10+ Varieties Perfect for Canning

April 8, 2025 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Canning is a great way to preserve any surplus harvest from the home garden. While it has lost some popularity to freezing vegetables, canning has the advantage of being shelf stable, an important feature if you live in an area with power outages. Canned vegetables can also help you cut back on your grocery bill and provide ready to go, healthy sides for busy weeknight meals.

Basic Canning Safety

There are two basic types of canning: water bath canning and pressure canning. Water bath canning is very simple. You boil jars of food in a pot of water for a specific length of time depending on the recipe.

The water bath canning method is a great way to get started for beginners. If you’ve cooked spaghetti, you can water bath can. Unfortunately, it’s only safe for “high acid” foods. Most vegetables are low acid. So to make them safe for water bath canning you need to add acidity. You can do this by making pickles, salsa, or relish which require acidic ingredients like vinegar. Other high acid foods include certain tomato products and fruit jams.

While tomatoes were once considered acidic enough to can alone, most modern sources recommend adding lemon juice or citric acid to boost the acidity. Don’t worry, you won’t taste it! Add two tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon of citric acid per quart of tomatoes. For pints, use one tablespoon bottled lemon juice or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid.

Note that tomato recipes with added vegetables like zucchini, peppers, or beans in vegetable tomato soup may not be acidic enough for water bath canning at all. Always use a tested canning recipe.

Pressure canning is a bit more involved, but is still easier than you’d think. Don’t be intimidated! To pressure can you will need a pressure canner, not a pressure cooker. These aren’t the same product.

Pressure canning allows you to bring your jars of food to a much higher temperature than water bath canning. This kills bacteria and means you can safely can “low acid” foods like sweet corn, green beans, carrots, and lima beans.

Great Crops for Home Canning

Whether you want to try water bath canning for the first time or are an experienced canner looking to fill the pantry with pressure-canned veggies, these are a few of our favorite crops.

Homemade Pickles Cucumber

Specifically developed for home gardeners interest in canning, Homemade Pickles is always a favorite. The vigorous plants have good disease resistance and produce medium green fruits with small white spines. The cukes are are solid and crisp.

Harvest them at 1½ inches or larger, up to 6 inches. Homemade Pickles makes robust bite-sized pickles, slices, or large spears.

Amish Paste Tomato

Year after year, Amish Paste is one of the most popular canning tomatoes we offer. It’s also one of the largest sauce tomatoes we carry. The tall plants produce heavy yields of coreless fruits weighing up to 12 oz.

Despite the name ‘Amish Paste,’ the juicy fruits are best suited to making sauce.

Six pods of Blue Lake Bush beans sitting in a dish of the dried beans — Blue Lake Bush (Blue Lake 274) Bush Snap Bean

Blue Lake Bush (Blue Lake 274) Bush Snap Bean

These compact yet productive bush beans are a great choice for small gardens. Blue Lake Bush Beans are productive, disease resistant, and perfect for succession planting. The mostly stringless 6-8 inch pods are perfect for canning or freezing.

If you aren’t interested in pressure canning, these beans also make delicious dilly beans! Dilly bean pickles hold their texture well and are great served alongside burgers at summer cookouts.

Thorogreen (Cangreen Bush) Bush Lima Bean

Thorogreen Bush Lima Beans have wonderful texture, and flavor even when canned. Their concentrated pod set makes them ideal for home growers looking to can or freeze.

Aunt Mary’s Sweet Corn

Aunt Mary’s is an Ohio heirloom that dates back to the 1800s. Throughout the years it’s been passed down from seed savers, persevering its incredible flavor and selecting for canning.

Aunt Mary’s is fairly quick to mature. In just 69 days, it produces stalks of 6 to 8 feet and 1 to 2 ears of 6 to 8 inches long each.

Three Root Grex

This vibrant beet yields roots in two shades of red and one striking orange. The beautiful roots look stunning in a canning jar whether they’re pickled or pressure-canned. Three Root Grex beets are ready to harvest in about 54 days.

Garden Huckleberry

Garden huckleberries are one of the few annual fruits you can add to the garden. They produce heavy yields and are excellent for canning. Use garden huckleberries to prepare wonderful jam, pies, and syrup.

Music Garlic

Garlic is rarely the primary star of a canning recipe, though some folks enjoy pickled garlic. However, it’s a classic ingredient for many canning recipes like salsa, dill pickles, and spaghetti sauce.

Music garlic is one of many great options for canning. Music has a rich, pungent flavor that holds well even when canned perfect for those looking to create flavorful condiments, sauces, and pickles.

Sweet Banana (Long Sweet Hungarian) Sweet Pepper

These attractive peppers ripen from pale green to yellow to orange to crimson red. You can enjoy them at any stage, but they’re sweetest when fully ripe and red. Picked at the pale green stage, they make the classic pickled banana pepper rings.

Sweet Bananas thrive in the Mid-Atlantic and are highly productive.

Jalapeños

The classic salsa chile. Jalapeños produce medium-hot 1½ x 2½ in. thick-walled peppers usually harvested green, but can be left to mature to red, or removed from the plants to redden indoors.

Jalapeños are a perfect choice for canning salsa or jalapeño rings for topping nachos, pizzas, and sandwiches.

Chantenay Red Core Carrots

Chantenay Red Core produces blocky, broad-shouldered carrots with blunt tips. Their shape makes them adaptable for clay soils and their small size makes them perfect for canning.

You can pickle carrots, but most folks use them for pressure canning. You can pressure can them alone as a side dish or can them using tested recipes for vegetable soup, beef stew, or other dishes.

These vegetables just scratch the surface. You can use home canning to safely preserve most home-grown vegetables.

Green beans in a pressure cooker ready to be processed
Gandydancer, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Canning Resources

Canning doesn’t need to be scary, but it is best to use tested recipes from trustworthy resources. Learn basic safety canning rules and your best judgement when looking for new recipes. To get started, here are a few great resources to learn more about canning and find tested recipes.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation

The National Center for Home Food Preservation is your source for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation. The Center was established with funding from the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (CSREES-USDA) to address food safety concerns for those who practice and teach home food preservation and processing methods.

Creative Canning

Created by Ashley Adamant, Creative Canning puts together tons of recipes and safe canning guides. Ashely uses USDA guidelines where appropriate, as well as safe canning guidelines from state extension services, independent testing labs, and other reputable sources like Ball Canning, Bernardin, Mrs. Wages, and Pomona’s Pectin to create and source recipes and advice.

Ball Mason Jars

Ball Mason Jars are one of the most common canning product suppliers in the United States. Their website includes safety guides, canning tips and ideas, and tons of fun recipes.

Bernardin

Bernardin is Canada’s leading supplier of home canning products. Their website is full safe canning education and recipes.

State Extension Services

Most state extension services offer some canning recipes and advice along with their gardening information. Many extension services also offer testing for pressure canners.

Garden Advice

6 Tips for Growing Great Basil

April 1, 2025 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Basil’s rich culinary, cultural, and medicinal history has earned it the moniker, “the king of herbs.” The name basil actually comes from the Greek “basilikon” meaning “king.” Though the Greek’s gave it its modern name, the Indians first cultivated basil at least 5,000 years ago. Through the years, cultures around the world have grown basil. The Egyptians used it in the embalming process, the French used it to deter mosquitoes, and the Italians made Caprese and pizza. Thankfully, with a few tips, basil is easy to grow at home so you can join the herbal tradition.

Choose the right variety for your needs.

Basil varieties are as varied as their uses. Varieties like the large Lettuce Leaf Basil and Sweet Genovese are highly prized for their culinary use in Italian food. Others like Lemon Basil and Lime Basil offer bright citrusy flavors for soups, salads, and fish dishes. A few, like Kapoor Tulsi (Holy Basil) are renowned for their medicinal use.

They also have unique styles. Red Rubin and Dark Opal offer gorgeous purple leaves. Spicy Bush Basil offers intense flavor in a compact package perfect for patio containers or even window boxes.

This is just a few of the amazing basil varieties available. Be sure to do your research before selecting a variety for your garden.

Shop all basil here.

Provide your basil with appropriate growing conditions.

Basil is a heat loving herb. It thrives in warm, sunny locations and is sensitive to frost. While you can direct sow basil, if you live in an area with cool springs it may be worth starting it indoors where you can protect it from cool temperatures.

Once summer begins, basil grows great in most of the Southeast. However, northern gardeners and those that live in mountainous areas may want to select a sunny spot that’s sheltered from the wind when transplanting out.

Protect your basil from pests.

Young basil seedlings are susceptible to damage from slugs and snails. If you frequently find these pests in your garden, it’s a good idea to start basil in containers and then transplant them. Larger seedlings are less susceptible to slug and snail damage. You can also temporarily pull mulch back from plants to destroy slug hiding places, put out homemade slug beer traps, or use place boards as slug hideouts and regularly collect the residents.

Aphids are small black or green soft-bodied insects that suck the plant’s sap. You’ll often spot clusters of them on the underside of leaves. Thankfully, they’re fairly easy to deal with, especially if you only have a few plants. Often, you can wash them off with the hose or use a mixture of dish soap and water in a spray bottle to kill them. Some folks also find that putting coffee grounds around their plants helps prevent aphids.

Basil downy mildew sporulating on the abaxial side of a leaf.
Dr. Lina Quesada, NC State Vegetable Pathology Lab

Work to prevent Downy Mildew.

Basil is occasionally susceptible to a fungal disease called Downy Mildew. When a basil plant has Downy Mildew, you’ll likely notice yellowing on the tops of leaves, usually in between veins like sun scald or a nutrient deficiency. The purplish-gray spores form on the underside of the leaf, which looks a bit like a black mold or fuzz.

Unfortunately, this disease is easy to spread. It can come from infected plants and seeds or by spores which travel long distances on the wind. Thankfully, there are a few ways you can prevent and manage Downy Mildew in basil.

Space plants appropriately and prune as needed to encourage good airflow.
Only water the base of the plants and avoid splashing water on the leaves.
Monitor lower leaves as this is usually where the disease begins.
Remove and destroy any infected plant material.

Provide consistent moisture.

Basil produces best in moist, well-drained soil. It may not need much attention in spring, but as the weather gets hotter and drier, your basil will benefit from consistent watering. Ideally, you want to water deeply at least once a week. Once your basil is beyond the seedling stage, it’s also a good idea to mulch around the plants to help hold moisture in the soil.

Pinch your basil often.

Basil is one of the amazing crops that performs better with consistent harvests. Harvest basil with a technique called “pinching.” Once your basil reaches 6 to 8 inches tall, you can begin harvesting. Use your fingers to pinch off the tips of basil stems and a few leaves about a 1/4 inch above a set of leaf axils.

You’ll notice that little shoots are beginning to grow at the leaf axils. Pinching the tips and encouraging the side shoots and creates a healthier, bushier plant.

Growing basil will bring incredible flavor to your meals throughout the season. Follow these tips for success with this royal herb.

Garden Advice

Annual Flowers that Bloom All Season + Tips for Continuous Blooms

March 26, 2025 Jordan Charbonneau Leave a comment

Annuals may only last one season, but they are an easy way to add tons of color to the garden. They are easy to grow, affordably started from seed, and are great for filling in gaps in a perennial bed or attracting pollinators to vegetable gardens. These annual flowers also offer the advantage of continuous blooms. With a bit of maintenance, you and the pollinators can enjoy them until they’re killed by frost.

Black Ball Bachelor’s Button in bloom — Black Ball Bachelor’s Button

Bachelor’s Buttons

Bachelor’s buttons are easy to grow from seed. They’re a hardy, low-maintenance option, which is why they’re often included in “wildflower” mixes. Bachelor’s buttons also make wonderful cut flowers for fresh or dried arrangements. Plus, they’re also edible and make adorable natural decorations for baked goods.

We carry three varieties of bachelor’s button:

Black Ball (maroon-black flowers)
Blue Boy (deep blue flowers)
Polka Dot Mix (mixture of red, rose, blue, and lavender flowers)

Bachelor’s buttons thrive in well-drained soil in full sun. It will tolerate partial shade but may not bloom as well. Bachelor’s buttons are also tolerant of poor soils.

Celosia

Celosia is a good flower for beginners that makes excellent borders or cut flowers. It blooms throughout summer and fall and offers a wide selection of bright colors. Celosia has unusual flower shapes that add fun texture to fresh and dried arrangements.

The variety we carry, Tall Menagerie Mix, that includes mostly “cockscomb” or “coral” type blooms with some spikes. Menagerie Mix produces sturdy, heat-resistant 3 to 4½ foot tall plants.

Celosia thrives in well-drained, moderately fertile soil in full sun.

Cosmos

Cosmos offer some of the biggest bang for your buck. They’re super easy to grow from seed and provide tons of colorful blossoms over a long season. Their large flowers look stunning on their light, feathery foliage.

Cosmos are also great for attracting butterflies and come in a range of colors like white, pink, magenta, orange, and yellow. We carry six cosmo varieties.

Cosmos grow well in full sun in well-drained, average soil.

Marigolds

Marigolds are the classic companion plants for vegetable gardens. Their bright blooms attract beneficial insects all summer long. There’s some evidence that they deter pests. One study found that a particular variety we carry, Golden Guardian, reduces the presence of nematodes more effectively than chemical insecticides.

We carry nine marigold varieties in a range of patterns and colors, including yellow, orange, golden, red, and red-purple.

Marigolds thrive in moist, well-drained soil where they receive full sun.

Petunias

Petunias are incredibly popular though most people only find the over-priced containers of petunias at big box stores. Thankfully, petunias are easy to grow from seed in the garden or containers. Homegrown petunias will offer blooms over a much longer season and are more affordable.

We carry two petunia varieties and both will bloom until frost.

Petunias like full sun and moist, well-drained soil.

Zinnias

Zinnias are among the easiest flowers to grow and offer a near rainbow of colors. They bloom from early summer until frost, especially with a little care. They also make excellent cut flowers and cutting theoccasional bouquet will encourage them to branch out and create more blooms.

We offer nine zinnia varieties with a range of shapes, sizes, and colors, including white, light pink, magenta, red, yellow, and light purple.

Zinnias thrive and offer the most blooms in well-drained soil and full sun.

Tips for Continuous Blooms

Here are a few tips to keep your garden blooming until frost.

Space your plants appropriately. Adequate space and airflow makes for healthy plants that will bloom over a longer period. Zinnias in particular are susceptible to Downey mildew. Providing good air circulation is key to reducing the risk of mildew and other fungal diseases.
Follow sunlight requirements. Unfortunately, all of these plants bloom best in full sun. If you don’t have a garden bed that receives plenty of sunlight, you can grow many of these like marigolds, petunias, and zinnias in containers on a sunny patio, balcony, or even window box.
Add compost to the bed. Flowers aren’t heavy feeders, but they benefit from moderately fertile soil. Adding finished compost is a great way to ensure you provide nutrient-rich soil without over-fertilizing.
Water consistently. These annual flowers are fairly tolerant, but for the best blooms, they’ll likely benefit from some watering, particularly during dry spells.
Regularly deadhead your flowers. Most annual flower benefits from deadheading every one to two weeks. When you deadhead flowers like zinnias, cosmos, and marigolds it encourages them to keep blooming to try to produce seed. If you want to save seed, let some blooms go to seed at the end of summer.

Southern Exposure Seed Exchange