So you are wanting to start a garden and preserve your own food. That’s great! It’s a fun and rewarding hobby/passion. You will need some things to accomplish that first. It can get expensive quick but don’t let that discourage you. There are many ways to make it affordable. First, start by asking around or posting on your social media if anyone has any canning jars, pressure canners, or stock pots they would be willing to sell cheap or give away. You’d be surprised at the amount of people who actually give away this stuff all the time. Most of the time it’s kids and grandkids that are cleaning out the basement of their parents/grandparents house, and they don’t want to keep the canning supplies. We have done this, the only catch was, the jars still had food in them. So we had to dump the jars and clean them really good. No biggie, it was totally worth it. Or there was the time, a lady we know had an abundant amount of jars that she didn’t need and gave some to us. Always ask around first!

If you can’t find any that are cheap or free then here is a list of supplies you will need to get started.

• https://amzn.to/3J19pD0  – Ball Canning Book. This book has all sorts of amazing recipes, how-tos, and how long & how much to pressure can for.
• https://amzn.to/3ZPexRG  – Regular Mouth Lids and Rings
• https://amzn.to/3mJL9Oo  – Wide Mouth Lids and Rings
• https://amzn.to/3Ld7RbG  – Jar Grabber and Funnel
• https://amzn.to/3T9u2BM  – Jelly Jars
• https://amzn.to/3J3nD6t  – Wide Mouth Quart Jars
• https://amzn.to/3mMvTju  – All American Pressure Canner. This pressure canner isn’t one that you absolutely have to have. There are cheaper options. We really like this one because we can preserve more jars at a time than using a smaller one. This canner holds 14 quart jars. Our smaller canner only holds 7 quart jars. So we are able to process more food faster.
• https://amzn.to/3ZCFfx3  – Stock Pot
• https://amzn.to/3yA274i – Chamber Vacuum Sealer. Not required if you only want to can your food. But if you want another option instead of canning this is one way to go. After you get your food sealed, then you place it in the freezer.
• https://www.rareseeds.com/ – This is a great place to buy seeds. We buy the majority of our seeds from Baker Creek. You can also buy seeds at your local box store or farm & home store.

Happy Homesteading!

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