We want to give a big thanks to LCAAHC Grow App. Coordinator Wayne Riley for his help with pressure canning. We have never used a pressure canner before and Wayne explained to Ricky and I how to use it, he even gave us the beans to can. They are called Derby beans and are string less and heat tolerant. We ended up with 8 pints. He was right, it’s not difficult to use once you start using it. Now that we feel comfortable with using a pressure canner, we will be canning potatoes next.

We fixed a kettle full to try and let me say they are delicious. So if your looking for a bean to can that are easy to prepare and great tasting, then you might want to give these a try.

Again, thanks Wayne and Grow Appalachia program. We have learned so much about gardening and preserving food. Definitely, my family has been eating healthier home grown vegetables.

On another note, we have had so many tomatoes that needed to be canned. These are Roma and Big beef varieties.

We ended up with 53 pints of tomato sauce,  25 pints of pizza sauce, 7 quarts of diced, 9 pints of green tomato slices and 36 pints salsa. Up until now we have only used the water bath canner but using the pressure canner opens gardening to a whole new level. We also have been sharing our vegetables with Horizon Adult Day Care Center, most are elderly and are no longer able to grow a garden of their own but still enjoy the wonderful taste of homegrown.