HUGE HARVEST and PRESERVING (drying herbs, strawberry jam, and more)
VloĆŸit
- Äas pĆidĂĄn 2. 06. 2024
- It's STRAWBERRY SEASON! đ€€ Secure your privacy with Surfshark! Enter coupon code FARMERS for 4 months EXTRA at surfshark.deals/FARMERS
Where to find:
Pomona's Pectin: amzn.to/3Vnyz6d
Food Chopper: amzn.to/3wWhiaX
Immersion Blender: amzn.to/3V4i7Gx
DeWalt Vacuum: amzn.to/458HNXe
Michelle's favorite t-shirts: creatoriq.cc/3V7KuFz
More Than Farmers merch here: morethanfarmers.creator-sprin...
Products we love:
www.amazon.com/shop/morethanf...
(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I'm a "quality tool" kind of guy, and I'll only ever recommend something that I would want for myself. If you make a purchase through a link posted here I may receive a small affiliate commission, but at no extra cost to you. It helps to make this channel a reality!)
Get perks by becoming a Channel Member! / @morethanfarmers
Follow us on Instagram! / morethanfarmers
and on Facebook! / morethanfarmers
We want to share our passion for efficient, sustainable homesteading that brings the family together. On our homestead we do chemical-free gardening, grass-fed milk and beef, pastured eggs and broiler chickens, and free range children :) We love to go on adventures as a family, so if we're not workin on the farm, we're probably hiking or out getting ice cream. We're all into DIY, and being inventive and creative. We believe in homesteading that's sustainable, not just sustainable homesteading. In other words, we want to show you that homesteading doesn't have to wear you out to the point that you give it up. We've seen it happen, and almost came to that point ourselves. So go ahead and take a whack at that subscribe button if you'd like to join us on this crazy ride. Get ready to learn and be inspired! - ZĂĄbava
This is going to be a strange complement but I love when yâall complain about things being annoying or what bothers yâall. Itâs so much more relatable and REAL. I can appreciate a channel that is transparent about the hard parts of the process. Then I donât feel like Iâm failing during my own issues in the garden.
Yâall are an incredible team â€
I love that the kids help out in the garden sometimes, those are memories they will probably cherish for lifeâ€
And as long as you sterilise the ars before you fill them I honestly cannot see any reason why you should need to
I met a man who sold strawberries at the farmers market. He had built himself a special four wheeled cart that bridged the row. He would lay down on this thing (face down) and pick at a terrific pace. He had a place to put the bowls before him on this contraption. The farmers liked his approach very much as he would weed as he went and never damaged the plants.
What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
I had a bad day, but watching this channel, and hearing this phrase, "CANNING IS NOT MY JAM, really made me so happy đ
I think the beauty of home gardening is the fact that you are free to do what you want. Spraying is a choice and if you choose to spray your plants, good for you. You are still growing food on your own and learning how to fight back against pest. If you choose not to spray, good for you. You are still growing food and trying your best to keep ahead of mother nature.
If you are gardening, you are gardening. How you choose to do it is completely up to you and no one should gate keep your experience.
I live in Texas and we have a terrible time with fire ants and regular ants. I know this sounds crazy but if you will sprinkle "grits" yes, the kind you eat where ants travel and better yet if you know where the mound is, sprinkle there. It doesn't take much they will eat it or take it home and pop. Their system can't handle the increase in size, like feeding rice to birds, it will kill them. You will have to sprinkle often, especially after a rain. Silly as it sounds it really works. Thankfully it's not a pesticide or toxic, so you don't have to worry about the kids. Happy hunting to a beautiful family!
That's so good to know I swear our house is built on a massive colony I've been using DE on it but having 2 things working on the ant population would be great
@@alorastewart7091 glad to help, most people think I'm crazy, but it does work. You can also sprinkle it around in your house. You just need to remember to sprinkle again outside if it rains.
I thought I was the only 1 who did that đ my grandma taught me that trick.
@@julieagain good for her!
I will try that! The common one that comes for pasta making?
Your channel just keeps getting better
I said the same exact thing to myself yesterday in Ohio, "I feel rich" as I went out to my garden and harvested some herbs, lettuce, kales, and cucumbers. I know exactly what you mean and it has nothing to do with money.
It amazes me the amount of food you grow and process. Keeps you busy, have good quality food to eat and saves you money. Admiration for the whole family that are More Than Farmers !!!
I agree 100% with Michelle about using sprays in the garden when needed instead of buying the same veg. in the store. We have to use common sense and and weight the pro's and con's.
If I had more energy, I would truly copy cat your recipes and garden. But I'm an old gal that had to work far beyond retirement age and my energy ran away with my time. I love jam but 1 jar from a store lasts me a long time.
I love your videos and to see your children helping more and more brings tears to my eyes. I'll be watching for your next visit. Thanks from Central Oklahoma
Your work and lives inspire me so much. I have dreams of having a small homestead someday. I'm doing what I can now in a rented townhouse - gardening in a community plot, making sourdough bread in my little kitchen, etc. - but learning from both of you has been so helpful as I think about "what's next" for our family someday!
I love this channel! I live in CA and have a large garden but nothing compares to what I see Michelle doing with her garden. And, all of the tips regarding jam-making, lettuce,
preservation, soil prep, etc. are wonderful. Both of you are natural teachers and the real deal-thank you.
Agree!đđŠ
Herb cubes : youâre doing great by hand. I saw someone, ( canât remember) using an ice cream scoop to portion them out to freeze on a baking sheet.
Keep your used coffee grounds. And put whatever you want. The ants will disappear. It works great
I'm going to try thisâ€
Try kale braised in a large cast iron pan in a little butter that has a clove of garlic crushed into it and sauteed. Tear the kale into pieces, removing stems. When the garlic has lightly sauteed in the butter but before it turns brown, add torn up kale and toss into butter/garlic mixture until well wilted and slightly seared. Salt and enjoy! (Hint: you will need a LOT of kale as it will wilt down into a very small amount. For a larger family you may have to do several batches.
I discovered this same method of preparing kale last spring and I couldn't get enough of it. I think I also sprinkled a little lemon juice on it. Russian kale is the best variety I've found for sauteeing.
Even though I live in CO, a COMPLETELY different climate, you're rapidly becoming my favorite channel. Your videos are so well done (love the outtakes), and so full of good info. And you two are adorable (yes, I'm old enough to be your mother :) ). Great job, keep it up!
For all the people who struggle with bugs and slugs, I would really look into getting some ducks. We have 3 ducks who walk around the whole veggie garden and we barely have any slug/bug damage. We do make a fence around the veggie patches because they will eat the veggies too if they can. But I find that they clean the garden so well, even around the fences, that we donât struggle with bugs and slugs. They also eat some weeds, lay beautiful and tasty eggs, eat decaying leaves. All in all, they really are so beneficial for a veggie garden. And also, we use their dirty bedding in the compost as well, so awesome!
The only thing about ducks is that they require a water feature, and not everyone can supply that.
@@mehtarelingolien a little water bath will do, just refresh the water :)
@@mehtarelingolien alot of people just use a plastic kiddie pool which anyone can get
Would love if you did a whole video on planting strawberries and growing start to finish!
Growing up we always put paraffin wax on the top of the jam/jelly to seal it. It almost never spoiled unless you didn't clean the top inside of the jar or put too little wax in. I know that's also controversial but many places still do this. Love your content.
I happily remember shelling peas, taking the ends off of green beans, and topping strawberries at my grandpaâs farm in Minnesota. Your kids will remember helping you out like that the rest of their life. Enjoy that jam!
Vacuum sealers are over rated. You two are such a pleasure to watch. I am a 66 yr old female homesteader and I know the joy of looking at the beautiful days harvest. One thing I do wish is that some company would come out with a gigantic salad spinner!!! That would save so much time.
Vacuum sealers are quite handy in many ways, and there are cheap ones that do the job perfectly so it doesn't have to be expensive one. I myself use it for storing both long term and short term, in freezer, fridge and in cupboard/room temperature. And not only food, some materials as well, also 3d printer fillament. I also use it for cooking sous vide, brining or marinating meats in bags. Do my family actually need vacuum sealer - I think most of it can be done without it, but with more work and shorter storage. And there are times that we actually can't do a certain thing without a proper vacuum sealer.
@@Aragornski It isn't the sealer that is pricey it is the rolls of plastic. Ziploc has worked just fine for me for all of my 66 yrs.
â@@5GreenAcres Where I live there are quite pricey rolls or premade bags for vacuum sealer, but there are also some far cheaper, which are sometimes even with higher quality. (Of course there's also the Chinese junk, that is good only for short term dry goods, room temperature storage, but that's not the point here).
I have used the vacuum sealer, without actually using the vacuum pump on other things like plastic straws to make a sealed single doses of spices for my backpacking trips or DIY MREs, and also for making cotton and vaseline filled fire straws.
They make manual laundry spinners that are like big salad spinners!
I have one for my wet clothes-I bet one could spin 20+ heads of lettuce! đ( bought online).
Thank you so much. I always love your videos. Your no-nonsense practical preserving is always encouraging.
I am so happy that I found you. I am from Ohio! Now, I know exactly what to grow. Thank you, I will keep watching! I am very envious.
You both have been a big inspiration. I added so much to my garden this year because I've been watching for the last 8 months . I did a garden tour on my channel. I have much less space than you since we live in a neighborhood but I'm so excited for this year. I love to learn new things and I've always loved playing in the dirt. đI'm having an awful time with ants this year. They are eating all of my cucumber seedlings and seeds.
Love seeing the kids help. My 4 year old loves gardening. picking cherry tomatoes and digging potatoes is her favorite.
Another wonderful video
Wow! Outstanding garden! I love seeing the family working together as a team.
I really enjoy learning something when it comes to watching youtube, and I appreciate your videos so much. You guys are a great teaching team! Thank you for this!
Love this comprehensive video! We're not growing all the same stuff, but doing all the choirs/tasks. Canning, drying, processing, and more planting and weeding. Thanks for always sharing the good, the bad and the not-so Pinterest perfect parts of homesteading.
I want to like your videos like 20 times! Really enjoy watching and I get so much out of them. Thank you for sharing.đ
Loved the longer video! I didn't realize it was longer at first and it was a special treat the longer I kept watching †Keep up the good work!
I am so thankful that no one is farming with chemicals around me. Plus, reduced risk of gmo. Thanks for the tips.
Thank you for showing the processing of your herbs. This is my first year gardening and I donât want to waste a thing!
I set out 100 plants this year. I can't wait until they start producing good. If you put a clean towel or paper towel on each side of the bag your lettuce is in it will last a little longer. I don't wash all my herbs either. I have to can my jam, I don't have freezer space for it.
I totally agree about the Ants, there everywhere this year. More than any other year I remember.
Cilantro đ i just learned to make a pesto out of my cilantro. Add fresh olive oil and pumpkin seeds. I add it to quesedias, salsas and tacos.
It amazes me how much I learn every time I watch you guys! Your kiddos are lucky to have you as a teacher. Iâm trying to be a homesteader in a zone 10 hoa (mostly with perennials) and every bit of info helps!! Thank you!
I just love you all. You're so real, and don't make it seem like it is always perfect on the homestead because we all know it's not always fun, but it is always worth it!
Wonderful video. Thank you for including the dimensions on your strawberry planting. I find those sort of details very helpful as I plan things around my own homestead.
My grandmother used to put wax on the top of her jam. You can freeze it, and if it expands, it just pushes the wax up. Just have to use wide mouth jars.
Super Awesome Video!!! Says it ALL to why do you (we) do this!!! đđ€ Love the Strawberry growing lesson - THANKS!!! đđ
â€WONDĂRFUL BOUNTY!â€
Hello Cody, Michelle and Family from North Augusta, SC
About ants, we too have more ants this year than ever before. I found a recipe of equal parts salt (kosher in recipe) and baking soda. I sprinkled in areas that wouldn't affect my garden plants directly. It seems to have shooed them off. It rained last night so I'm assuming I'll need to reapply it. Ohh and it's not real pretty to look at. But it didn't bother me. I'd rather have white walking spaces and less antsđ.
In your video I can hear the burden you bear of people's criticism. I'm sorry. I know some need to share their opinions and I guess that's part of you tube life. But it's obvious that your choices are best for you and that's a boundary people need to respect.
Thank you all for another great video. Enjoy your yummy harvest. â€đ
Love and blessings!
Candy and John
Thanks for sharing, I have learned that Raspberry leaves can be turned into tea. In April I uprooted and discarded so many tender seedlings that had sprouted where I do need them as they're taking over my backyard. Now I know how to use their leaves.
I've been seeing more ants this year, inside and out. Must mean something! Fantastic information on drying mints for tea! Your garden looks great! I love, love fresh, leafy dill! I have a Mennonite dill pickle recipe that uses mostly dill leaves and is so delicious. My Mennonite friend taught me to make them after I raved about her baby dill pickles. Last time I made them, I used apple cider vinegar with the mother and they came out too strong tasting.
Virginia Kaufman's Dill Pickles
Brine: 1 T. Sugar, 2 T. Pickling salt, 3/4 c. Apple cider vinegar, 3 c. Water.
Use Fresh leafy Dill, seeds, stems, lot of leaves. Use small, freshly picked, washed cucumbers and 3 to 4 whole cloves of garlic. Put 1 grape leaf in each jar for crispness. Mulberry or horseradish leaves can also work. Heat up brine, pack clean jars with washed grape leaf, dill, garlic, small cucumbers (large cucumbers, peppers, green beans, even green small tomatoes with hot peppers work well with this recipe). Pour hot brine into jars of cucumbers, run a butter knife around inside of jar to remove air bubbles. Fill to 1/2 to 3/4 inch from top of jar. Wipe off tops of jars, put clean lids on, hand tighten rings. Process In boiling water bath canner until turn pickle color. About 10-15 minutes. Hot Dilled Baby Green tomatoes with few hot peppers are very popular. Firm green tomatoes pickle best. These Dill pickles are mild, dilly and crispy. So delicious with burgers, which is how Virginia served them to me!
I wonder if it's a newly arrived invasive ant species.
Ice cream or cookie dough scoop for your cilantro pucks,basil or garlic or whatever.
Someone please get Michelle a bigger salad spinner, I cry inside watching how little greens sheâs able to fit in that little one đ
I love watching your channel! I love the honesty and simplicity of how you do things. Not a lot of hype. LOL â€
Great video, this is where I am now preserving. Thanks for showing me that I'm doing it right, this is new to me in my gardening journey.
A simple poultice made with ribwort plantain will take care of your nettle stings. It helps with other things too, like insect bites and stings.
I've used it for mosquito bites.
I too have been taught that plantain is an antidote for nettle stings. It is said that an antidote is always found close by to the poison so look around where the nettle grows to find the plantain or another antidote.
Beautiful homestead,super inspiring
đ I really thoroughly love your channel and videosâ€ïž
So glad to hear it!
I look forward to theses videos every Monday
Your gardens and techniques on homesteading is inspiring. đđđthe windđđđ have a super day, lisa
So inspired watching you all work together in the garden. I hope to get my boys involved more this year. They are more likely to eat the food when they can take a taste while we're outside.
Yall are so real, "MY KIDS STOLE MY SHARPIES". I could feel it haha.
Yes, that story about the apples and the cows is true, I read it a while back. I don't have the source material but if you ask me, common sense.
When I start my garden you have inspired me to try so many things.
Michell, 1/4 part of boric acid to 3/4 parts of granulated sugar will kill ants fast. Boric acid is not toxic to people unless consumed in large quantities. You only use a small amount of this mix and it works every time. It also kills roaches and other pests. If you use it in your garden you do have to reapply it after a rain. In the house, I use it straight, dusted under baseboards and out-of-the-way places. Works wonders.
I do not like runny jam. I do not like it Sam I Am.
Lol. After that Grinch joke, I had Seuss on the brain! đ€Ł
I love Mondays because of your channel!
Wonderful Wonderful video! Love the bounty and all your gardening, herb drying and food processing tips. Born & raised in Ohio-now a 74 Grama in Southern California!đ„°
Y'all are the best. Thanks so much for sharing your greens cleaning. I don't know if you did that at my behest, but it means so much to me. It might be such a small thing for you guys, but it's nice to have solidarity in trying to figure out how to responsibly feed our family. Also, you've inspired me. I think my son and I are gonna start a strawberry patch next year!
I shifted the new rows and so that gives you the new growth year after year. By moving your rows all over to one direction the strawberries never have to be replanted.
Watching this channel is my new hobby. Love you guys!
Great harvest, we are getting lots of vegetables and strawberries. Thank you for sharing. Till next time God Bless.
I'm so excited to see more about your herbs and how you use them for tea, cooking, and health (salves, beauty, etc).
Thankyou so much Michelle, loved your info on the strawberries, your herb garden and we believe, do what your gut tells you about a certain things. Injoy your wonderful hard work. Thankyou.
âI just donât feel like it!â Love it. Good for you.
You are lucky to be getting the rain.
What an amazing blessed life you all are living. Looks like heaven to me!
I have learned so much from you guys! Especially gardening from Michelle. I even dug a hole and put a pot of mint down in the ground.. now just waiting on it to grow đđ
Could we ever have a video on all the herbs and tips Michelle has from her pregnancies? Thanks so much for the nettle tip!!
I give the leftover dried herb pieces to the chickens. Then I don't feel guilty.
I agree with you 100% my grandmother used to give us a jam two kinds canned and from the freezer and the freezer was hundred times better
Love it!! Do you think at some point you can do a full video about how to start and care for strawberries? I am getting into gardening/homesteading and would love to get your instructions and point of view about the whole process.
I have heard from many, many gardeners that the ants are a real problem this year. We had to flood out a part of a raised bed this year already because they had started building a nest and were eating all my plants.
I take nettle every day. I made a tincture of it for my allergies and also dry it along with alfalfa (and sometimes golden rod) and powder it and put it in my own capsules I make and those are my allergy medicines. Iâve had sinusitis all my life and taking these herbs have given me the first real relief Iâve had in my whole life. I feel like itâs even reduced my allergic reactions and Iâm less over reactive to pollen than I used to be. Nettle is amazing. đđ»
Hello! Nice to meet you. I like growing plants and gardening, I find peace and relaxation. Life is increasingly stressful, only the green color of trees can create for us the most relaxing environment and best health.
I totally agree that freezer jam tastes more fresh than canned jam. Watching you harvest rhubarb makes me crave the rhubarb crisp from my childhood.
@morethamfarmers Michelle just use an Ice cream scoop to freeze the cilantro đż in balls, thatâs what I use when I make pesto and after flash freezing them, I put all the balls into a freezer bag.
If you add a piece of paper towel to your lettuce, herbs etc, it will absorb excess moisture. And, the dill stalks have the most dilly flavour for carrots / cucumbers. YUM!
I am feeling happy when I am seeing you are picking fruits from field or your garden.â€â€â€â€
For the Cilantro cubes, you could probably use one of the metal cookie scoop/Ice cream scoops. That way you wouldn't just use it for the one purpose. Love your videos!
Jewelweed and dock weed are both helpful with stinging nettles. The juice helps with the irritation.
Also poison ivy! Jewelweed is also gorgeous đ
Nice pun! I have memories of picking strawberries with my grandmother. Shelling peas on the porch, listening to my grandparent, aunt and parent talk about the good old days. It wonderful what you are doing. Great job.
I love that the kids still get involved even If they are "over it"
Keep up the mighty hard work y'all!
You can mix raspberry leaves and nettle in your tea, it taste very good and is very beneficial together.
I've got to build a herb rack. I dehydrate broccoli and kale leaves and crumble them into small flakes. I then hide them in soup for us and hide them in the chicken feed because my kids and my chickens dont like either.
David The Good makes liquid fertilizer out of stinging nettle he puts in a barrel and let's sit for a few weeks. I'll try this out this season since some nettle decided to grow in my garden this season.
Grow on!
The quality of these videos have improved so much over the years. Big fan keep up the good work
Our mom has been making raspberry freezer jam for probably 60 years and there is nothing like it! đ
Our lettuce was so bitter, every variety...with the exception of Pablo lettuce. It's still soo sweet! And it's beautiful. Highly recommend.
I don't know if anyone else mentioned it, but if you add a little bit of butter, it gets rid of the foam in your jam.
i live at the moment in England so i have few pots with strawberries and those are still green đ ... british weather for you , but in Poland where i am from people hiring for strawberry picking ( we are going back to Poland in march next year for good and i can't wait , we have some small house to renovate and a bit of land to grow our food and keep animals , woods behind our garden and 20 neighbours ...bliss đ, there is a hard work ahead of us but watching you gives me the motivation for all what's coming and that this the best thing we can do for our family â€
Yes for the Antpocalypse. We are in MD and our yard has been infiltrated WAY more this year than normal.
I chuckled at myself when you said *straw*berries. Hahaha I was like woa. .....why did it NEVER OCCUR TO ME. So funny.
Wow what a productive day!!!! I'd be soooo happy and fulfilled â€â€â€
Here in Troutdale OR. it has been pouring rain, on and off through the past several weeks, and my garden just isn't doing well, because if the roots don't have any dry time, they establish root rote, and will not borough down to find better nutrition and grow a more abundant crop. POURED ALOT TODAY.
Iâm so sorry that your loved one is suffer from chemical toxicity. I think it is sadly becoming more and more common. I really like that you refrain from using dangerous chemicals. Thanks for caring about that. â€
The vacuum sealer is actually does make a massive difference . Its not just for the freezer burn
I grew up with jam made exactly the same way that you've done it. My Mum just bottled it hot and sealed it up. The jam kept on the shelf for years.
I live in NW PA and have also had quite the problem with ants in my raised beds and in my house. I just bought this house 2 years ago and the first 2 years I didn't see but maybe 5-10 big ants each year. This year has been a completely different story. I keep my house pretty spotless because I paid a lot of money for it to be built brand new and I'm proud of it yet I'm still getting an alarming amount of ants in the house and garden.
I with you on there being more ants this year. They are in my raised beds, my house, in ground garden and even my 'grow" bags. I usually just use bait traps, but this year I had to spray just to be able to pick my strawberries and even to dig out my potatoes. I let my veggies sit out on a table by our back door for several hours before I bring them in or spray everything off two or three times with the hose to help get them off whatever crop I am bring into the house. Ants and weeds really have me out numbered this year!!
Thank you so much â€â€â€â€đ
What is your method to replacing your strawberry patch? Do you use your own runners or buy completely new plants?
I'm exhausted watching you work! Nettle tea is delicious!