Ducks 4 in '24

[heirloomgal]

Try doubling the pectin next time you want a good gel bc you never KNOW how old the pectin IS.
Mine are mostly 6-8 inches apart, but the Munchers got planted close bc the other seeds didn't germinate, probably bc I let them dry out during a short drought after I planted them.
The Munchers are about 4 inches apart.
In 2022 and 2023 I really crowded my cucumbers, and they produced, but it's ALWAYS good to reassess growing practices.

I think it was a pectin problem, the jelly never set properly! I do think I'm going to try again next month, once a frost hits the berries we'll pick. We can only get this Certo pectin product which is a liquid & you squeeze it out of a plastic sqooshee. I feel like there is a better alternative out there, but can't find it.

 

[Marie2020]

I think it was a pectin problem, the jelly never set properly! I do think I'm going to try again next month, once a frost hits the berries we'll pick. We can only get this Certo pectin product which is a liquid & you squeeze it out of a plastic sqooshee. I feel like there is a better alternative out there, but can't find it.

I'm looking forward to you finding out a better solution for pectin. I love jam and would really like to have home made..

Edited

A guide to pectin - how to test for it and use it - Helen's Fuss Free Flavours

Pectin is key to jam making. It's in the fruit but do you need pectin powder too? Learn a simple pectin test for successful jam every time.

fussfreeflavours.com

I have just found this and about to read it so adding it here for you to

 

[Marie2020]

@Finnie and @baymule
VERY interesting to know that both knees could be operated on at the same time.
I don't think I could function with recovery for both at the same time.
I will receive at home visiting bandage and therapy for 2 weeks right after the surgery.
DD's are scheduled to take care of my critters for those 2 weeks.
Middle DD is planning on coming to generally help for a week in January.
Since She works from home this is possible.
My left knee has been my support and there are still many things I can do with it.
We have an Alaskan cruise next May and I should be able to walk pretty well, even With a damaged left knee.
The right knee suffered great trauma, so I limp. Orthopedics gave (really sold) me a removable brace, one to push my bones back into straight bc I have bowlegged my right leg to compensate, AND I continue to do the exercises that Physical Therapy taught me, so that my recovery will be more rapid than to let the muscles go.
I have a friend who got both knee surgeries same year, but they were 4 months apart.
I am thinking that my two surgeries will be about one year apart.
I have had SO MANY PEOPLE who notice my limp and tell me about Their own knee replacements and how happy they are! Several of them have asked to pray for me!
I have the new brace AND I have an ace bandage brace.
So, I am set for living with the deteriorating left knee for awhile.
Also, I have come to learn that there are MANY exercises that you can for your legs from a chair or your bed.
You only need to focus and willpower.

Please try caster oil. It's best soaked into a good cloth, say a towel or even an old tee shirt. Then wrap this around your knee. It takes a while to kick in. But it's been claimed to be an anti-inflammatory and a healer.

I'm not saying it a complete cure. But it's possible that it can ease pain somewhat the trouble is it takes months to actually work

 

[flowerbug]

I think it was a pectin problem, the jelly never set properly! I do think I'm going to try again next month, once a frost hits the berries we'll pick. We can only get this Certo pectin product which is a liquid & you squeeze it out of a plastic sqooshee. I feel like there is a better alternative out there, but can't find it.

alas, that stuff is expensive and for what it is...

i used the low sugar powdered variant this year for the strawberry freezer jam and i thiink it turned out pretty well. it may have helped that i read and followed the directions... (bashful)...

 

[flowerbug]

I'm looking forward to you finding out a better solution for pectin. I love jam and would really like to have home made..

Edited

A guide to pectin - how to test for it and use it - Helen's Fuss Free Flavours

Pectin is key to jam making. It's in the fruit but do you need pectin powder too? Learn a simple pectin test for successful jam every time.

fussfreeflavours.com

I have just found this and about to read it so adding it here for you to

green grapes (before they are fully ripe) or green apples are both good sources of pectin.

when i was growing grapes and making Concord grape jam the recipe said to pick some of the grapes before they were fully ripe and i never had to add any extra pectin for those and they set up very firm. it was also so tart that it had little chunks of tartaric acid in the jars at times. i like tart so it didn't bother me...

 

[heirloomgal]

Please try caster oil. It's best soaked into a good cloth, say a towel or even an old tee shirt. Then wrap this around your knee. It takes a while to kick in. But it's been claimed to be an anti-inflammatory and a healer.

I'm not saying it a complete cure. But it's possible that it can ease pain somewhat the trouble is it takes months to actually work

View attachment 69345

I didn't know this oil had external applications, I've only drank the stuff occasionally. I always get this mixed up with another castor, the one that I grew up with as a kid and it was the go-to family remedy for decades because it has a powerful drawing action. Looked like this, it's beaver castor. I don't even know how they get it. I still have a little chunk of it in my kitchen drawer from my pa, just in case.

 

[heirloomgal]

alas, that stuff is expensive and for what it is...

i used the low sugar powdered variant this year for the strawberry freezer jam and i thiink it turned out pretty well. it may have helped that i read and followed the directions... (bashful)...

I can't seem to find the powder, which is what I'd prefer. I think highbush cranberry jelly is impossible to make without proper pectin levels because unlike grapes it doesn't have much naturally. Of course the one jelly I want to make needs something I can't seem to get! Maybe it's meant to be, being a low sugar/no sugar person I would never make the recipe with the 'correct' amount of sugar, so I'd have to keep the jars refrigerated. They would probably spoil at room temperature if I make them at the sweetness level I prefer.

 

[Alasgun]

Here’s where it comes from. I’ve taken these from Beaver in the past; this is generally done after the critter was skinned to keep the castor from smelling up the hide, it’s quote oderfious!

Castoreum - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I didn't know this oil had external applications, I've only drank the stuff occasionally. I always get this mixed up with another castor, the one that I grew up with as a kid and it was the go-to family remedy for decades because it has a powerful drawing action. Looked like this, it's beaver castor. I don't even know how they get it. I still have a little chunk of it in my kitchen drawer from my pa, just in case.
View attachment 69352

 

[Marie2020]

I didn't know this oil had external applications, I've only drank the stuff occasionally. I always get this mixed up with another castor, the one that I grew up with as a kid and it was the go-to family remedy for decades because it has a powerful drawing action. Looked like this, it's beaver castor. I don't even know how they get it. I still have a little chunk of it in my kitchen drawer from my pa, just in case.
View attachment 69352

I've heard that it shrunk either a cyst or a cancer lump. Someone went back to a surgeon who was going to remove this lump and he said, that is had lost 1 centimeter from the four cm's by size. She had been using it for one month.

I've never heard of beaver caster oil. that's really interesting.

Thank you for sharing

 

[baymule]

I am not a fan of home visits therapy. There is only so much that can be done. At a therapy center, there are machines that can really give you a work out. I asked for a second round of torture…. er-THERAPY and was granted it. My mantra was and is, my level of activity is not shopping at the mall!

It is my understanding that if you have home health, you can’t go to a therapy center. Check on that, I may be wrong.

Be sure that the surgeon uses the robotics. If not, LEAVE. Find a surgeon who does use the robotics. No exceptions. A friend had hip replacement and continued to have pain. Well whattaya know! His leg is now a half inch shorter than the other one!

For my first therapy appointment they said to bring my walker. I did. I walked in carrying it.

The robotics makes a huge difference.