Every day when I go to work during the gardening season, I answer phone calls and emails for canning questions. The number of people canning what they grow has grown huge.

I have taught multiple canning classes this summer. All the workshops were hands-on programs where people learn how to can by actually doing it correctly and completely.

The classes included participants from every gender, age, race, and background imaginable. Truck drivers, dentists, train engineers, high school students, stay at home moms and the list goes on. They were all there, elbow to elbow, crushing blackberries or boiling tomatoes or packing beans into jars. They all got to take home what was canned during the class. Plus they all left class with a new copy of the Ball Blue Book.

Canning is a great way to feed your family healthy food at a bargain price. Canning with up to date methods is necessary for making the jarred foods shelf stable, but also making sure it is safe for your family to eat. Make sure you’re canning your foods with current, recommended methods.

Here is the information for the next (and last scheduled) public canning program I will be teaching in the area this summer:

Water Bath and Pressure Canning Class

(learn both processes during one class time)

Saturday, July 23

10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Abbeville County Extension Office

Space is limited

Please wear closetoed shoes, bring an apron and a paring knife

All canning supplies provided (including vegetables)

Copy of Ball Blue Book provided to take home

Products canned during class go home with participants

$30 registration fee

Register by sending your $30 check to Abbeville County Extension Office, PO Box 640, Abbeville, SC 29620. For more information or requests, contact the Extension Office at 864-446-2276 or Rhonda@clemson.edu.