From Gardening to Canning

Published: 2022
By Amanda Williams

Since MSU Extension clients have shown increased interest in growing their own food and preserving the food they harvest, we provided a gardening program in May. It included basic information on soils, planning a garden, plant selection, pest infestation, and harvest. The goal was to provide key information from the Master Gardener Program, condensed into one evening. There were 10 participants, and two brought in soil samples afterward to see if they needed to add soil amendments. After the growing season, we offered a canning program. Seven participants joined a hands-on program to learn about water bath and pressure canning with Family and Consumer Sciences Agent Roubie Younkin from Valley County MSU Extension. Everyone learned the basics of canning and preserving food, then learned how to pressure can chicken. While the pressure canner was running, participants made salsa. They cut vegetables, assembled salsa in jars, and placed jars in a water bath canner. There was extra salsa, so participants also taste-tested the salsa while everything was in the canners. All participants said they enjoyed learning in a hands-on way and took home jars of salsa and chicken.