Canning & preserving
Boiling-water and pressure canning, explained from the USDA and National Center for Home Food Preservation research the tested recipes come from.
The year at a glance
pick a lidJanuary
Jars
Walk the shelf. Any jar with a bulging lid, a leak or an off smell goes out, and you never taste it to find out.
Coop
In a hard freeze, check the waterer morning and evening. Frozen water is a common winter problem.
Beds
Order seed, and write down what actually got eaten last year before you buy more of it.
February
Jars
If you own a dial-gauge pressure canner, get the gauge tested before the season starts. Many county Extension offices do it.
Coop
Eggs freeze and crack in cold nests. Collect more often than you think you need to.
Beds
Count back from your last frost date and start the slow crops indoors, such as onions and leeks.
March
Jars
Check jars for chips and cracks. Plan on new flat lids every time; screw bands can be reused if they are not rusty or bent.
Coop
Clean out the winter bedding once the ground thaws, and check that latches still close tight.
Beds
Start tomatoes and peppers indoors on the calendar your seed packet gives. Peas can go in as soon as the soil is workable.
April
Jars
Pull the pressure canner out and check the gasket, the vent pipe and the safety fuse before you need them.
Coop
Ordering chicks? Have the brooder set up and warm a day ahead, and follow the hatchery's temperature schedule.
Beds
Harden seedlings off for a week before they go out. Plant cool-season crops now.
May
Jars
First fruit of the year. Strawberries and rhubarb are acid foods, so a boiling-water canner and a tested recipe is the route.
Coop
Grass is up and predators are hungry. Check hardware cloth and the run's bottom edge.
Beds
Tomatoes, peppers and squash go out after the last frost, not before.
June
Jars
Jam season. Use a tested recipe with the pectin it was tested with, and do not double batches.
Coop
Shade, cold water and cross-ventilation matter before the first heat wave, not during it.
Beds
Mulch to hold moisture. Sow the next round of bush beans.
July
Jars
Cucumbers become pickles (acid, boiling-water canner). Green beans are low-acid and need the pressure canner.
Coop
Hens usually cope with cold better than heat. Watch for open beaks, panting and hens holding their wings away from the body.
Beds
Pick daily. Water deeply and less often rather than a little every day.
August
Jars
Tomato peak. Tomatoes need added acid to be canned in a boiling-water canner, per a tested recipe.
Coop
Feathers on the run floor can mean the molt is starting. Laying slows, so do not panic.
Beds
Count back from your first frost date and sow fall crops such as kale, carrots and lettuce.
September
Jars
Apples and pears. Applesauce and pears are acid foods; use the times for your jar size and elevation.
Coop
Molting hens need more protein. A layer feed is fine for most; check the bag.
Beds
Pull winter squash and potatoes in before hard frost, and cure squash before storing.
October
Jars
Label every jar with the contents and the date as it leaves the canner, not later.
Coop
Fix the roof and seal drafts at floor height, but keep ventilation high up. Damp air is the bigger winter risk.
Beds
Plant garlic, clear out diseased plant debris and mulch or sow a cover crop.
November
Jars
Cranberry sauce is an acid food and fits the boiling-water canner. Take stock of the shelf while you have room to move.
Coop
Heat lamps are a fire risk in bedding-filled coops. Plan winter warmth around that fact.
Beds
Mulch the beds and drain the hoses.
December
Jars
Write down what you ran out of and what nobody ate. Next year's canning list starts here.
Coop
Short days slow laying. That is normal and not a sign of illness.
Beds
Clean, sharpen and oil the tools, then put the seed catalogs to work.
Written for a mid-latitude US year. Shift every month earlier or later by your own last and first frost dates.