Price Comparison for Canning Your Own Veggies

So as I said in a previous post, I've really gotten into this canning stuff. My grandmother did a lot of it when I was small, but back then it just seemed like a lot of wasted time and energy when you could buy the same stuff at the grocery store. Now, as an adult who has to deal with rising grocery costs and the unknown additives in foods, I'm more interested in wasting my time and energy to feed my kids healthier foods.

However, the health issue isn't the only thing I've considered when it comes to canning. Cost has come up in the last few weeks. Since my gardening skills are still on the "Needs Improvement" list, I'm buying my vegetables from a man down the street. He doesn't use any pesticides on his veggies & will happily take a bite out of anything he's selling you right after he picks it. He's a nice man and I'm glad I found him and his sweet wife.

Anyway, I bought a bushel of green beans from him, brought them home, and canned them the very next day. Those are the best green beans I have ever eaten that didn't have a ton of fat and spices in them. And all I used was a teaspoon of sea salt in each quart jar. Yum!  As for cost, I paid him $35 per bushel. They made 26 quarts and 1 pint. For that amount of green beans--just buying the cheapest $1 cans--I would have spent over $55 for the same amount of preservative laden green beans. For me, I consider that a great savings, and I know exactly what's in them!

For my corn, I ended up with almost 6 dozen ears for only $9 and some traded eggs. That managed to yield me 18 pints of whole kernel and 42 ears in the freezer. Just the whole kernel would have been over $18 at the grocery store!

You just can't beat prices like that. Yeah, it's more of an upfront cost and it is a good bit of work, but I don't think that's too bad at all.

If you add in the cost of canning lids the overall total goes up just a little. I already had jars and rings extended family members had given me, so if you have to start from scratch it will cost you a little more. Our local Dollar General has 12 pk cases of pint jars, with lids & rings, for only $7.

And my canner was pricey, but I fully expect it to pay for itself over and over and over again. And it has a 50 year warranty, too! Wow!

Now keep in mind, these are my prices for here in Georgia, with a veggie guy down the road. Your prices and/or savings may vary from mine, but, in my opinion, the overall health benefits and knowledge you'll gain far outweigh the prices.

Go forth and can!  :)

Eggy Updates & 2014 Canning

Eek! I just realized it has been FOREVER since I last updated. So here we go....

My chickens are doing great. I'm covered up with an overabundance of fresh eggs & every few weeks I have to give all my local friends and family a shout out to see if anyone needs some. Last week, I have over 15 dozen eggs sitting in my fridge. And that was after I'd already used 2 dozen eggs for a recipe. Luckily, after my shout out I managed to sell or trade 11 dozen in two days.

I didn't do a garden this year, but I did plant a lot of veggies in pots on my front deck. I've harvested a few handfuls of green beans and my banana pepper plants are covered up. I did a bell pepper plant for the first time and it had two baby peppers on it. I noticed the other day that one of them is missing. :(  I don't know if it was a bird, squirrel, or it just shriveled up and fell off. I figure I'll be lucky if the other one survives. My tomato plants grew big and tall, but produced nothing. *Sniff, Sniff*  However, my mint grew like crazy & smells so good. :)

On the upside, I'm getting pretty darn good at canning this year. I started doing a little last summer, just some hot water bath items, but over the winter I broke down and bought myself an All American Pressure Canner. I finally used it for the first time a few weeks ago for green beans and they turned out beautiful! I love it! I'm addicted now.

Last year I did pickled beets and sauerkraut in the summer, then made applesauce and apple butter in the fall. However, this summer I've canned green beans, strawberry jam, blueberry jam, whole blackberries, dill and bread & butter pickles, and whole kernel corn. Here are a few pictures of my yummy bounty. :)

Whole Blackberries in Simple Syrup

Strawberry Jam

Green Beans

Bread & Butter and Dill Pickles

I promise I'll try to update more regularly.  :)