to sit on a plastic milk container with an old pillow as my back is so bad. It is going on ten years since I moved to the city were my eldest and his Family live. I used to can a hundred quarts of dill every year and same with tomatoes until my two boys went out to work. Great video. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💙💚🥰🤗
I think you could put a fine net over some of your peppers and thereby prevent cross pollination from bees. My wife froze a bunch of bell peppers 'whole', cores removed, for stuffed peppers as we really enjoy that. I also dried my egg shells but as I do not have chickens (zoning) I smash and then grind them into a coarse powder in the blender and add to the soil where I am going to plant tomatoes as this helps prevent blossom end rot. This week is also my wedding anniversary. 38 years, Where does the time go?
Today is Tomato and more vegetable juice; 2 large pots, and dehydrating different types of peppers, some for spices, and others stored in small pieces to easily add to sauces. But first, it's time in my art studio working on my beautiful, handmade, shaped, shower floor fish tiles. It's a 7- day work week, but sustainable lifestyle is a LOT of work. ;)
I have a perhaps unorthodox method of saving tomato seeds, which works (20+ yrs)-- without the fermentation & stink: I put the seed masses in a small wire strainer, and with my fingertips, simply rub the seeds until the goo is mostly gone, then rinse well (rub some more). Pick the seeds off and let dry on a plate or paper towel with the seed variety written on it. After a few days drying put in small bags or jars & keep cool.
Some people believe it's not a good idea to show your preps; That it can make you a target. I tend to agree. Most folks just have plain 2x4 and plywood shelving, or metal bakers racks anyway. Not super interesting. Now, if there's a carpenter or woodworker in the household, that's when you might see some cool stuff and glean some good ideas. You can really get sucked in, and spend hours scrolling through those photos.
They've said in the past that the house is small and they don't really have a pantry. Preserved food is stored all over the place, under beds, in closets, wherever they can find space.
You and Kevin take such good care of the animals. I saw someone get giant round brushes for their cows. Thought you'd be interested. Anyway love watching! Happy Anniversary
I wish I could get my Ajvarski's as large and plump as yours .... I just don't get the sun. Your harvest looks wonderful. Take care Kevin, Sarah & the girls.
I totally loved the fact you squeezed the chopped cucs By hand. I made 2 batches of sweet pickle relish and cheese cloth drained the first batch. Not the second. Process went ALOT quicker. Thanks for that tip! Thanks for what you do.
This is off subject but I kept forgetting to do this earlier. For wormy corn use vegetable oil , I use avocado drops on the silks to smother the eggs. I use a small oil can and walk the rows while the corn is tasselling. It will take a few times but it has worked well for 45 years.AVO
I've been living vicariously through you and enjoying your videos. I was inspired to do the everything counts but in my own fashion. I am a senior living in an apartment. I do having a hydroponic setup and grow leafy greens, and microgreens. So for the challenge, I have frozen 2 lbs chopped onion, 4 at jars of lacto-fermented Hatch chilis, another 2 lbs. roasted Hatch chilis and a few frozen chopped red peppers. I've always done this, so living on my tiny social security check is much easier.
Those red roasting peppers are used here to make AJVAR, a phenomenal spread made from roasted peppers, time consuming, but soooo worth it!!! You can look at YT for recipes, you won't understand the language, but cooking is the universal one for the world:)) Happy anniversary, may you spend many more happy years together:))
Yes!! Left a comment earlier regarding Ajvar!! Where are you from? Our family is from and living in Slovenia and Croatia. My sister makes Ajvar every year. Always have it in the table. I am in Oklahoma and didn’t have those types of red peppers but used what I had. Made some Cevapcici to have with it as well. ( raw onion and fresh sliced tomatoes of course). There are lots of recipes online for Ajvar. Adijo!
@Radmila. Veselo kuhanje, priijatelj, da slisim!! Dober vecer! I am trying in Croatian to say… Happy cooking my friend. Nice to hear from you !! Can you believe I do not speak either Slovenian or Croatian, but visit my family in both places often?? I have learned the basic words (mostly words for food Ha ha)and the rest is a game of hand gestures!!!! My husband was born in Slovenia but remembers almost nothing as he came to US as a child. Have a nice Sunday. Lahko noc Bog
One of my favorite channels! I am DYING to see your storage for all that you have been drying in the freezer dryer!! Please show us how you store it:) I hope someday to buy one but for now, I live vicariously through you!
We use crushed roast eggshells in our wormery and also add to the Bokashi bucket. So far we’re quite impressed with the Bokashi, adding the precompost to the compost pile rather than straight into the soil. I’ve been making mango chutney as the local supermarket had a special on mangos. Homage is so much nicer with a curry than bought.
Happy Anniversary Sara and Kevin! I love the idea on freeze drying your extra eggs! My mother in law sometimes brings us the extra food she gets from the food pantry that she can't eat or doesn't have room for. That freeze dryer would really come in handy! Still wanting to try that cucumber limeade!
Good morning! I don’t understand the thumbs down! Thank you Sarah for sharing your challenge with us! I have learned a lot! I’ll be ready for this challenge next year!! 🌱🌱🌱
I wonder if these are people who are jealous of Sara and Kevin’s harvest and their ability to work hard and put up their produce and their self sustaining life style. I cannot see any other reason why someone would give a thumbs down. You are absolutely right, these are wonderful role models for all of us!
You do not have to pressure cook jars filled with boiling liquid! Such as chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato juice, etc. Just have your rings and lids in boiling water as well. Finger tight, placed on the counter close together but not touching on a dish towel. Soon you will hear pops of them sealing. Next morning you will find all have sealed. I have only had very few not seal. Mostly manufacturing error in the lids. Save all that time and energy!
I have canned for several years. A couple of weeks ago when I was making tomato sauce I learned a new trick. I cooked my tomatoes, ran them through a food mill, the filled my fat separator with the tomatoes and the water sank to the bottom which took off a lot of simmering time!
I love this series. I'm curious to see how you rehydrate and cook the freeze-dried eggs. Hope you will do a video on cooking with all your freeze-dried foods.
I would love the freeze dryer just for preserving eggs-I can’t keep up with the eggs lately🤪. I tossed 4 dozen-broke my heart! Usually we take to friends at work/church but Covid has knocked us out for a few weeks now! I pick what I can in garden and just toss in the freezer till I’m feeling up to canning-I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me🤪 I’m really enjoying this series! Thanks for keeping me informed and entertained🤪
With your bell peppers, why not par boil them without tops or seeds and stuff and freeze them? You can male your stuffing with ground chicken or beef, rice, diced tomatoes, onion and garlic, in a huge pot and then stuff a bunch of those beautiful peppers for instant freezer meals through the summer? I really think you will be amazed how fast it goes and how delicious they will be through the winter.
Good point. I'm badly affected by arthritis and have good & bad days. I currently have a glut of garden produce. Yesterday I had a bad day, but got home grown basil dried, and blueberries and forest berries out the freezer and into the dehydrator, along with 1.5kg sweet corn. So I managed something! Small victories mean a lot when fighting with ones own health.
@@orscrub3161 I think the preserve evey day is a great idea, as it makes you think more about smaller quantities, and all the different ways we can do something positive.
I skim the fat off of broth or stock by filling a 1/2 gallon canning jar with my broth and using my turkey baster to suck off the fat. It works perfectly and you can see the fat layer easily when it is in the jar.
Thanks! I have a boatload and too tired to make stuffed peppers! Great idea…i do not blanches pieces…I will google blanching in microwave..to make them better.
After you bake egg shells if you can peal out inner membrane then crash up shells mix 1 :10r ratio 1 part egg shell 10 part vinagar it will bubble a lot leave in dark cool place with a cloth on top of jar to breath after ten days strain and mix with water best calcium fertilizer for vegetables especially tomatoes after fruit is set pour over entire plant
I have been following your challenge and doing my best to put up something every day. Some days I just don’t have the energy to do something difficult but I don’t have anything quick either. I haven’t stressed over those days and have well made up for it elsewhere. Yesterday I canned 35 jars of tomatoes. Two seals failed, so that’s 33 jars for the pantry and two to use up over the next few days. Thanks for the idea to do stock. My freezer is becoming overrun with meat bones. I should do that this week.
Great video!!!!! Hot here in Central Texas, we still have a good amount of peppers. Today I made some Jalapeno jelly. Starting seeds to get ready for the fall. Built a 5 gal grow table and a large grow table for 3 gal pots. Will be able to control the soil and keep the darn fire ants away. God Bless.
As usual, great video. As for the egg shells, since I don't have chickens, I dry them and then run them through MY blender. Same thing with chicken bones. When I have enough, they go to the compost for trace minerals. As for the blender, God forbid I use hers; that's only for food.
I noticed when you closed the freeze dryer door that you didn't put that black pad that Kevin usually puts in? That is a good tip to feed those to your chickens. I have read you can put those around your plants also as a organic calcium additive. Love your videos.
Hello! Your comment is about 4 weeks old -- did you get your FD yet? How many weeks did it take? I ordered mine on Sept 10 and seriously, I am really anxious to get it, they said 5-7 weeks (Halloween! I can't wait that long lol)
@@lobodo988 i finally ordered large…10 weeks+ Had wanted one years ago, but they didn’t send me _ice cream_ in the $15 sample package and the maintenance woes scared me off initially.
Thanks for sharing with us Sarah and Kevin. Looks like a great setup for your family preservation! Stay safe and keep up the good work and videos. Fred 🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👋👋
Good job!! I grind my cucumbers for relish with a meat grinder as I like the consistency. Thanks for the seed saving - I just bought the book but was nice to see how to do tomatoes. My opalka tomatoes (new this year) are definitely not as big as yours but its been a weird year too. The amish paste are doing quite good though. Might try saving seeds from them. I save my egg shells all week on the counter and put in a warm oven after - I used them in garden for cabbage root maggot and for tomatoes....Had gallons of shells come spring...lol. Take care, keep smiling and God Bless!
Congratulations on 23 years. Can you freeze dry your seeds? Enjoy your channel. Like the way you take us on what your day is like. Busy and very productive.
Great information great video! Egg shells are great calcium for dog food! Please please bag some up in your little dehydrator bags green peppers, dried onions, and anything else, and sell some to me! How long on the shelf with these dehydrated items Last in a sealed bag? Can they be kept in a cupboard ?? A good way to skim fat off your liquid is to pour your liquid in a bowl let the fat rise to the top and then put it in the refrigerator the fat will harden and you can pick it right off!!
Congratulations on your Anniversary! What a special couple. Many many years of happiness for both of you to come. 💖 oh great the chicken broth is a great video. I’m planning on going to soon. Thank you.
Happy Anniversary to you guys. I don't know if you have ever watched Retired at 40 but he has these stacker thing and deciders that you might be interested in. Love ya guys, God Bless
I used your method of caring for cast iron and renewing them. So far they have remained sesiones without rust with very little care after the initial treatment. BTW U BOTH LOOK FANTASTIC!
I have kept up with this challenge for most of the month doing everything from powdered lemons to jerky and my own peaches and plums. It's alot of work but I'm happy I tried this
Hi Sara I frozze my tomatoes I harvested last fall and wow what lovely plants of tomatoes I have this year I even tried stored tomatoes just sliced them planted them an wow lovley plants of tomatoes what a great job saved but I do still dry my seed incase thanks for sharing
Im also playing catch up, last week was too hot to can or run the oven with a broken AC so now that its cooled off again we are doing as much as possible. Yesterday 4 chickens went in the freezer, and we made salsa, today I want to do pickle relish, beef stock, fruit leather and maybe cucumber chips with whatever cucumbers we have left. I think om going to bake up some breakfast egg muffins for the freezer too because we are overrun with eggs
Although we aren’t homesteaders I am doing the challenge and preserving something every day this month! Almost 80 years old and am having the time of my life! Have always canned, but has taken me to the next level! Thanks, Sara for inspiring me!
I'm 76 and doing the challenge, too! Just missed one day so far, and doubled up what I did the next day. I, too, thank Sara for being a good inspiration!
Good for you! I'm doing the same.
♥
Wonderful- I’m so busy picking blackberries, apples, pears and caring for chickens- that I don’t always have time to preserve it. Thankfully my mom who is 78 has been cutting up apples for me. Going to try blackberry applesauce 😁.
Made rhubarb applesauce last week- yummy. My favorite jam is cherry rhubarb. Blessings to everyone.
Love this
I just dump my tomato seeds on paper towels, rinse them once in a fine strainer, transferring multiple times, spread out to paper towels, then under the ceiling fan to dry. If they stick to the paper towel and are totally dry, fine. Package them that way and just put the seeds with the paper towel in the soil for planting. No stinky bowls. No mold. No fruit flies.
Can this sequencing never end please??! I love watching these. It’s addictive!!
I'm considering running my Freeze dryer like this this fall and winter, just keep it going all the time. It would be good to watch, because I run out of ideas!
Happy anniversary! 23 years is wonderful. My dear David and I made it to 35 years at the end of March. He passed away the beginning of June just 8 days shy of his 62nd birthday. Cherish your time with your love!!
I’m so sorry you lost your dear husband at such a young age! My husband and I have been married almost 47 years. It’s hard for us to think about losing the other one.
Dearest Rebecca, my condolences to you. This year we celebrated 41yrs of marriage, longer than some of my work colleagues have been alive! Your dear David is watching over you sweetheart, I've no doubt about that xx
Happy Anniversary😁 I made some of Kevin's cucumber drink that he made last week and everybody loves it 💗 getting them to drink this instead of soda or Kool aid is a win win for me 👍 thank you 🌻
I made some too, it's yummy and refreshing.
I made it too! We love it here!
I ask the same thing a few videos ago one viewer said that Manufacturer stop including it and recommended not using the pillow thing. Maybe it did not make a difference or was material was effected by the processing?
I've been thinking about Kevin's cucumber limeade for several days now. It's perfect weather here in upstate NY (hot & humid) for a batch of it, and I've got the ingredients, so, I'm gonna make it! Im looking forward to tasting it!
Me too! 😊
You and Kevin have so much information and so easy to understand your directions.Thank you, you are my favorite thing to watch.Please keep up the great work.
I put my broth in the refrigerator overnight. You can take the layer of fat off much easier. I clean and save the fat for frying....chicken! You can also make body lotion/face cream with the fat. It's full of collagen.
Chicken baked in chicken fat is amazing.
I would really like to see the tomatoes saving once they have fermented. Good job Sarah. You are one busy canning/preserving lady
If you take those peppers, cut into chunks, smoke them, then freeze dry them, you can powder them into paprika!
Ah, thanks
@Kmann ! My guess is surface area smoked. Cut anything in 1/2,
1/4's, or smaller you are increasing the amount of surface area
exposed to the smoke. Example, when smoking a shoulder roast,
for pulled pork, I cut it into 4 pieces. 1) it cooks more quickly,
and 2) when shredded and mixed back together again you get a
more intense "smoke" flavor. Surface area being smoked is the key.
Hope this helps.
@Kmann ! The size of the freeze dried pieces are easier to powder
You are awesome! Thank you again for participating ❤️ Happy anniversary 🎊
This complication type of video is cool (compared to a one project video) cause it shows how you balance and manage multiple things over the whole day. How you maximize your time getting lots of preservations done
You need to grow grapes and preserve by making wine to get you through canning and mowing season.
I agree! Supper and a glass of vino is a great way to end the busy harvest day!
Allegra, I was thinking breakfast.
Sarah, I am loving watching your preserving videos. Ordinarily, I would be frantic preserving things every day myself, but my area of Western North Carolina has been experiencing terrible flooding. Fields of green peppers, tomatoes, etc. are all ruined. The extensive rain has ruined much of my home garden, and what hasn't been ruined I don't have the heart to can. So many people are suffering here and lives have been lost. I know I need to be stronger and remember how my ancestors had to keep going even when things were hard. I am going to try to put some stuff up next week.
Ball Jar book n.v recommends putting in 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar in your canning water. Everything comes out sparkling including your canner.
When saving seeds like dill and parsley, I start in the garden with mesh bags tied around seed heads, so the wind doesn’t scatter them, and then finish off in a brown paper bag until I get time to process into labeled envelopes. Sadly, there have been many times when I have planted from the paper bag . . .
I don’t bother planting dill anymore. It just grows like a weed all over my garden. If I don’t like where it’s located, then I pull it, but I always make sure to never pull it all. Same goes for cilantro and chamomile.
Sarah, you are superwoman! You’re amazing, your knowledge and teaching skills are to be commended! Love your videos and very grateful you sharing so much. Thank you for your hard work, God bless!
When you freeze your excess to freeze dry later can I suggest that you lay them flat in a freezer bag as thick as you would put them on the tray. Then all you have to do is take the freezer bag off and set that Frozen slab of peppers or whatever right onto the tray and slip it right into the freeze dryer Frozen. So much easier that way. True you have to use more bags that way but it's so much less work and mess.
Do you like they taste of the freeze dried food?
@@terryfarris4805 yes we do!
@@terryfarris4805 the taste is the same but the texture is off.
Why would anyone give thumbs down to this video?? Some people really need to lighten up. If preserving food isn’t for you then why follow this channel? Personally,I wish I had more time and space to grow and preserve foods!
I dry egg shells, run them through a coffee grinder, and use them to add calcium to my dog's food when I make it.
I used to do this, too! :D
I like to grind them up in a mortar and pestle and keep the powder in a jar in the garage, and mix it in when I make up a batch of organic fertilizer specially for tomatoes and peppers. Helps prevent blossom-end rot. :)
Same!
For chickens, too
I am 61 years old. Just became a homesteader in 2017. We grow our own veggies and herbs. Thank you Sarah for inspiring me with this challenge. It has been a blast. I did miss one day. Oh well.
Congratulations on 23 years. You putting in some work. Thanks for sharing.
I am loving these preserving videos! Thanks so much for all your hard work! I have completely given up television and only watch UA-cam. I have learned so much from you and your channel. Congratulations on your anniversary!
Me too. "What's TV?"
Sarah, I have also been doing the challenge. I have made pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, canned butternut squash, zucchini, pickled peppers, dehydrated zucchini, herbs, peppers, beets, beet greens with baby spinach, kale and Swiss chard. Made green powder out of that. Dehydrated garlic, and onions. Made powders out of all dehydrated veges. Now I am getting ready to make corn cob syrup and can corn. More tomatoes picked today, it never ends.
I really am enjoying watching each week to see all the things you're preserving during this challenge!! 😊
Congratulations on 23 years! 🎉 My Honey and I are less than 4 months from our 30th! It's so awesome to be married to your best friend and soul-mate. I'm glad you and Kevin took some time for yourselves.
It's so great watching all the changes taking place in your lives. The girls are growing-up, the "big" farm is advancing SO MUCH, Kevin's folks have moved into town, AND you have that HUGE new greenhouse! WOW!!!
I love watching you guys, and consider you part of my extended family. You are, always, in my thoughts and prayers. Take care and God bless!!
LesaGail< in SC
I harvested tomatoes, beans, cucumbers, pumpkins, squash and next up making pesto for freezer. Feels great to look in the box freezer to see it almost full of what I’ve grown. Happy Anniversary 💕 Always take time for yourself! Nothing goes to waste when you have farm animals.
There's just produce everywhere in my house too. LOL Such a terrible thing ,not. Thank you for sharing. I have a few new ideas now.
23 yrs wow !! I just want to say that not all of us are on Instagram....thank you for the videos!!!
We tried the cucumber limeaide for a neighborhood cookout and everyone loved it. Very refreshing on a hot day!
Hi Sarah, I learned a couple of things from this video, I've been waiting for my parsley to go to seed but it seems to be taking a long time. I thought it would have happened by now, but the flowers still look fresh.
I saw the way you got the tomatoe seeds out 🤯 mind blown, I would cut the tomatoes and get them out that way.
I put the seeds on paper towel and let them dry that way. Pick them off and package them. Never heard of fermenting them like that. Keep up the good work, I'm enjoying watching you guys 😀.
I agree, I put my tomato seeds on coffee filters, let them dry, write name on filter and store right on the filter. Just pick off what is needed the next year and plant them. No messing around with fermenting them.
Years ago my mother in law showed me how to save tomato seeds. What I do is take the seeds from the tomato place them on a paper towel on a paper plate and set aside. After a few days to a week the seeds are dry and peel off the paper towel then I store them in a envelope in the freezer until I use them the next year. I've actually been able to use seeds that have been frozen several years. Nice thing is no stinky tomato seeds. Might be worth a try.
You could separate your flowers by putting a mesh bag over them and mark the stem so you know which fruits were separated.
Happy Anniversary folks, I would love to see more garden videos,I miss being in my garden everyday weeding picking sharping even though I had to sit on a plastic milk container with an old pillow as my back is so bad. It is going on ten years since I moved to the city were my eldest and his Family live. I used to can a hundred quarts of dill every year and same with tomatoes until my two boys went out to work. Great video. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💙💚🥰🤗
I think you could put a fine net over some of your peppers and thereby prevent cross pollination from bees. My wife froze a bunch of bell peppers 'whole', cores removed, for stuffed peppers as we really enjoy that. I also dried my egg shells but as I do not have chickens (zoning) I smash and then grind them into a coarse powder in the blender and add to the soil where I am going to plant tomatoes as this helps prevent blossom end rot. This week is also my wedding anniversary. 38 years, Where does the time go?
Today is Tomato and more vegetable juice; 2 large pots, and dehydrating different types of peppers, some for spices, and others stored in small pieces to easily add to sauces. But first, it's time in my art studio working on my beautiful, handmade, shaped, shower floor fish tiles. It's a 7- day work week, but sustainable lifestyle is a LOT of work. ;)
Love your videos. You are a true blessing to so many people! Happy Anniversary too!
I have a perhaps unorthodox method of saving tomato seeds, which works (20+ yrs)-- without the fermentation & stink: I put the seed masses in a small wire strainer, and with my fingertips, simply rub the seeds until the goo is mostly gone, then rinse well (rub some more). Pick the seeds off and let dry on a plate or paper towel with the seed variety written on it. After a few days drying put in small bags or jars & keep cool.
Congratulations! Happy Anniversary to you both!
I hate fermenting tomatoes to save seeds. I like slicing the tomatoes thin and letting them dry on a paper towel. I find fermenting them a mess. 💚🌞
Sarah, I would love to see where you store all your dried and canned food in a video.
Some people believe it's not a good idea to show your preps; That it can make you a target. I tend to agree. Most folks just have plain 2x4 and plywood shelving, or metal bakers racks anyway. Not super interesting. Now, if there's a carpenter or woodworker in the household, that's when you might see some cool stuff and glean some good ideas. You can really get sucked in, and spend hours scrolling through those photos.
They've said in the past that the house is small and they don't really have a pantry. Preserved food is stored all over the place, under beds, in closets, wherever they can find space.
Sorry I didn’t think in terms of security when I made this comment, love Living traditions and everything they stand for 😊👍🏻🙏
@@marycountry I think we all do. 😊🌈 Have a great and blessed week. 🙏
Me, too ❣
I used to hot water bath my tomatoes, but only pressure them now. I feel I get a better seal & it's quicker. God bless!
You and Kevin take such good care of the animals. I saw someone get giant round brushes for their cows. Thought you'd be interested. Anyway love watching! Happy Anniversary
I wish I could get my Ajvarski's as large and plump as yours .... I just don't get the sun. Your harvest looks wonderful. Take care Kevin, Sarah & the girls.
I totally loved the fact you squeezed the chopped cucs By hand. I made 2 batches of sweet pickle relish and cheese cloth drained the first batch. Not the second. Process went ALOT quicker. Thanks for that tip! Thanks for what you do.
This is off subject but I kept forgetting to do this earlier. For wormy corn use vegetable oil , I use avocado drops on the silks to smother the eggs. I use a small oil can and walk the rows while the corn is tasselling. It will take a few times but it has worked well for 45 years.AVO
I've been living vicariously through you and enjoying your videos. I was inspired to do the everything counts but in my own fashion. I am a senior living in an apartment. I do having a hydroponic setup and grow leafy greens, and microgreens. So for the challenge, I have frozen 2 lbs chopped onion, 4 at jars of lacto-fermented Hatch chilis, another 2 lbs. roasted Hatch chilis and a few frozen chopped red peppers. I've always done this, so living on my tiny social security check is much easier.
Those red roasting peppers are used here to make AJVAR, a phenomenal spread made from roasted peppers, time consuming, but soooo worth it!!! You can look at YT for recipes, you won't understand the language, but cooking is the universal one for the world:)) Happy anniversary, may you spend many more happy years together:))
Yes!! Left a comment earlier regarding Ajvar!! Where are you from? Our family is from and living in Slovenia and Croatia. My sister makes Ajvar every year. Always have it in the table. I am in Oklahoma and didn’t have those types of red peppers but used what I had. Made some Cevapcici to have with it as well. ( raw onion and fresh sliced tomatoes of course). There are lots of recipes online for Ajvar.
Adijo!
@@allegra1236 Hi! I am from Montenegro. Cuvajte se, budite mi zdravo!
@Radmila. Veselo kuhanje, priijatelj, da slisim!! Dober vecer!
I am trying in Croatian to say…
Happy cooking my friend. Nice to hear from you !!
Can you believe I do not speak either Slovenian or Croatian, but visit my family in both places often?? I have learned the basic words (mostly words for food Ha ha)and the rest is a game of hand gestures!!!! My husband was born in Slovenia but remembers almost nothing as he came to US as a child. Have a nice Sunday. Lahko noc
Bog
One of my favorite channels! I am DYING to see your storage for all that you have been drying in the freezer dryer!! Please show us how you store it:) I hope someday to buy one but for now, I live vicariously through you!
Happy Anniversary! @11:57 If you splash 1/4 cup white vinegar into your canning water you'll get fewer hard water rings/deposits on you jars & lids.
We use crushed roast eggshells in our wormery and also add to the Bokashi bucket. So far we’re quite impressed with the Bokashi, adding the precompost to the compost pile rather than straight into the soil.
I’ve been making mango chutney as the local supermarket had a special on mangos. Homage is so much nicer with a curry than bought.
Happy Anniversary Sara and Kevin! I love the idea on freeze drying your extra eggs! My mother in law sometimes brings us the extra food she gets from the food pantry that she can't eat or doesn't have room for. That freeze dryer would really come in handy! Still wanting to try that cucumber limeade!
Good morning! I don’t understand the thumbs down! Thank you Sarah for sharing your challenge with us! I have learned a lot! I’ll be ready for this challenge next year!! 🌱🌱🌱
I wonder if these are people who are jealous of Sara and Kevin’s harvest and their ability to work hard and put up their produce and their self sustaining life style. I cannot see any other reason why someone would give a thumbs down. You are absolutely right, these are wonderful role models for all of us!
Clicked so fast to see this video!!👍
Congratulations on your anniversary!❤️ God bless you and your family.🙏
You do not have to pressure cook jars filled with boiling liquid! Such as chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato juice, etc. Just have your rings and lids in boiling water as well. Finger tight, placed on the counter close together but not touching on a dish towel. Soon you will hear pops of them sealing. Next morning you will find all have sealed. I have only had very few not seal. Mostly manufacturing error in the lids. Save all that time and energy!
Been enjoying these videos. Never even thought of seed saving as preservation but so true!
I have canned for several years. A couple of weeks ago when I was making tomato sauce I learned a new trick. I cooked my tomatoes, ran them through a food mill, the filled my fat separator with the tomatoes and the water sank to the bottom which took off a lot of simmering time!
I love this series. I'm curious to see how you rehydrate and cook the freeze-dried eggs. Hope you will do a video on cooking with all your freeze-dried foods.
They did a video on that!
I whirl my egg shells in the food processor. Makes smaller pieces. Then half for the chickens and half for my compost.
I would love the freeze dryer just for preserving eggs-I can’t keep up with the eggs lately🤪. I tossed 4 dozen-broke my heart! Usually we take to friends at work/church but Covid has knocked us out for a few weeks now!
I pick what I can in garden and just toss in the freezer till I’m feeling up to canning-I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me🤪
I’m really enjoying this series! Thanks for keeping me informed and entertained🤪
You can whiz up eggs good and then freeze them in ice cube trays or little baggies.
Feed old eggs back to your chickens, scrambled up they love em.
With your bell peppers, why not par boil them without tops or seeds and stuff and freeze them? You can male your stuffing with ground chicken or beef, rice, diced tomatoes, onion and garlic, in a huge pot and then stuff a bunch of those beautiful peppers for instant freezer meals through the summer? I really think you will be amazed how fast it goes and how delicious they will be through the winter.
don’t EVER feel pressured to do ANYTHING!!!!! you are doing what you can, when you can. And excelling very well. absolutely love your family’s video!
Good point. I'm badly affected by arthritis and have good & bad days. I currently have a glut of garden produce. Yesterday I had a bad day, but got home grown basil dried, and blueberries and forest berries out the freezer and into the dehydrator, along with 1.5kg sweet corn. So I managed something! Small victories mean a lot when fighting with ones own health.
@@lat1419 …….you’ve got that right! 😊👍
@@orscrub3161 I think the preserve evey day is a great idea, as it makes you think more about smaller quantities, and all the different ways we can do something positive.
I power my egg shells and use in my garden as well as feed to the chickens. You have so much energy..keep going
I skim the fat off of broth or stock by filling a 1/2 gallon canning jar with my broth and using my turkey baster to suck off the fat. It works perfectly and you can see the fat layer easily when it is in the jar.
Happy Anniversary :) I would use most those peppers for stuffed peppers. I just cut in half and blanch and freeze. So good!
Thanks! I have a boatload and too tired to make stuffed peppers! Great idea…i do not blanches pieces…I will google blanching in microwave..to make them better.
@@learnjcbskidsterchickensga7594 I just drop the halves in boiling water for 3 minutes then set them on paper towels to dry then put in freezer.
After you bake egg shells if you can peal out inner membrane then crash up shells mix 1 :10r ratio 1 part egg shell 10 part vinagar it will bubble a lot leave in dark cool place with a cloth on top of jar to breath after ten days strain and mix with water best calcium fertilizer for vegetables especially tomatoes after fruit is set pour over entire plant
Well, just thanks... what a video series. WOW!!!
God Bless
Hello Sarah. Another week of prepping. Good job. You impress me with what you're able to accomplish. See you soon. Be well.
did up 19 quarts of tomatoes today plus working on a tomato juice plus dehydrating tomato skins/tops for powder.
I have really enjoyed this series. Thank you sharing with us.
I have been following your challenge and doing my best to put up something every day. Some days I just don’t have the energy to do something difficult but I don’t have anything quick either. I haven’t stressed over those days and have well made up for it elsewhere. Yesterday I canned 35 jars of tomatoes. Two seals failed, so that’s 33 jars for the pantry and two to use up over the next few days.
Thanks for the idea to do stock. My freezer is becoming overrun with meat bones. I should do that this week.
Great video!!!!! Hot here in Central Texas, we still have a good amount of peppers. Today I made some Jalapeno jelly. Starting seeds to get ready for the fall. Built a 5 gal grow table and a large grow table for 3 gal pots. Will be able to control the soil and keep the darn fire ants away. God Bless.
As usual, great video. As for the egg shells, since I don't have chickens, I dry them and then run them through MY blender. Same thing with chicken bones. When I have enough, they go to the compost for trace minerals. As for the blender, God forbid I use hers; that's only for food.
I noticed when you closed the freeze dryer door that you didn't put that black pad that Kevin usually puts in? That is a good tip to feed those to your chickens. I have read you can put those around your plants also as a organic calcium additive. Love your videos.
I think this is my favorite series you have ever done. I could watch this all day. We just ordered our freeze dryer and can’t wait!
Check facebook groups and reviews for things like oil cleaning etc
Hello! Your comment is about 4 weeks old -- did you get your FD yet? How many weeks did it take? I ordered mine on Sept 10 and seriously, I am really anxious to get it, they said 5-7 weeks (Halloween! I can't wait that long lol)
@@lobodo988 i finally ordered large…10 weeks+
Had wanted one years ago, but they didn’t send me _ice cream_
in the $15 sample package
and the maintenance woes scared me off initially.
Thanks for sharing with us Sarah and Kevin. Looks like a great setup for your family preservation! Stay safe and keep up the good work and videos. Fred 🙏🏻🙏🏻👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👋👋
Sarah, when I blanch my tomatoes to peel them, I save the skins and dehydrate them to make tomato powder. It is good.
🤣🤣🤣 now my wife wants a freeze dryer. Keep up the good work and stay safe up there!!!
Good job!! I grind my cucumbers for relish with a meat grinder as I like the consistency. Thanks for the seed saving - I just bought the book but was nice to see how to do tomatoes. My opalka tomatoes (new this year) are definitely not as big as yours but its been a weird year too. The amish paste are doing quite good though. Might try saving seeds from them. I save my egg shells all week on the counter and put in a warm oven after - I used them in garden for cabbage root maggot and for tomatoes....Had gallons of shells come spring...lol. Take care, keep smiling and God Bless!
I like the texture of relish made with the meat grinder too.
Thank you for showing how you harvest seeds!!
Love you guys. Keep on helping us
Love to watch your seed preservation. Learned stuff I didn't. Know . Thank you .
You’re such a busy lady, an inspiration and so informative. Fun to see your cast iron wall, a different part of your kitchen for a change. 😀
Congratulations on 23 years. Can you freeze dry your seeds? Enjoy your channel. Like the way you take us on what your day is like. Busy and very productive.
Great information great video! Egg shells are great calcium for dog food!
Please please bag some up in your little dehydrator bags green peppers, dried onions, and anything else, and sell some to me! How long on the shelf with these dehydrated items Last in a sealed bag? Can they be kept in a cupboard ??
A good way to skim fat off your liquid is to pour your liquid in a bowl let the fat rise to the top and then put it in the refrigerator the fat will harden and you can pick it right off!!
Wonderful stuff, and very informational! And I'm glad you don't let a social media challenge dictate your life. Family is more important.
what a wonderful week of food preserving! Thanks for sharing.
I love these weekly video's of harvest and preserving thanks I know it is hard work
Never doubt that you make a difference! You are my inspiration!
I’m just a guy looking to preserve the food i grow. This is my mentor channel! Thank you for you’re great videos guys! Cheers from NC zone 8a!
You can make stuffed peppers and freeze when you thaw put in crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours
Congratulations on your Anniversary! What a special couple. Many many years of happiness for both of you to come. 💖 oh great the chicken broth is a great video. I’m planning on going to soon. Thank you.
Happy Anniversary Kevin & Sarah
Happy Anniversary to you guys. I don't know if you have ever watched Retired at 40 but he has these stacker thing and deciders that you might be interested in. Love ya guys, God Bless
Freeze dry the peals and whatnot from diced tomatoes to make your powder, too much water in whole tomatoes… well, you can do it, but it takes forever😍
I used your method of caring for cast iron and renewing them. So far they have remained sesiones without rust with very little care after the initial treatment. BTW U BOTH LOOK FANTASTIC!
You guys are SO GOOD at explaining everything!! #1 to me.
I have kept up with this challenge for most of the month doing everything from powdered lemons to jerky and my own peaches and plums. It's alot of work but I'm happy I tried this
Hi Sara I frozze my tomatoes I harvested last fall and wow what lovely plants of tomatoes I have this year I even tried stored tomatoes just sliced them planted them an wow lovley plants of tomatoes what a great job saved but I do still dry my seed incase thanks for sharing
Love your site. Try powdering the celery and squash If you vacuumn seal them they save space and you can use them in so many ways.
Im also playing catch up, last week was too hot to can or run the oven with a broken AC so now that its cooled off again we are doing as much as possible. Yesterday 4 chickens went in the freezer, and we made salsa, today I want to do pickle relish, beef stock, fruit leather and maybe cucumber chips with whatever cucumbers we have left. I think om going to bake up some breakfast egg muffins for the freezer too because we are overrun with eggs
Thanks for the info. I like make bone broth in my instant pot. In less than 3 hours I'm ready to can.
tfs