This month's notes: May 2013: The cool weather has delayed blooms and slowed growth by a couple of weeks, but don't miss strawberries: they started in most Southern areas in late April, and in late May up north. Click here for strawberry facts and picking tips, and this page for easy strawberry jam making directions. Blueberries will come in June in most areas. Of course, Florida, southern Texas, and other very warm areas are already picking both crops! See this page for hundreds of easy canning and freezing instructions/recipes, canning equipment guide! Also make your own ice cream - see How to make ice cream and ice cream making equipment and manuals. Then see each state's crop availability calendar for more specific dates of upcoming crops. Organic farms are identified in green! See our guide to local fruit and vegetable festivals!. Please tell the farms you found them here - and ask them to update their information!!

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Bean Frenchers, Green Bean Slicers - Photos, Features and Prices for Home Canning Supplies -

Bean Frenchers and Green Bean Slicers

These devices have been around for decades; your great grandmother may have used one very similar to this to speed preparation of green and yellow beans for canning.

Everything All can be shipped by a variety of methods, including overnight, if you have a canning emergency!

Note: In response to requests for canning products and books, I've added this page, and I've found a reliable shipper/supplier (Amazon.com) for the products here. I appreciate your business- buying the products here helps support the website!

Features:

Cut down on tedious preparation time.
Easily slice fresh green beans in elegantly slender French-cut slices.
Simply feed beans into hopper while turning hand crank.
Clamp mounts onto edge of table (up to 1-1/4" thick).
Heavy-duty construction with stainless steel blades.

Here's an inexpensive design from Golda's Kitchen. It is the Norpro French bean slicer. This one is ok for making enough sliced beans for a meal, but would be pretty tedious if you were canning or freezing and substantial quantities .

Features:

Simultaneously slices and removes strings from string beans
Cross blade first tops and tails the beans
Spring-loaded funnel grasps bean firmly
Made of hard plastic, with stainless-steel blades
Hand wash in soapy water

This one comes from Gurney's Seed, and is very similar; but in a white finish.

And here is one more, that is very similar to the first, just through a digfferent vendor!

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Ball Enamel Waterbath Canner, Including Chrome-Plated Rack and 4-Piece Utensil Set

Don't forget the Ball Blue Book!

Home Canning Kits

Features:

* All the tools you need for hot waterbath canning - in one comprehensive set!
* Complete with 21 1/2 qt. enameled waterbath canner
* Also includes canning rack, funnel, jar lifter, jar wrencher, bubble freer, tongs and lid lifter.
* A Kitchen Krafts exclusive collection.

This is the same type of standard canner that my grandmother used to make everything from applesauce to jams and jellies to tomato and spaghetti sauce. This complete kit includes everything you need and lasts for years: the canner, jar rack, jar grabber tongs, lid lifting wand, a plastic funnel, labels, bubble freer. It's much cheaper than buying the items separately. You'll never need anything else except jars & lids (and the jars are reusable)! There is also s simple kit with just the canner and rack, and a pressure canner, if your want to do vegetables (other than tomatoes). To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!

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Lids, Rings, Jars, mixes, pectin, etc.

Need lids, rings and replacement jars? Or pectin to make jam, spaghetti sauce or salsa mix or pickle mixes? Get them all here, and usually at lower prices than your local store!

Get them all here at the best prices on the internet!