What can I still can in October in Georgia?

[MaidMirawyn]

So, I wanted to try some canning this year. I haven't done any since before my grandmother moved to Florida in 1995; she used to have a big garden. But with buying a house and assorted other upheavals, my husband and I never got a chance to do any.

I always thought of prime canning season as late summer; that's the stuff I'm used to, and it's past season. And I don't have my grandmother around anymore as a consultant.

I know there have to be some Georgians on the forum who do home preserving. I live in metro Atlanta; what's a good candidate for canning right now?

I've looked at an apple pie filling recipe I stumbled across on Rural Revolution, but I would appreciate another option, too. I want to try at least one canning experiment this year, so I can decide how much of it I want to do next year. That, of course, will influence my seed selection.

Thanks!

[lorna-organic]

Maybe peaches?

[cyra]

Well, according to the chart I sent you in another post, (on what to plant now), peppers, tomatoes and pumpkin; & I think you can still can baby mustard greens, too, at least they've popped up here, you may have some, too.

Here's the link to that gorgeous planting/harvesting chart again:

http://www.al.com/images/hg/spring_garden_calendar.pdf

[bunkie]

we're canning pears and plums now. also, i try to make batches of homemade soups to can.

[MaidMirawyn]

Originally Posted by cyra

Well, according to the chart I sent you in another post, (on what to plant now), peppers, tomatoes and pumpkin; & I think you can still can baby mustard greens, too, at least they've popped up here, you may have some, too.

Thanks again, cyra. Great ideas! I did read about freezing mashed pumpkin…

I found some interesting recipes: slow cooker apple butter, cranberry orange marmalade, and citrus curd, all of which sound delightful! Of course, I can do the apple butter now, but the best citrus won't be for a couple more months! (There are advantages to living next door to Florida: if we look out for them, there are guys in trucks driving around selling wonderful citrus in the winter!) Conveniently, the apple butter is also the easiest one, it looks like, so I can practice.

I'm not sure, though, if the cranberry-orange or the citrus curd will need adapting to be safe for canning…guess I'll have to do some research!

I'm also watching for the last of the okra to show up at the farmer's near the school where my husband teaches, and of course I can always find garlic. (Think I'm going to plant some.) So that means I may get a chance to pickle okra, which my husband and I adore!

[cyra]

Originally Posted by MaidMirawyn

Thanks again, cyra. Great ideas! I did read about freezing mashed pumpkin…

I found some interesting recipes: slow cooker apple butter, cranberry orange marmalade, and citrus curd, all of which sound delightful! Of course, I can do the apple butter now, but the best citrus won't be for a couple more months! (There are advantages to living next door to Florida: if we look out for them, there are guys in trucks driving around selling wonderful citrus in the winter!) Conveniently, the apple butter is also the easiest one, it looks like, so I can practice.

I'm not sure, though, if the cranberry-orange or the citrus curd will need adapting to be safe for canning…guess I'll have to do some research!

I'm also watching for the last of the okra to show up at the farmer's near the school where my husband teaches, and of course I can always find garlic. (Think I'm going to plant some.) So that means I may get a chance to pickle okra, which my husband and I adore!

Thanks for the idea, MM, on the cranberry orange marmalade later on; bet it looks beautiful in jars!

[MaidMirawyn]

Well, I had a productive weekend: eight half-pint jars of apple butter, plus a quart of fridge pickles and some pickled okra (one quart jar plus one half-pint of the leftover smaller okra).

It was fun, and the apple butter was REALLY easy! I took my lead from the slow cooker apple butter recipe I linked to before, but didn't follow it exactly.

I bought two three-pound bags of Granny Smith apples last week (which were on sale for a very good price). I did one batch on Saturday and one on Sunday.

For each bag of apples I added 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup Splenda, and 3 cups sugar. I also used whole spices, not oils and extracts like the recipe used, because I always have them on hand to make chai and spiced cider. Plus they're way cheaper whole…

I tied them up in a little bundle of cheesecloth using kitchen twine. I used six inches of stick cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoon clothes, and 3/4 teaspoon allspice. I added it once the mixture had started to boil, when I reduced the heat to low. I left the spices in until it was soft enough to puree.

I slightly overcooked the sauce on the first day; my husband turned the crock pot to "Warm" instead of turning it off. (He offered! HIs reason? "Well, it's only keeping it warm!") So immediately after pureeing the second batch, I added the first batch in (on low) just until it was hot enough to can.

My stockpot-turned-canner would only hold seven jars, so I did the eighth jar by the inversion method. (Don't worry; that jar is in my fridge, ready to be opened as soon as we finish the one-third-full jar of leftover apple butter.)

[bunkie]

great work MM and all!

sigh...sob...i just...sob... finished canning...sob... the last ....sob...7 quarts...of our gardens' ...sob...final...sob...2009...sob... tomatoes...and and making 10 pints of plum pear jam right now. at least i have lots and lots of pears and apples left to pick and can...also the beets and carrots by end of the week...whew!

[hikingonthru]

Originally Posted by MaidMirawyn

For each bag of apples I added 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup honey, 1/2 cup Splenda, and 3 cups sugar. I also used whole spices, not oils and extracts like the recipe used, because I always have them on hand to make chai and spiced cider. Plus they're way cheaper whole…

Howdy! Have you been to the dekalb farmer's market off Ponce de Leon? If you are heading to Stone Mtn. on 285 from the Chamblee Tucker exit....take the Ponce de Leon exit on your right and turn right (away from the bridge). Stay on it and you go through some old industrial mill village kind of areas on your right with industrial stuff on your left. (Neat art shops through there BTW.) Stay on it and of a sudden like there is this HUGE international market/grocery store on your right (it sits where the old Farmer's market used to, I think, and got its name that way.) Anyhow, go in and go to your right...there is a very big spice section where they sell all kinds of spices whole and bulk in deli container looking things.
I got a quart bag of bay leaves for under a dollar. I got 2 bags of cinnamon sticks (not the real, but the common type of 'cinammon') making about a quart for under $4. I get whole spices (nutmeg, allspice, etc.) and put them in the freezer. I buy LOTS of dried thyme there to make the base for my thyme tea nasal wash. Plus, if you can store them, you can get basic items like rice and onions WAY WAY WAY cheaper than the grocery store. I got a fifty lb. bag of onions and MADE a storage bin for them it was that cheap! Anyhow, they got all kinds of spices. And it is SO SO SO cheap. Less than 1/3 what you'd pay in the regular grocer.

And best of all - ALL kinds of people. I get some good recipes just looking at what people are buying and asking what they are going to make with it. It seems if you want to get people to talk, talk about their food! They even have that middle eastern staple - sumac!!!

If you have not tried it out, take the time to do so. My wife and I drive to Atlanta several times a year just to go there and load up on spices.

[Philokalia]

Cyra,

Could you make me one of those planting circles using October 1st for our first frost and May 15th for our last frost. That is so cool. I live in Denver, CO now I used to live in Ventura County, CA