Wednesday, July 6, 2011

What Does 19 Pounds of Green Beans Look Like in Quart Jars?


This is just a short post to show the snap beans after going through the canning process. The beans were snapped the night before so I would have enough time to cook and cool three pressure canner loads to complete the processing of 21 quarts in one day. Don't they look good?


It sure was a full day!

We currently have 53 quarts of organic green beans that were canned this year. Now that might sound like a lot, but that's only one quart a week. When I cook the beans, whichever recipe I use usually takes at least two quarts for the number of people that will be eating them. That breaks down to using green beans in a recipe only once every two weeks. I better pick some more green beans!

Thanks for visiting and have a great gardening day!
Veggie PAK



10 comments:

  1. Tell me about how you canned these beans- just in water? I'm sadly lacking info about anything canned that isn't pickled! I'm coming up to a pretty big bean harvest soon, so any info would be greatly appreciated!

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  2. Veggie Pak, it sounds like you are moving ever further towards self-sufficiency. What other crops do you have that provide you with a full year's supply?

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  3. Those beans look wonderful! Isn't it amazing how much food we need to preserve for the year? We sat down and figured out just how much we need of each and every crop to get us through the year. It's quite a bit just for the two of us.

    Great job on the beans....now go pick another 20 pounds!

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  4. Kay, I sent you the recipe I used and some other info via email. I hope that helps you.


    Mark Willis, Thank you. Although we don't have enough land here in the city to become self-sufficient, I'm giving it a good try with what we have. The beans are the main crop right now. When the Roma and San Marzano tomatoes start coming in, I'm hoping to make plenty of tomato sauces of various types, as well as tomato juice. I have blueberries I am accumulating for making blueberry jam. I am also going to the cooperative extension office later this month to pick crabapples from their trees in order to make crabapple jelly. I was the first person to ever do that at their office. I had been reading some articles on foraging from local sources around cities. Towards September, I'll be making applesauce, and apple butter to last until next year. I made a lot last year, but it was so good it went fast. I'm still pursuing the goals in the comments we exchanged a while back about growing things that you use, not just something for increasing weight or dollar value. I still have a few pints of sweet banana pepper mustard, but I received a request for some of that today from my nephew. Of all the things I canned, pickles were the least popular. I will be making bread and butter pickles this year. The green tomato relish I made for the last two years is an absolute must to make again. It's so good you'll want to eat it with a spoon!


    Robin, you are correct. It is amazing. But it's a very important thing to know because that's how you can plan ahead to gather what you need for your family's needs. I tried to follow your advice... I went and picked two tubs of beans. One 11.5 pounds, and one 7.5 pounds. Can you believe it? Another 19 pounds of green beans!

    Thanks to all of you for visiting and thinking enough of my blog content to share a comment with me. Your kind words inspire me to want to plant more.

    Have a wonderful gardening day!
    Veggie PAK

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  5. Great job, Veggie PAK. It's amazing what a little bit of planning, moderate amount of sweat, and loads of patience will produce. You'll be snacking on the flavor of summer all winter long!

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  6. Wow that is a lot of beans. Who all do you cook for that you need that many in a recipe? In my family it is just me eating the veggies as my husband won't touch them and my kids are out of the house.

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  7. .09 Acres, Thanks, and you're right. If people would just plant a few seeds or seedlings they would be surprised at the food they could harvest. Even if they didn't fuss over the plants, people would very probably get decent harvests as long as the plants were kept watered.


    Daphne, Usually it's just me and my wife, but sometimes the kids stop by with their families, and sometimes my wife takes some to her Mom. If we're taking prepared food to a family dinner at someone else's house, I'll easily use four quarts for a green bean casserole. Then there's good 'ol leftovers.

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Veggie PAK

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  8. Yum... I can't wait until my beans get going. Can't can too much IMO, and it never hurts to can extra. You never know who'll stop by for dinner. :)

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  9. That is a whole lot of beans, congrats on such a great harvest. I was so impressed by how well your fortex beans seem to be doing that we might try growing that variety again next year. I have been shying away from pole beans the past couple years due to our cold weather but really do prefer to grow them over bush beans.

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  10. Journey11, I agree that you can't can too much. None of us know what's down the road in the food supply department.


    Mr. H., Thanks! The flavor of the Fortex beans is very good but I also LOVE that they are stringless! When I plant bush beans, I always end up with a tangled mess and lose so much of the harvest. These are great to grow!

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Veggie PAK

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