Will’s fixing Old Yeller and I’m getting the orchard and garden ready for winter

Our beloved old 1010 John Deere crawler, nicknamed “Old Yeller,” is finally getting fixed. Because Will knew it would be a rough job, he kind of put it off. Parts were very hard to find because it’s a 1962 machine. We looked and looked, all across the country, only to find them, just this week, less than 100 miles from home! We drove down and two days later, Will has the whole right final drive and clutch pack out of the dozer and is now cleaning everything up and re-assembling things. Wow, what a lot of parts!

Because I’m not much help (usually), I’ve been putting screen around the trunks of all our fruit trees to keep voles, mice, and rabbits from girdling them in the winter. So far I’ve done more than thirty trees. Wow, I didn’t realize we had so many. Not complaining, though.

I also tarped the pile of hay in our new hay loft. Just in case. We’ll be getting more square bales of hay and a few of straw too, but for now, I wanted to be extra careful of our hay; a little moisture and it begins to mold real quick.

And we finished stacking the wood shed part of the storage barn. So far, we have 11 cords of dry, split wood on pallets in there. It looks SO great. We’ve also got two cords in the unheated enclosed porch next to the greenhouse, so we can bring in wood for the stoves, even when it’s night, raining, or snowing and nasty outdoors. What a great feeling!

No, we aren’t ready for winter yet, but we’re getting so much closer to being ready. The big truck’s snowplow is all fixed up and next to the storage building, ready to hook up, and we’ve been moving stuff out of the way in order to plow when we need to. This time of the year you never know when a foot of that white stuff might drop on our parade.

Readers’ Questions:

Kohlrabi

I am looking for kohlrabi recipes. I never knew they would get so big!

Kathy Vilseck
Coldwater, Mississippi

Neither did I. But then we usually eat them up when they are a lot smaller! I use them for a lot of different recipes. One of my favorites is to slice them raw into sticks and serve them with a dip. We really like them that way — nice and crispy sweet. I steam or boil them diced then serve with a cream or cheese sauce, use them in stews, casseroles, and any other mixed dishes; they fit into everything so nicely. I even grate raw ones into my salad and coleslaw. Such a versatile vegetable! — Jackie

Pantry inventory

I am currently wondering how to catalog all the stored goods in the pantry and root cellar. How do you do this? Do you keep a list of what you put up each year and then cross one off when you use a jar? Or just go take a look on the shelves to see what’s left? Or is there some other way to keep track? If there is a nice, simple way to do this, I’m sure you thought of it long ago. Please tell me your method.

Sandy Stone
Central Minnesota

No, I don’t keep track of things in my pantry. I probably should, but just don’t have the time. What I do is to keep things arranged in sections: beans, carrots, fruits, ham, chicken, etc. Then when I add new stuff, I move the old jars to the side and add the new food to the rear, sliding the older jars to the front to be used first…kind of like a kid’s puzzle. I do the same when I add new dry goods, like flour and sugar to a plastic garbage can they are stored in. That takes a little more work, but I don’t add new bags too often and in that way I keep the new foods down lower, using the older up first.

For my canned goods, I just look on the shelves and mentally keep track of what I have there…especially when I’m planning a garden. That way I am sure to plant plenty of the food I’m running lowest in…say sweet corn, carrots, or rutabagas.

Eventually, I would like to keep a little notebook down there and mark down how many jars of whatever I have, but my life will have to slow down a lot to have that much extra time! — Jackie

Breeding goats

I read your blog about Thor, your Boer buck, and was wondering why you would breed a meat-type goat with a dairy goat? My instincts tell me that there might be a decrease in your milk yields with the offspring as they are no longer pure dairy goats. He is a magnificent looking animal and I hope you have much success. How does one go about determining how to improve a herd?

Deborah Motylnski
Brecksville, Ohio

Although Boers are “meat” goats, I’ve seen many who came from real milkers. My old buck, Rocky, had a mother who I SAW milked and she gave two quarts at an afternoon milking. She also had a great udder…and I used to show dairy goats! The reason I am crossing my dairy goats with Boers (from good milkers) is that many dairy goats have light bone and not a whole lot of body substance. Therefore they don’t make kids with much meat and they don’t seem to have the subsistence to milk and survive for a long time.

I’ve had great success by crossing Boer with my Nubians. I still get the flashy colors, gorgeous ears, and lots of milk. But the resultant offspring have heavy bone and a large barrel (for eating more roughage and turning it into milk), as well as heavier shoulders, neck, and rump, where the meat is if you want to eat your extra wethers.

Rocky is a tall, great looking buck, but a little light in the rear. We bought Thor because he is from good milking lines and has a great, very thick rear and shoulder. He IS shorter than Rocky. So we figure that between the two…breeding Rocky’s daughters with Thor and Thor’s daughter (that we also bought) with Rocky, we just might get great offspring.

To improve your herd, always look at them with an impartial eye. Is your doe’s udder too long and dangly? Does she have weak legs? Could she give more milk than she does or milk strongly for a longer time? Breed your does to a buck who either has the traits your doe lacks or has a mother and female siblings who do. You’ll never get the perfect goat, but the harder you try to breed in better traits, the better your overall herd will be. — Jackie

Canning apple pie filling

I am going to can apple pie like grandma used to do. Since she is passed on, I am not sure of the time to process in the canner. I am thinking 15 min. at 10 pounds. How does that sound?

Viki Mowatt
Everett, Washington

Grandma probably used corn starch or flour to thicken her apple pie filling. Neither is recommended today, as both can make so dense a product that the heat can not reach the center of the jar, making safe processing unsure. Now it is recommended that you use a refined corn starch product, Clear Jel, which is safe to use in canning. To use this as a pie filling, use 1/4 cup Clear Jel to 6 quarts sliced apples, spices, 3/4 cup bottled lemon juice, 5 1/2 cups sugar, 5 cups apple juice, 2 1/2 cups cold water.

Peel the apples, slice them and drop in water containing ascorbic acid (powdered vitamin C) to prevent browning. Place 6 cups at a time in a gallon of boiling water in a large pot. Bring to boiling and boil 1 minute. Drain but cover in a bowl to keep warm. Repeat with other apple slices. Combine sugar, Clear Jel, apple juice, and water in large kettle. Bring to boil and boil until thickens, stirring to keep from scorching. Add lemon juice and boil 1 minute, stirring to keep from scorching. Add drained apple slices and immediately fill hot jars with mixture, leaving 1″ of headspace. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 25 minutes (pints and quarts). If you live at an altitude over 1,000 feet, consult your canning book for directions on adjusting your time, if necessary.)

You’ll like your apple pie filling in a jar. — Jackie

Canning chicken gravy

I made way too much home made chicken gravy. It’s good and I will freeze it if that’s the only thing to do but, I was wondering if canning is an option. The gravy isn’t too thick, just a little flour and a lot of good broth. What do you think?

Liz Davey
Brighton, Michigan

The thickness of a gravy is the key to safe canning. If in doubt, add a little more broth to make it a light gravy, then thicken it upon use. — Jackie