Thanks, Emily, for doing my work for me !! I do agree having jars of tomato sauce in winter sure brings a little bit of sunshine in to these dark nights of ours. For some people, canning just might not be realistic, but simply growing and freezing might. Any steps down this path are good ones, I think.

Aw, Angie, thanks.

Ditto, Milkweed! I am still envious of your fridge and cookstove…

Ah, Stef, remember it’s no race. Or if it is, I did tell Den I am a step or two away from “crazy,” so…there you go

Dennis, can I tempt you with a salad pizza??? Seriously. Cook the dough as you would normally, then, at the last 3 minutes or so, take it out and spread some well-dressed spring mix or what have you: balsamic vinaigrette is my favorite, with a LOT more dressing than you normally would. A couple minutes of cooking and voila. But I do agree with you: though I am a Bread fan myself, this greenery however is so much better than anything else I could buy.

Paula, indeed, if you’re going to do it, the pressure canner is the way to go. However, I guess blowing the money on the other pot is the way most people step up to the whole canning thing; perhaps this shouldn’t be avoided, as sometimes confidence is lacking. But I envy your sis’s ability to go down to the dock and buy some fish to can! (I am no fan of tuna but salmon would be quite nice…a girl can dream.) But yeah, timing I suppose is everything. Fortunately the greenhouse forgives a lot, so, unlike regular gardening, the windows are quite large for planting things. They’ll just be bigger or smaller when they’re growing in there. And sometimes smaller is lots better b/c bigger lettuces and stuff get shocked when it gets super-cold. Okay TMI but…experiment!

David, thanks for all the links and encouragement!! It’s true I won’t be going over coldframes etc. as I’m pretty well satisfied with my set-up but I am quite glad others are willing to contribute their knowledge. Hopefully this helps more than just Den.

Bren, aw, shucks. Sure, go ahead and link away….

Pamela, really, even MY lettuces? But indeed the root crops can be space hogs in late summer when I plant them, a thing I ignore now it’s winter and I adore pulling them.

Thanks, Sylvie, for confirming!!

Stop by sometime!
http://www.bggarden.com/blog/

http://doorgarden.com/10/50-dollar-hoop-house-green-house

And Cold frames are so easily made out of recycled materials that every gardener should have one -

http://doorgarden.com/01/cheap-cold-frame-from-recycled-materials

You can grow almost as well in a cold frame as in a greenhouse, and BTW this is the Perfect time to build one. You could Easily be harvesting salads by tax day if you do.

I do have a water bath canner, but never use it anymore- hubby brews his beer in it now, so it’s not completely wasted. But I really think saving up and going with a pressure canner is the way to go, economy-wise. My sister-in-law gets with a buddy every year and cans a tuna they buy off the dock, and it’s out of this world better than regular canned tuna. But they couldn’t do it without the pressure canner.

Thanks for the list of cold crop stuff- now I know what to plant for next winter. If I could just figure out when to plant it, I’d be in good shape.

Canning (and yes, a “can” here is usually metal, too!) costs about $25 for a new canner pot, but you can use any large pot with a lid that will cover your jars by 1.5 inches of water and not boil over. You also need something on the bottom of the pot so the jars don’t touch the bottom of the pot – a towel, silicone pot holder, or even a bunch of the “rings” you put on the jars will work.

Jars can sometimes be found at resale shops for 25 cents each, though be sure they are real canning jars, not cheap, thin jars made to look like canning jars.

Rings and lids are about $3.50/dozen, and replacement lids are about $1.25/dozen. I find one dozen rings is all I need, because once jars are sealed, you take the rings off and re-use them. Lids can’t be re-used for canning, though you could re-use them for storing dry goods.

Check out your county extension agent, community college, and the web…chances are you can find a canning class that will teach you what you need to know!