Hi so glad to find this site and getting more ideas and since I am cleaning pots to fill for this year --gathering my seedlings and hoping it warms up soon My cheap plastic plant pot it just starting to crack around the edge-- few pictures I took yest. would love to see pictures of all your gardens and raised beds-- my little bed is starting to buckle -hope it goes a few years more Have a wonderful day -bright and sunny Mari PS how does one post more than one photo ???

I just had to respond to this thread. I ran out of jars the other day...I reuse pickle jars to make my homemade pickles. I went to the recycling depot in town and found some pickle jars and cheese whiz jars that others had recycled and took them home, sterilized them and filled them up with cucumbers, dill, garlic and pickle brine this morning. If you wish to use jars for canning...just wash them well with soap and hot water and place them in a 200F oven for 10-15 minutes to sterilize them. Then they can be used for all sorts of things, especially home canning. I always run my finger around the top of the jar to make sure that there is no broken spots and that the edge is smooth and clean. I reuse the lids and rings all the time. Just put the lids in water in a pot on the stove and boil. The rubber on the edge of the ring will pop back and I will reuse them again. If there is any rust or question about the lid I will not reuse it. But, if it was just used for jam then usually there is no problem at all. Of course, the 'experts' will tell you differently...do NOT reuse. If there is any question re sealed product later you can tell by just tapping the lid. If it gives a high pitched sound it is sealed and a low sound and the ability to push the lid then it definitely is not sealed. If there is any jar that comes up from the pantry and it gives a low pitched sound the produce in it is thrown out, jar and lid checked for problems and dealt with accordingly. All rings can be reused again and again. They are just used to hold down the lid when the jar is hot so that the lid stays in place and will seal properly. I normally remove the ring once the lid is sealed. This is because if there is any moisture between the ring and the lid, then the ring will rust if left there. Then it can be hard to remove later. I never use glass jars in the freezer due to the chance of cracking and breaking them. I prefer plasticware like tupperware. If I make any sauces like applesauce, they go into a stackable clear tupperware container. Have fun with whatever you are making. I enjoy home canning and preserving of all kinds of fruits, vegetables and meat. I think the nicest thing is that you get the accomplishment of making it yourself, you use the produce that you grew and you know what is in it. Brenda

Some foods from the store come with one-piece lids in a mason size and thread shape. For example, coconut oil and some kinds of spaghetti sauce. I can with those lids, and I use them multiple times. They have much thicker seal than the flat lids sold for canning. Thicker even than the one-piece lids that used to be sold for canning back in the 80s. I wouldn't use them for low acid pressure canned stuff, of course. I don't think I've ever reused a flat lid, but I would consider it if I just needed one or two more lids for a low acid product like applesauce. I would pick through all my old lids and choose the ones with the best looking seals, the shallowest grooves from old canning. I posted a question here a while back, about some new jars with lids that had been stored on a warm porch where they sealed and unsealed themselves many times. When I pried the lids off, they had visible grooves. But I was advised to go ahead and simmer them and use them, and I didn't have any trouble with them. Again, high acid, BWB only. Edit: I mean, the one piece Lids from the 80s were marketed as reusable. Up to four times, if I remember correctly.

"Umm... Other then taking offense at another's viewpoint, Chuck, are you saying that..." Well, no offense was taken at anyone's viewpoint.....just providing observations I've learned while not suffocating one single worm in an extremely educational couple of decades of study of this tool for a better way of doing things. Umm, your questions' responses: 1. what restrictive airflow? 2. the diff's in airflow quantities is immeasurable in worm bins with relation to vermicastings quality. 3. No, I am a guy WHO is appreciative of the qualities composting worms present to those of us WHO wanna do these things without chemicals. I can spray worm tea, or spread VC all over my property every day of the year without having to lock up the pets and children for a period of time, or make certain that chemical residues don't run off into the sewer systems and into the water supplies of the people in my neighborhood who probably neglect those warnings on all those insecticides and pesticides and fertilizers and chemical products that are, of course designed to cause the user of them to buy another of their chemical products to rectify the damage the previous chemo treatment wreaked upon their weed infestation or lawngrass shortcomings. You're "baited breath" tease lured me right into the "taking offense trap", huh? I had kinda forgotten the often tempestuous undercurrent of forum activity, which was my main reason for getting away from it before, so I'll return to my inactive status now. Keep worming! Chuckiebtoo