On 3/14/2021 12:10 AM, Snag wrote:
> On 3/13/2021 10:45 PM, Michael Trew wrote:
>> Does anyone still can food in ball jars? I'm thinking about planting
>> a lot of tomatoes this year and canning some. I never have before,
>> but there's a first time for everything I reckon.
>
> We still have some tomatoes from last year down in the cellar - and I
> have 24 tomato plants started for this year . Got jelly and jams and
> pickles and peaches down there too ! Most from home grown or picked wild
> on our land . Tomatoes freeze well too , just rinse off , freeze loose
> on a cookie sheet then bag in gallon ziplocks . To use , just hold under
> hot water for a few seconds and slip the skin off . I'll be using some
> of our preserved tomatoes tomorrow for a big batch of spaghetti sauce .

I made a tiny batch of homemade tomato sauce for Italian style
Margharetta pizza the other day. Do you normally blanch and peel
tomatoes before canning them?

I don't have a lot of land, and did a few container tomatoes last year.
I have a pick and a small rototiller, and I might make a row of tomato
and bell pepper plants along the southern side of my house before the
hill drops off. I saved quite a few bell pepper and tomato seeds for
the occasion! I'm in eastern Ohio, but I probably should start them off
pretty soon.