# I need a canning buddy!



## Forestdude (Jun 9, 2012)

As a single guy, even with my small garden, I end up with way more than I can eat before it spoils. The joy of watching stuff grow and hauling in a bucket of produce is enough to keep anyone happy, but I can only eat so much and give so much away, so canning is the logical thing to do (besides feeding some good compost:goodjob. But, dang, with all the picking, washing, peeling, slicing, dicing, blanching, cooking, preparing and packing jars, canning and then cleaning up...it's a bit of work staying organized and on time. 

Yesterday evening, I canned 4 quarts of green beans, 5 pints of pickled peppers, and 3 pints of pickled summer squash. Yeah, I know, it ain't a whole lot of food, but it kept me running around:spinsmiley:. I know a guy south of here that is into canning, and he does all his with a buddy who also has a garden. I'm envious, maybe I should show up with some jars and veggies and join in. I'm gonna keep at it, because I do enjoy doing it as well as eating it.

But my question, I'm sure many of y'all have families that maybe help in the process, and I'm interested to know how many of y'all tackle this alone or with a friend or family members? And how do you split up the duties?


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## marytx (Dec 4, 2002)

Yesterday when I started canning my peaches, I realized it was the first time I had canned them by myself. I've always only done peaches with Mom.

Things besides peaches and pears I have mostly done by myself, and now I am doing everything by myself.

It helps to wash your dishes as you go.

You might put out on Facebook that you're looking for a local canning buddy. Someone might be glad to do it with you for a portion of the produce. If you are providing all the produce, though, be sure and have them provide any jars with lids that you will be sending home with them. Don't assume that they will return them.


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## Gladrags (Jul 13, 2010)

Will you marry me? LOL

I've always done my canning alone; I tend to string out the duties by doing the slicing and dicing one day and the actual cooking, packing and processing the next. It's not quite so overwhelming that way.


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## Jeepgirl86 (May 18, 2012)

I usually do the prepping and canning by myself, though the DH has been known to help make salsa. I prefer to work alone because I am pretty anal about following recipes to the letter and DH isn't. I definitely clean as I go too, don't want to end up with a huge mess to clean up at the end.


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## Vickie44 (Jul 27, 2010)

I do the garden , the harvesting and the preserving by myself . For some reason people manage to show up for the eating part lol.

It is a lot of work, made easier by taking satisfaction from putting up enough to make it thru the winter.I try to get something done every day. 

You should definitly show up at the other guys and see if it is better with company


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## akaRach (Sep 29, 2009)

I pretty much do it alone. My kitchen is small tho and gets rather cramped and I really don't wanna be banging elbows with someone with all those hot surfaces around.

I wouldn't put down your efforts either, frankly what you canned the other day is alot for one day! Great job!


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## Forestdude (Jun 9, 2012)

I thought I'd hear more about joint canning efforts, but I don't feel so alone now Seems like it would be easier and quicker with some help...but I guess that would depend on the helper(s) you get


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

Check in at the local ag office or county office there may be a local cannery we have one in our town with big tables you can use your own jars or buy tin cans you pack and then they process it .my cousin often joins in with me we both have portable. 2 eye propane stoves and together with 4 or even 5 pressure canners can put up a lot of meat or beans in a day.the real work is in the preping but when the hog or beef is done at the butcher this method works good .do you have a local farmers market theebare sure to be like minded people there  with berrys peaches apple butter or pickles I'v found that I can do a lot with out any help but I don't have a lot at one time so its not so over whelming having some gadgets like a vicktoro strainer (tomatoes &apples) big pots n strainers for blanching and as mentioned earlier a couple extra stove eyes makes all go smother also a copy of the ball blue book for referinceing the proper times ect. Canning your hard erned goods is not the time to be gusessing or counting on old time methods or old wives tales a paper pencle and clock help when canning lots a once jot down the start anr finnish time to avoid mistakes at these busy times .hope i'v been of help


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## Rooster Cogburn (Jun 10, 2012)

I may need a canning buddy after this season.  This will be our first year to can and I'm guessing if history does repeat itself I'll be in the doghouse. We don't see eye2eye when it comes to cooking so why would canning be different? lol

I would love to find a canning buddy close that we, as a family, could learn from their experience.


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## Delrio (Mar 11, 2007)

Always done it myself but do it the same way that Gladrags does!


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

My DH helps occasionally, but for the most part, I do it myself. I sure would love to have someone to help as i grow way more than DH and I can eat and feel bad about not putting it up, and then I find we're eating food from two years ago. 

I'm going light on the garden this year, since for most of what I put up, we are just finishing up the 2010 items and have not started the 2011 ones. Though I like having extra on hand, helps if you have a bad gardening year.


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## PaulNKS (Jan 11, 2009)

I've always done all the canning by myself for both me and my partner. I think it's just easier that way. If you have a canning buddy, you have twice as much to can. lol


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## Badger (Jun 11, 2010)

I do all the gardening and canning alone - and it's alot. My wife thinks it's too much work and isn't interested in it until it's on the plate.


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## shannsmom (Jul 28, 2009)

I do it alone, as well. What you did the other night was a nice haul! My DD10 is helping with some things now, like she snapped beans all day today with me, but I am too nervous about her being too close to so much heat to do much else. Some days it is exhausting to do it all! I've noticed nobody volunteers to do the gardening or canning, but they do volunteer to do the eating!:grin:


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## unregistered65598 (Oct 4, 2010)

Help???? what that???? I too do it alone.


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## blynn (Oct 16, 2006)

Sometimes when I'm making salsa I will convince DH to help with the chopping or stirring. He's a pretty good tomato peeler, too.  Much of the time I'm on my own, because I do the canning while DH is at work.


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## jamala (May 4, 2007)

I do most of my canning alone but today my mom, aunt, and myself did 32 quarts of stewed tomatoes. My mom and aunt pealed while I was at the doctors with my son. When I got home I chopped onions, bell peppers and tomatoes while they prepared the jars. Then they cooked it down while I continued to chop more. By the time the first 2 canners went on the stove I was finished chopping and we just continued processing as the day went on.


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## MuskovyMom (May 31, 2012)

Vickie44 said:


> I do the garden , the harvesting and the preserving by myself . For some reason people manage to show up for the eating part lol.


That sounds like the little red hen!! 

Generally, I do most of the canning/processing on my own, but my husband does the bulk of the garden work, and now that we've got a toddler, we need to balance the kid-wrangling and processing between us a bit more. Often my husband helps when I'm making & canning stock or meat products, though. Periodically, my mom helps with the processing.

Oh, and I'm super lazy now: I use the food processor for most of my chopping for stuff like salsas & relishes. Obviously that doesn't work as well with whole pieces, and my least favourite part is blanching & peeling of anything, so I try to avoid doing that if the recipe can let me get away with it!


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## saremca (Jun 19, 2008)

My teenagers are my canning buddies. I set one of them to washing/chopping, and one to packing jars, I do most of the processing, and my oldest daughter cleans up. Once they're all on their own I'll have to do for myself, but perhaps I will be able to lure them back to help with the promise of some canned food to take home with them?


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## BlueCollarBelle (Oct 26, 2011)

I'm trying to get some of the older folks in my Church to include me in the canning! I guess most people aren't used to someone wanting to BE a canning buddy  I'm a nwelywed and I don't live close to my grandparents so I'm just inserting myself into whatever family is canning/freezing etc at the time.


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

DH does most of the gardening work and my dad and I do the canning/freezing but at our own houses..Dad hauls the produce home and then brings the finished product back..He usually makes the pickles,relish and green beans, I do the tomatoes, corn,squash, and okra. We both do jams/jellies, and I do the dehydrating.

Frankly when I am in the kitchen I do better when NO-one is in there~but I do love it when my daughter comes over to help.


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## akaRach (Sep 29, 2009)

countryfied2011 said:


> ...Frankly when I am in the kitchen I do better when NO-one is in there~but I do love it when my daughter comes over to help.


Me too, I'll always accept the company!


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## TJN66 (Aug 29, 2004)

I do all the prep work the day before then the actual canning the next day. I do it myself too because I am way to much of a control freak to let someone help me. Sigh...it would be easier if I did but I just can't bring myself to do it. Im worried about following the recipe exactly and times. Like I said...major control freak!


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## Raven12 (Mar 5, 2011)

This is a great idea. I don't even know where to start with canning. I wouldn't even know if I was doing it right if I tried.


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## oldasrocks (Oct 27, 2006)

Come on over Raven. We're starting to can some blackberries. Tomatoes soon. You can help pick too.


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

I don't think I'd want a canning buddy... at least, not another adult. Well, other than DH. He takes my direction very well and doesn't get his feelings hurt when I tell him to drop the knife and get out of my way because he's doing it wrong. LOL! 

The kids do help sometimes, but they're young and impressionable and easily indoctrinated into my system. I have a system for every type of canning, a way of doing it that makes things move as quickly and smoothly as possible, getting the maximum yield from my time and energy and I don't like that system messed up. 

When the kids help it's usually with things like jam -- where they wash and smash berries -- or tomatoes, peaches, etc -- where they slip skins after I've blanched.


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## NoClue (Jan 22, 2007)

I'm also a single guy, doing it all by myself. Before the divorce, I had assisted the with the canning process on occasion, but I found it to be quite a leap to running the whole thing without help or advice.

Organization, doing things in stages, and pre-planned logistics seem to be the key to success. Also, I find small batches to be very helpful. I don't think I could manage doing 50 or 100 jars in one go the way some people do. So far I've never done more than one or two canner loads in a day - that may change however, as the garden yield increases.


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## Just Little Me (Aug 9, 2007)

I guess I am one in many. I have a great friend that shares everything with me. We plant, pick, and process everything together. Like with the corn- I will shuck it, she then takes it and splits it to either cut off the cob or to cut for cob corn. Once split, she does the cutting off into a pan while I work the cobs for freezer. I then take a pan she has ready and load the jars. We eat lunch/supper while the first batches are in the canner.
Same thing with all other produce, we split the chores. We each provide our own jars, freezer bags, containers.
It is really fun and faster with a buddy.


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## backtocolo (May 1, 2012)

when my dd was home she would help me can. Now dh helps if he is home. I haven't canned even so much as a jar of jam since my back has been bothering me. He is going to have to help with strawberry jam if he wants to have some to eat. I got the berries and froze them but haven't been up to making jam.

A couple of weeks ago we got down to just a couple of pints of chili. He wanted to can chili. I made the chili and he jarred and canned it. We did 45 pints and had 5 that didn't seal. He was very proud of his canning. In the past he has helped me fill jars, run the canner etc. This time I made the chili and walked away. 

Later this summer I am supposed to get together with a bunch of ladies from church and can tomatos. One of the ladies wants to make stewed tomatos. I am the only one who cans so I am teaching them. Thankfully one of the ladies has about an acre (ok so I exaggerate) of counter space in her huge kitchen. I will take my pressure canners and other equipment. I figure the best way to tackle it is to get the pressure canned stuff started and then start in on the water bath tomatos. She has a 6 burner gas stove so I am excited about that.


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