Simply Practical: fall tomatoes

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

What a gorgeous day it is!

The temps are only in the sixties, with a slight breeze, and wow, the angle of the sun catches the color of the leaves perfectly! I'm trying to 'gear it down' because I've been so busy all summer! It's hard for me to 'gear down', is it for you? I hope maybe tomorrow I'll be able to, but it's not likely. I've got some fall canning tomatoes to pick up at the local u-pick farm. They pick the vegetables, though. In the Spring, we get to pick the strawberries, that's why I call it a u-pick farm. I finally finished canning all of those potatoes that I got at Aldi's , .39 for a 5 pound bag! Yay! If I get those tomatoes tomorrow, I'll be making tomato jam my Dad loves! He's been talking about that ever since I gave him my last jar! So, I've got to make him some more!

I was so into my soap-making in my last post, that I forgot to tell you about getting boneless, skinless chicken breasts at Aldi, for $1.69 a pound! I bought two packs, which were very large, and canned 13 pints of chicken! That was my first time to can chicken, and it was the easiest canning I've done yet! I just packed the breasts into the hot jars, poured in boiling water, put the lids on, put them in the canner, and canned them for 1 hour and 15 minutes! Keeping the temp regulated was the hardest part, and that wasn't really hard. I will definitely be doing this again!

I'm already thinking about my garden beds for next Spring! I may take out all of the dirt and start over! That will be a huge undertaking! It the hubs can borrow a tractor, he can move some dirt up here from the woods. That will be the cheapest way! I'm not sure yet. We'll see how the weather does this fall and winter. I may just have to amend, amend and hope for the best! Hope ya'll are having a great Fall! Blessings from Bama!