What a lovely thread! I don't have a garden, but I have been hitting up the farmers' stands pretty often. I just started canning a couple of weeks ago. So far I've done home made jelly (that was my first time, went with something easy). Then I did mangos that I got on sale for 25 cents a piece. Then I worked my nerve up to try pressure canning, and now I'm hooked! I've done 15 bean soup and pickles so far. I might actually do some chicken later this evening or tomorrow, I have some in my freezer that needs to be cooked.

I was hesitant to start canning because of startup costs. I quickly realized after doing the math on each of my projects, that it DOES save you money in the long run. And, personally, I more likely to can foods that my family actually eats. We don't buy a lot of canned foods, so this method is great for me.

A tip for any beginners, is just make your regular meal, double recipe. Then can what's left (before adding dairy, flour, etc, of course). My food storage contents have expanded very rapidly!

Edit to add: I've been using pint size jars. We are a family of two adults, one small child. My logic is that it would be less waste if the power is out (leading to no refrigeration). Also, in a severe situation where bartering might be useful, I thought pint jars would be more practical for trading items. Downfall is that it seems to be less food more space. Any thoughts on that, should I use quart jars too even though we are a small family?

Edit again to add: Also, I'm thinking pint jars are more useful if I see someone in need that I want to share with, I could give them *something* without feeling like I'm depleting my food stores too much. And I could help more people a little bit instead of one person a lot. Does that make since, or is my logic flawed? A different perspective would be appreciated.