Jane Mulberry

Timothy Norton wrote:I'm on a bit of a paprika kick. Smoked paprika is amazing!

Ooh, yes, for sure! I love it, too.

Savory spices - cumin or turmeric. Many savory dishes just feel incomplete without cumin. For sweet spice, cinnamon, the real Ceylon stuff.

In our household, garlic is a vegetable, not a spice or a flavouring! We'll easily eat a whole big one in a single meal, especially roasted in the skin so that soft squishy garlic deliciousness can be squeezed out.

Hugs on the lurgies, and the missing parts. Hubby and I both had viruses in early September and we're still not fully recovered.

I'm not American, but I always though cooties were their equivalent of nits!

Wow! What a place! Those huge rocks are amazing! But it must have been scary watching that creek fill up. So glad all stayed safe.

If there really are concrete support pillars going down to the granite bedrock and if the house base is reinforced properly, it seems less likely the house will slide into the creek. Phew! Some sort of low-growing but tightly matting plant with a strong root network at the edge of the deck to stop the soil sliding down the hill would be reassuring and prevent the house ending up on concrete stilts with no soil under it.

It's right to enjoy the excitement of taking such a huge step, Emmett. So glad you found the right property. As you say, that's the most important thing.

Thanks for the update, Ezra! It's coming along nicely.

Tereza, yay for a simple fix, and "only passing out once"!

Beth, I hope you find the property you and your friends are looking for. Community, whether family, neighbours, friends, or actually living in community becomes even more important as we age.

This forum is well moderated, but "be nice" is the main rule, so I think you may find it's a pleasant place to be!

If you haven't already, consider starting a new post asking your specific questions on the off-grid issue. Chances are someone else here has either already done it or researched how to do it.

No to pressure canning in an Instapot!

Not even using the latest one Insta launched saying it could pressure can because it will do up to 15 psi. They made the claim in good faith but it was based on a wrong assumption -- that maintaining the pressure for the entire processing time was what counted, rather than maintaining a steady temperature high enough to kill the botulism. Further independent testing has shown that though the temperature inside the Instapot is maintained well above boiling, it fluctuates too much during the processing period to safely pressure can. I researched this, as I don't have an Instapot yet and was set to buy the new one they originally thought could pressure can. It's likely that now they know the issue they'll design one that is safe to pressure can (well, the turmoil on the corporate side od Insta permitting!), but it's not there yet. :(

All Instapots are safe for water bath canning and steam canning high acid foods.

I'm interested in trying comfrey to feed my fruit trees, but am unsure about whether it's worth me spending on crowns of Bocking 14. I'm not sure it will manage my very hot dry summers. Does anyone have experience of growing comfrey in similar climates -- 7B, 15" rainfall per year but very little in the hot summers?

I don't want to do a lot of irrigation, though I know I'll need to do some. But I'd prefer trying to work as much as possible with plants that will adapt to the climate. I might try using the STUN approach with seeds of the weedy type. I'm willing to plant useful weeds if they'll keep down the current crops of less desirable weeds!