Well, I'll chime in with a straight face, MOL..... my 'maters are all in pots, and need water at least twice a day, I mix up some MG in a bucket and pour some into each bucket I have next to each plant, I keep that water-bucket there so all I have to do is dip out some water and not drag the hose all over the yard.. so essentially I am giving each 'mater some liquid fertilizer each time I water...I won't even speculate at what strength but the water is blue, from the MG... most of my 'maters are getting pretty big, they are from last year's planting Tom brought me.... but they are still setting fruit so I keep them going even tho' they are pot-bound now.....I speculate that the only thing that keeps them going is the liquid fert., by now, because any other nutrient in the potting-mix has been long-gone..... works for me.... sally

Carol, Re your peach example. You are talking about mixing the leftover peaches in with the next batch then canning all together right? NOT taking the leftover full jar from the fridge and just processing with the next batch. NOT going from fridge straight to canner, rather go from fridge to mix with the new stuff to canner. Going down in size... for gifts or something, is ok then? It's only up that may cause problems. I do hate to waste as well. For the dilly beans, I put the parts I cut to make them fit in the jar in a seperate jar. It doesn't look nearly as pretty, but I think it will pickle fine and taste the same, you'll just have to pick them out with a fork. =0) Teenage boys do not seem to mind things like that! *LOL* When you are canning, does it seem like you are making an awful lot of stuff and there's no way you're going to use it up in the next year? Like right now I have 6-7 jars of 5 different kinds of jam and while making them didn't seem like a lot, looking at them all in one place does. Then when I consider that those are only the strawberry recipes..... Do ya'll keep a notebook or something that tells you how much of what you canned this year, so you can make adjustments next year? I'm thinking I want some kind of way to keep track of that. Maybe with the recipe or page number on it. The books I already have are the Big Ball Book, the Blue Ball Book, Small Batch preserving (NOT exactally what I thought it was) and Blue Ribbon Preserves. Then there are the recipies copied from here. =0) Right now, any that I look for online, I'm running against the basic recipes in those books to see if there is a great difference in acid (Does the TYPE matter? Vinegar vs: Lemon or Lime juice?) or amounts of fresh products. I'm kind of using this year as my "learning year". As in I'm not going to get too upset over something that doesn't work for us, and I'm trying lots of new stuff.... like chutney. =0) Learning things like yes, you DO want to take the seeds out of the peppers if you like your tonsils, even if the recipe does not specify. Peppers get hotter the longer they are in, and Chutney taste terrible if you forget to add the sugar. And I did not make nearly enough Strawberry Lemonade. Anyhow, thank you for your answers and taking the time out of your day. =0) It's a little frustrating to hear "I don't know" from my mom, and what I know to be unsafe things from the other ladies I asked about it. And since I only know a little, it's kinda scary. Can I ask about a specific recipe or should I do another post? The recipe is Strawberry Lemonade. It calls for half fruit (6c hulled, which turns out to be about 4c pureed), half lemon juice (4c), and half sugar (6c). It it canned in pints, and I'd like to do quarts. I'd also like to change the lemon juice to lime juice.... and maybe decrease the sugar by a cup or two. You heat it to 190 degrees, then put in pint jars and BWB for 15 minutes. (Pg 192 in the Big Ball Book) I'm thinking that there shouldn't be a problem with changing the lemon and lime juice as they would both serve as the acid, and I'm not looking to change the amounts. Other than sweetening, not sure what the "preserving" quality of the sugar is. And of course going from pints to quarts. Thanks again. Mil

For home use and canning, USDA rules is not enforced. If you mean there are no canning police who will come and arrest you then yes, they are not enforced. However liability, not to mention responsibility, does attach to any home canned foods that are shared with others. fill the jar, tighten the lid, then place them upside down, ...how the heck bacteria is going to get into it ? It doesn't have to "get in". It is already in there. So is the air still trapped in the jar that allows the bacteria in the jar to continue to grow, reproduce, and produce toxins. The only foods where inversion sealing is still commonly practiced anywhere is with highly acidic foods - fruit jams and jellies, canned fruits, and brined pickles. Tomatoes do not quality as highly acidic foods since they are borderline pH at 4.5-4.8. If you cannot kill a bacterium by boiling, forget about canning and eating tomato sauce. There are many bacteria, including c.botulinum, that cannot be killed by boiling but that doesn't mean the food cannot be canned. Those bacteria are killed only by irradiation (which isn't possible at home) or by high pressure temps in excess of 240 degrees for a period of time determined by the density of the food in question. Alternatively they are packed in an highly acidic medium which prevents the bacteria from reproducing in the jar. Thus the requirement to add additional acid to tomatoes when canning them. None of this is new info. It dates from research begun back in the 1950's. And it is all discussed in great detail on the Harvest forum for those interested. But I would suggest some research into all the science behind the canning guidelines before sharing such mis-leading information with others. It does them a dis-service otherwise. Dave

Must be the variety. You never know about those farmers market vendors. They may have used seeds that were cross pollinated from last years crop. Very often those don't turn out to be amazing. But we bought a plant from the garden center. Big Boy. Mislabeled. Turned out to be a cherry with skin so tough it will choke you! I have to scald them and peel them so we can use them. Like peeling grapes. Sigh. So, your Market Vendor may have just got a bad packet of seeds. Just walked out and looked at my abundant supply of volunteers. Don't know what I've got. They came from the compost and are whatever the varieties of grocery store tomatoes inherited in their genes. Some look like San Marzanos, one like a beefsteak, most like your regular plum. Some are sunburned. The dreaded white spot at the top that will never turn red. But I just cut that part off, and we do have an umbrella out there to provide shade now that it's so hot. Lots of green tomatoes! Might try frying those.