Abundant rain this year has our tiny garden exploding.

That means the trip to Ikea was postponed for some tomato canning. Can’t let this garden goodness go to waste!

Last year was my first venture into canning. Mom grew up on a fruit & vegetable farm and canned or froze every year. Once the best of the harvest were ready, marathon kitchen sessions commenced. Mainly strawberries, peaches, tomatoes and corn, sometimes green peppers were thrown in for good measure.

We’ve had a small garden since moving into this house. A few hot peppers for Porter; zucchini, cucumbers and tomatoes took up the rest. The first few years were disappointing. Bad dirt. Composting fixed that problem right up. Now we’re blessed with an abundant crop. This year, in particular, must be the rain. Oh so pretty!

After giving some to neighbors, last year there was time between runs to venture into the world of canning. So easy and so yummy! After buying jars, tops and jar tongs, we were off and running. Our plethora of stock and brewing pots were repurposed to canning. Nice.

This year we cut the number of tomato plants in half, but boy did they go nuts! Bring on the cans… err jars!

A Google search reminded me of the steps… a couple hours and a trip to the grocery store later… all set! (Separating is normal…)

Easy peasy… give it a try!