Growing and preserving your own foods may be time consuming but is well worth the effort.
Digging, washing and canning enough beets to have a quart a week for
a whole year takes only one weekend, with at least a 3 week window
for harvesting. Green beans are a different story as they must be
picked and canned constantly in the late spring through mid-summer
to have enough for a whole year.
I highly recommend growing Blackberries, currants and grapes for jam,
the quality is much better than what you can buy. I found that I can cook grapes slowly skins and all untill soft.
Then just mash/strain with a foley mill and cook to about half the desired
consistancy. Water canner boil according to the book and the jam will set
in the jars when cool.
Currants are simply mashed through a
strainer and then the juice is then boiled with sugar. Currant jam
is by far the less time consuming to make, from planting the bushes
to canning. Good luck.
