I'm a simple soul when it comes to flowers. I primarily grow vegetables with a few marigolds and zinnias mixed in for interest. This year I grew and was thrilled with the petunias, cosmos, datura and variegated nicandra. I would have never thought to grow them if it weren't for the generous people here.

The second problem is canning in a larger size than given in the instructions. If the largest size is a pint, then you should not have upsized. You can always can in a smaller size, but not a larger. Adding processing time is just a guess that it's enough. If this was my product, I'd pop the tops, put the lids back on, and freeze all of them. Remove some of the product for adequate headspace for the freezer if necessary. Best if they are all wide-mouth, too. Some times a pint isn't enough and a quart is too much for our family, and the 1.5 pint is just right, but unless there are quart instructions given, I don't process the product in the 1.5 pint. Good luck. We all made mistakes when learning to can. I'm still careful, still make boo-boos on occasion or come across something new. I review the canning instructions each time I start processing. I think it's great that you are learning and willing to learn from the advice at this forum. There is a wealth of good information here, and the people with the most knowledge (not me) are not only willing to share it, but give the reasons behind the rules/guidelines. Good luck. Jill

Your post hit home for me. For amateur propagators failure is a lot easier to accept than success. I end up with hundreds of plants out growing their pots, and demanding to be potted up to the next size. I donate to several plant sales a year to try and keep ahead, and yet when I walk through my garden I see lots of attractive shrubs I have never propagated I am overwhelmed with the desire to start cuttings. So what is the cure? Al

Thank you all for your support it means the world to me. I've always been the type to beat myself up for not knowing how to do the things just right. It would not be so bad if dad's mind wasn't clear as a bell right now. His abuse of his medicine is a real concern for me. I got a call from him today saying he needs his antibiotic for his sinus, well he'll only take one or two and he says it cures his sinus. You and I know this isn't so and even if it does help it's short term, taking the antibiotics like that can cause harm but no one can get this through to my dad. I have had so many problems with doctors in my past that I don't trust them easily. It was me that saved my husband from a possible stroke, his blood pressure was high and I could tell when it was up but with the sleep apne he had to take showed how bad it was. They could not get it down all night so I marched into our dr.'s and told them about this and they looked back at his chart and seen that it was high everytime he went in for a check up. Now why don't they pay more attention to this? This is why I fear looking for yet another doctor. I have no luck with them. Only once did I have a wonderful doctor and within a year my insurance changed and he didn't take it :( He was the one that listen to me about my weight and took test finding that my thyroid was bad. I went through years with a sore throat and my throat closing up at night in my sleep, waking up unable to breath for 10 or so seconds but felt longer and didn't know if I'd get my breath. If it's wasn't for y'all I don't know if I'd be able to be strong for my dad. I never knew it could be so hard. I look at pictures of my grandparents, dads parents and talk to them and wishing they were here. They had a hard life and I can just image that they went through just what I am now. They took care of my great grandmother for 17 years then told my grandmothers brother it was time for him to care for his mother and give them a break. Great grandmother was called little granny and I never seen pictures of her but heard great stories about her, I found a picture of her the other day and I'm so happy to finally seen her, she past away a few years before I was born. Sorry for being long winded. Barbara