Time to Start Planting Vegetable Gardens.

[jacksonvilleconfidential]

pickling isnt really done here, I dont know why.

I learned more about it in the midwest than the south.

Pickling is quite common here actually and really it depends on the area from which you are from, I think. As ive said in previous threads....i am, pretty much from here (cocoa beach actually) and have had the pleasure of tasting many a pickled treat in Jacksonville.

[Keith-N-Jax]

Also who your neighbors are, there are alot of asians in my mom's neighbor and they pickle things like peppers and papaya all the time and are willing to share. They always brings us new dishes to sample. I grow alot of my own veggies already I enjoy doing it. The growing season is also longer here in Florida.

[Jimmy Olsen]

pickling isnt really done here, I dont know why.

I learned more about it in the midwest than the south.

You need to get into the more rural areas of the south.  Where I grew up, the community of Mt. Hebron in north alabama pickiling was very common.  My mothers family was from Jax, always came down here and visited and after we lost the farm in the late 70's moved down here permanently.

My parents always had a garden while I was growing up. It was about a 1/4 acre on their acre of land in Nassau County. They pickled okra, peppers and made homemade dills. My neighbors had a few dozen Chickens, so they made pickled eggs a lot. I don't think many people here in town do it because of the lack of space. But it is very common in rural areas surrounding Jacksonville.

[uptowngirl]

some of the best food ive ever eaten in my life was straight from the garden and from my grandfathers daily bout of surf fishing.

(plus a little friendly rice or home style grits of course)

Need to get a pressure cooker and start canning again.  Does the city still operate the canning facility downtown.  Also for you urbanites, it doesn't actually involve cans, it pints and quart jars with Kerr lids and rings, right Stephan.

Yes, the city does. A lady down the street goes there and has invited me to come along I just haven't yet but plan on joining her sometime

[cracklow]

I'm almost entirely sure the canning facility is still open, although I remember hearing complaints that it was barely open from the neglect - http://duval.ifas.ufl.edu/canning_center.shtml

Agricultural Canning Center

Today's modern Canning Center serves a different function than the original facility built in the early 1930s to feed inmates at a nearby prison.  Changed during World War II, it continues today to serve the community by teaching food preservation and storage techniques. 

The facility on Commonwealth Avenue was built in 1978 to better serve Jacksonville's growing population.  Air conditioned and recently updated,  the Canning Center provides an institutional kitchen environment.  All equipment necessary for canning is provided onsite.  Users provide their own ingredients.

Collaboration between the City of Jacksonville and the University of Florida, School of  Agriculture Extension Service provides funding for the Canning Center's services.  The client list includes Duval County residents, boaters, various churches, people on restricted diets, non-profit organizations within the city, the 4-H School Enrichment Program and other governmental agencies.  It is also used within the Agriculture Department to train its many master food and master gardener volunteers who subsequently assist in educational programming throughout the city.

The Canning Center has established a partnership with Duval County Schools, providing educational tours and teaching the value of agriculture to school age children throughout Jacksonville.  Students arrive at the center after touring a nearby farmer's market.  The Canning Center supervisor leads students through an educational program that teaches the difference between high-acid and low-acid foods and gives basic principles of food and kitchen safety, including a practical exercise in proper hand washing.  Students are taken step by step through the preparation process.  Finally, the students can their own snack, and watch the supervisor seal it mechanically and the students take it with them when they leave.  This is a favorite tour for both students and teachers.

Year-round hours:  8 a.m. â€" 4 p.m. Monday â€" Thursday
Who Can Use The Canning Center?

All Duval County residents who are canning for themselves, their families, churches, or any non-profit organization (not for businesses) may use the facility.  For safety reasons no children under 8 years of age are allowed. Walk in clients are not accepted.  You must call and make an appointment two or three days in advance, if possible.

What Is The Cost?Canned vegetables

$7.50 per hour, per group, including processing time, plus .65 cents per quart can, .45 cents per pint can (all low acid foods, vegetables, meats, soups and stews) must go in cans.  All high-acid foods (fruits, jellies, jams, and pickles) will go in jars.  Clients must provide their own jars.  There is a .15 cents per jar processing fee. To qualify for tax-exempt status, a nonprofit agency must have a valid Tax Exempt Certificate on file and pay for the canning with a check from the nonprofit agency or organization.
What Can We Can?

Tested and tried recipes must be used at the canning center.  The canning of fruits and vegetables are the most popular, but many other items can be canned:  meat, soup, jelly, jam. Etc.  The center has some recipes that have proven over the years to be just great.  Also the Family and Consumer Sciences Program area next door at the Duval County Extension Service/Agriculture Department, has many more recipes.
How Long Will It Take?

That depends on you and the help you bring with you.  Most people who are in by 8:30 a.m. will be out by 2 p.m., depending on recipe.

What Do We Bring?

Only your product and ingredients needed for recipe.  If using jars you must bring your own.  Bring boxes to use carrying the product home.

[Jason]

Excellent info!  Thanks for sharing.

[Doctor_K]

My question is this:

If any part of that hypothesis becomes true, Stephan, what about the Farmers Markets?  I'd imagine those would thrive, no?

On another note, we've already bought more seeds and ceramic pots.  The people that work in our Target's Garden Center practically know us by name.

[Joe]

Obviously, if you can grow food efficiently, that's a net economic gain regardless of what type of market we are in. Vegetable gardens are more useful than lawns, no doubt.

However, you could certainly end up with an economic loss if you are not careful. Fertilizer, bug & weed control, (and your time) can end up being much more costly than store bought produce. Depends on what you grow and how well you do it.

[ac]

So, can anyone recommend any good reference materials for beginners?

[Doctor_K]

So, can anyone recommend any good reference materials for beginners?

Yes.  I got my wife a book called 'The Bountiful Container,' specifically for growing things out of pots since we can't dig up the back yard.

Bountiful Container:  http://www.amazon.com/McGee-Stuckeys-Bountiful-Container-Vegetables/dp/0761116230/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223669834&sr=8-1

And tons of others in a similar vein to that:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_17?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bountiful+container&sprefix=Bountiful+Contain

Of course, most people are able to plant directly into the ground, so those might not do you a lick of good.  Just throwing that out there though - it's been great for our situation.

[ac]

So, can anyone recommend any good reference materials for beginners?

Yes.  I got my wife a book called 'The Bountiful Container,' specifically for growing things out of pots since we can't dig up the back yard.

Bountiful Container:  http://www.amazon.com/McGee-Stuckeys-Bountiful-Container-Vegetables/dp/0761116230/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1223669834&sr=8-1

And tons of others in a similar vein to that:  http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_17?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bountiful+container&sprefix=Bountiful+Contain

Of course, most people are able to plant directly into the ground, so those might not do you a lick of good.  Just throwing that out there though - it's been great for our situation.

Awesome, thanks!

We do have the ability to plant in the back yard, so I think that's the way we're going.  I guess I should have mentioned that up front.  But the help is definitely appreciated, and I'm sure others in your situation will find it useful also!

[Scarlettjax]

Encyclopedia of Country Living
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Fashioned-Recipe/dp/0912365951

Best book ever on how to do darn near anything yourself regarding growing and preserving food, but I learned most of it growing up in rural Georgia.  On the topic of pickles, I still pickle okra, peppers, peaches, pears and chowchow (a kind of relish) besides the cukes.  We can and freeze peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, figs, whatever we grow between our home here and the home place in Georgia. 

And if you do pickled okra right, it will be crunchy, not slimy. 

[uptowngirl]

Encyclopedia of Country Living
http://www.amazon.com/Encyclopedia-Country-Living-Fashioned-Recipe/dp/0912365951

Best book ever on how to do darn near anything yourself regarding growing and preserving food, but I learned most of it growing up in rural Georgia.  On the topic of pickles, I still pickle okra, peppers, peaches, pears and chowchow (a kind of relish) besides the cukes.  We can and freeze peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, figs, whatever we grow between our home here and the home place in Georgia. 

And if you do pickled okra right, it will be crunchy, not slimy. 

That is an excellent one, so are:

Stocking Up: The Third Edition of America's Classic Preserving Guide
or
Putting Food By  and Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance

The good news is you can check these out at our local library and see if you want to buy. Don't forget the compost pile, if you don't have one start one. For apartment or condo dwellers you can make an easy one out of a trash can and put it on the deck. Save the coffee grounds too...veggies, flowers, and fruit trees love coffee grounds and they smell good too!

[civil42806]

What a delightful thread, a shame we don't have more of these

[JaxByDefault]

I highly recommend Standard Feed (1282 Kings Rd.). If you're new to gardening, especially organic gardening, the staff will help you plan, answer any questions, and is a great resource when problems arise.

The no dig garden is a good way to get into veggie gardens and composting:  http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/.

If you're free from HOA restrictions and already digging up the backyard for veggies, try digging up the front lawn and replacing it with a mix of native, same-climate, and edible plants. It's thrifty, water-wise, mowing-free, and lovely.