lid supplies still iffy ... but
Comments (13)
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My solution for containers without lids, Questions RE
Comments (18)Micki..I don't use jugs any more. A few years into WS I discovered plant bands (on the Rose Forum), got some of them on closeout, and have gone almost exclusively to them for all seed starting. I use fixed cell flats for some things, but mostly plant bands. 'Plant Bands' are really Zipset Plant Bands, made and sold by Monarch Manufacturing, linked below. The idea for them came from waxed cardboard milk cartons. I used hundreds of orange juice cartons, also: They are essentially specially configured sheet card tubes, open at the top and bottom, and rectangular in shape, so they efficiently fill square flats. The flats have mesh bottoms, so when the initial roots reach the bottom of the band, they are air-pruned, which forces more root growth inside the band, for a nice dense root mass. The come in a variety of lengths, widths and weights. The first ones I bought were 1.5" square by 6" long, and I cut each one in half to make 3" deep bands. The case had 3,000 bands, giving me 6,000 planting cells. I built my first flats from wood, with hardware fabric bottoms and lids. I also built a simple water tank, so I could bottom water the flats. Before I started using my cold frames to hold the flats, each 128 cell flat was kept in a clear plastic recycling bag, with holes top and bottom. Then Monarch had a sale on used 4" deep flats. I ordered a case, and they arrived filthy dirty, and required extensive cleaning before I could use them, but they were great. One foot square by 4" deep, and they folded flat for cleaning and storage. Here's the set-up process: A broken-down flat and the bands for it: Fold up the flat's sides and snap them together: Fill the flat with bands: Fill the bands with medium part way: Tamp down the bottom 1/3 of the soil before filling the band all the way up: Soak the flat in a tub of water: Let the flat drain, and top off the soil. Sow the cells, and hang a number tag on the flat. The sown contents are logged into a spreadsheet, corresponding to the tag number: That's it. Out they go, to await germination. Planting them out or potting them up is a simple as opening up the sides of the flat, removing the cells, and planting them, either in the bands, or not. PS...I just noticed Monarch has a few different size plant bands on sale right now, on their 'Specials' page. Here is a link that might be useful: Monarch Plant Bands...See MoreTattler lids - worth it?
Comments (7)If you've found Tattler lids for $1.49 a box, buy them! Tattler lids are used in exactly the same way although you should carefully read the instructions on the box. With Tattler lids you screw the rings down hard when you remove them from the canner. You would never do that with regular lids. I have friends who are on their third year with Tattlers. They love them. The only downside is that the Tattler lids and especially the rubber rings, must be heated before use. The rubber has to soften. Personally, I like using regular lids. I don't have to fool with heating up the lids and I give a lot of my canning away as Christmas gifts so I would be wasting a lot of money using expensive lids....See MoreReusable one piece canning lids
Comments (12)bluefeatherhollow, Everything I've seen suggests not that home canning is becoming more dangerous, but that we're becoming less willing to tolerate any level of risk from it. My guess as to why---just my guess--- is partly because of a generally lower tolerance for risk in Western society, but also because canning is seen, by most, as less and less a necessity or even a practical skill but a hobby. It's one thing to die from doing something you need to do, but another to die from doing something meant to be fun and extra tasty/nourishing/good to your family! And, occasionally, someone does die from home-canned food. I looked up the statistics for Canada, where I live, and where the population is about 1/10 that of the US, and it seemed like about one person a year on average. I often say on this forum that there are a LOT of things I do that are more risky than old-style canning would be, starting with crossing the street. If someone reused a canning lid or didn't put lemon juice in their tomatoes I would still happily eat them and sleep well at night! But I mostly do follow the modern guidelines since it's not that hard and it's nice to be 100% sure. But I agree those modern lids are getting flimsier! And the packaging of them doesn't help---often they come on the jars, already attached with a light vacuum, and become a bit damaged when they come off. Grrrr!!!!! I might try reusing the golden Kitchen Kraft lids and see what happens. I know I can tell from the curving of the lid if it's sealed or not. Z...See MoreShow me your Tupperware lid storage! (I dare you)
Comments (20)I hadn't really remembered yet because of the kind of cooking I've been doing (and not) since I've been back in the kitchen, but I've banished most of the Tupperware and other heavy containers, with their baskets of lids, to the back of the cupboard over the Advantium (no picture forthcoming). The disposables are as safe (chemically) and are see through, and easier to deal with. The long flat ones are in an upper because the drawer won't hold them. The drawer is overfull right now because I didn't get to make soup or anything during the remodel. The basket is clear, so you can't really see it. There's a handful of little round lids wedged between the basket and the containers, and others, in the front, on top of the little bowls. This will change as they get filled and frozen. The organization, baskets, etc., are the same as in the old kitchen where I had lower cupboards with fixed shelves. I would just pull out the stack of containers I needed and choose one, then pull out the associated basket of lids. No lazy teenagers, but my put things in the right place challenged housekeeper didn't have any problem with this system, other than putting lids in backwards so that they didn't line up nicely (i.e, so they took more space)....See More
5 years ago
5 years ago
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoInteresting about the paint supply. I have not heard that one. I suppose any product that relies on the raw materal to be manufactured. I know many faimilies over purchased canned goods not having any extra freezer space. Foods they never eat but that excess will most likely be donated.
Scammers will always grab ahold of shortages. Price gouging and second party china production.
Amazon cosistently surprises me at the lack of policing. Using official Ball jar pics but sending china produced fakes. Must be a few thousand people writing fake reviews...
So much waste to have canning failure. EBay is just as bad but do have the proper 'Ball' brand but are price gouging.Another cooking forum member did contact the Ball company and they say they should catch up with demand by mid summer.
My go-to is the WebstaurantStore on-line. They have the regular mouth lids but not the wide mouth. They do have a 'contact me when available'.
I get my flat-pack parchment from them and bread bags. Last order was 2019. Good for another year or so+. Game changer to not deal with pesky rolls of parchment. I put in a 4inch tall shelf in my pantry in some dead space...holds the box of parchment, front end cut out and just easily grab a piece like a ream of printing paper. That shelf conviently also has room for my FoodSaver.The bread bags are another game changer. The size is perfect. Gusseted and thicker than grocery thin worthless bags. My veg box comes un-bagged but needs to be washed, dried, then stored properly. 18 inches tall fits all veg like celery. Easy to put one on each hand and wash just like washing hands. We can spread our hands wide so we used them for pumping gas...especially when everyone was freaking out about touching shared surfaces. Easier than gloves and reach up to the elbows and stay put. No need to waste the thick freezer zip-locks for fridge veg. And these are much easier to re-cycle/wash.
5 years ago- 5 years ago
5 years ago- 5 years ago
Lars