PickYourOwn.org

Find a pick-your-own farm near you! Then learn to can and freeze!

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Miscellaneous Fun and Resources

Farm Hay bale art

Our listings come from a variety of sources: consumers writing in to recommend a farm, the farmer's themselves and state agriculture departments. We update and add listings every day. Of course, we're always looking for more to add, so we welcome your recommendations! Customers can recommend a farm here and farmers can add (or update/correct) their own farm's listing by clicking here! And journalists looking for information for a story about pick-your-own farms or home canning should see this media resources page for more information.

Preppers will find this page of home food preservation for preppers useful!

Updates by Email, RSS or Text on Twitter

I also post crop updates, trends, tips and commentary via Twitter . Just go to http://twitter.com/home  and if you haven't got an account, sign up (they're free), then search for Blakepyo. I tend to send out only one or two per week, so it shouldn't be too much!

You can sign up for our RSS feed here!

Picking Tips

[General picking tips and a guide to each fruit and vegetable] [How much do I need to pick? (Yields - how much raw makes how much cooked or frozen)] [Selecting the right varieties to pick] [All about apple varieties - which to pick and why!]  [Picking tips for Vegetables] [ Strawberry picking tips] [ Blueberries picking tips]

Illustrated Canning, Freezing, Jam Instructions and Recipes

[ All About Home Canning, Freezing and Making Jams, Pickles, Sauces, etc. ] [FAQs - Answers to common questions and problems] [Recommended books about home canning, jam making, drying and preserving!] [Free canning publications to download and print]

Easy Preserving Directions - How to...
(see the complete list here)

• General know how and fruit/vegetable picking tips
• Why you should use a canner and how to choose one.
• Summary of approved home food preserving methods
• Canning methods that are considered to be unsafe: steam, microwave, dishwasher, oven, or just sealing the jars without further processing?
• If you are new to home canning - see these do's, don'ts and tips
• Frequently asked questions about canning
• Frequently asked questions about freezing
• Jams and jellies
• Canning - anything that can be safely canned at home!
• Juices: Canning fruit and vegetable juices
• Freezing directions
• Pie fillings
• Sauces, Salsas, Syrups, Fruit Butters and Chutneys
• Soups - canning vegetable and meat soups at home (see this page for tomato soup)
• Preserving Venison
• Pickling - more than just cucumbers
• Drying / food dehydrating
• Ice cream, gelato and sorbets
• Other recipes - roasted peppers, basil pesto, pies, cakes and much more
• Using honey in place of sugar
• Equipment and supplies
• USDA Food Grades - Ever wonder what was "Grade A"? And why you don't see grade B? How to select different foods, including fresh, frozen and canned? Wonder no more with this one-page guide!
• Food safety - what is botulism?
• NEW! Table of the pH and/or acidity of common fruits, vegetables, grains, breads and common food products
• NEW! This page provide basic facts regarding food poisoning and pathogenic microorganisms and natural toxins related to home food preservation (canning, bottling, drying, jams, salsas, pickling, sauces, etc.). Look up any pathogen (botulism, salmonella, Staph, etc.) and find out what it does and how to prevent it.
• NEW! Label Templates! Click here for labels your can download, edit and customize in Microsoft Word and print on standard Avery label paper for your own jars!
• Want to sell your own jam and home canned goods?  Read this first!

 Resources for Farmers

• This page, http://www.pickyourown.org/resources4farmers.htm, has loads of information and links to resources that will be helpful to farmers.

• For those who are considering starting a PYO farm, corn maze, pumpkin patch, Christmas tree farm or other agri-entertainment business, see this page: http://www.pickyourown.org/howtostartapyo.htm.

• Farmers: If you'd like to advertise or have your own web page(s), click here!

Other Information

Farmers - to add your farm, see this page for directions: http://www.pickyourown.org/addmyfarm.htm 

Curious about the guy behind the website?  See About me.

A word about banner advertisements

With very few exceptions, the banner ads are supplied by an outside company (their name appears in the banner "Ads by ..."  I have NO advance control over what appears in these ads.  It is completely controlled by the outside company.  If you see an inappropriate or offensive ad - don't get mad at me; just email me  and be sure to give me the name of the advertiser in the ad and their url.  Then I can go back to the outside ad company and have them banned! For more information see: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/AdSense/thread?tid=3587e2900f968389&hl=en  and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AdSense

Home Canning Kits

• All the tools you need for hot waterbath canning - in one comprehensive set!
• Complete with 21 1/2 qt. enameled water bath canner and "Ball Blue Book" of canning.
• 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, and the bible of canning, the Ball Blue Book. 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 a simple kit with just the canner and rack, and a pressure canner, if you want to do vegetables (other than tomatoes). To see more canners, of different styles, makes and prices, click here!
Features:

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

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