Canning is easy right? Maybe think again. Canning our produce is hard work, but definitely worth it. Home growers and preservers should be knowledgeable on the topic of home food preservation. With food preservation, the first step is understanding food safety practices. First, one must start by checking your equipment and supplies. Proper equipment in good condition is required for safe, high quality home canned food. Also, it is vital to make sure that you are following up-to-date and safe canning practices. Things have changed, and what has been followed in year’s past, may not be best practice.

Another must is reliable, up-to-date canning instructions. Publications and information are available at your county Extension office, or on the National Center for Home Food Preservation website. The current edition of the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning is on www.homefoodpreservation.net and can be purchased through Purdue Extension-Education Store. A series of food preservation publications, Let’s Preserve are downloadable through the Education Store also. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service also sells So Easy to Preserve, a comprehensive book with information on all types of home food preservation. Copies of this book are available for $20 at the Extension office.

Planning ahead can save you time, money, and frustration with home canning. Make it a happy, successful canning season by getting prepared before your harvest is ready. Dial gauges should be tested annually for accuracy. You may bring your pressure canner lid with your dial gage attached to the office. Please call 765-653-8411or email sampsona@purdue.edu to schedule an appointment. The cost for dial gauge testing is $5.00.

If you are looking for more in-depth (and hands-on) education and training on home food preservation, consider attending the “Mastering Home Food Preservation” training at Purdue University this June. Participants of this course will learn about food safety and freezing food, boiling water canning, pressure canning, pickling and drying foods, and jams and jellies. The cost of the course is $200, and one must register here: https://cvent.me/lPzqov. Participants will receive a notebook, and several take-home food products. Only most current recommendations will be covered. If you are interested in a more local food preservation workshop, please contact the Extension office to be connected with future local programs.

Visit our homepage at www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or you can contact the local office by calling 765.653.8411 for more information regarding this week’s column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events. Office hours are Monday thru Friday from 8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-4:00pm. Evening and lunch appointments are available, upon request. It is always best to call first to assure items are ready when you arrive and to RSVP for programs. While many publications are free, some do have a fee. All times listed are Eastern Time. Purdue University is an equal access/equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

Upcoming Events

June 1 – 4-H Roundup registration deadline for grades 7-9, contact Extension office

June 2 – Management of Pastures & Forages, 6pm, Fairgrounds, register at 765-653-8411

June 15 – “What’s the Deal with Diets?” program, free, 5pm, Fairgrounds, register at 765-653-8411

June 15 – YQCA Putnam 4-H, 1pm, register https://yqcaprogram.org/

June 17 – Summer PARP, 9am, Fairgrounds, register at 765-653-8411

June 27 – YQCA Putnam 4-H, 6pm, register https://yqcaprogram.org/

July 12 – Forest Management and Selling Timber webinar, 12pm, register at https://women4theland.org/upcoming-events

The Greencastle Parks and Recreation office is adjusting its summer schedule due to a decrease in the number of lifeguards on staff. A number of lifeguards have withdrawn from consideration. If additional lifeguards are hired the schedule could be adjusted accordingly.

The Greencastle Aquatic Center opens Wednesday, June 1.

Summer Schedule:

Monday: closed

Tuesday: closed

Wednesday: Noon to 7PM

Thursday: Noon to 7PM

Friday: Noon to 7PM

Saturday: Noon to 7PM

Sunday: Noon to 7PM

Bob York Splash Park: 10AM to 8PM

Adult Lap Swim and Tot Time: Wednesday to Saturday, 11AM to Noon

Water Aerobics: Saturday, 11AM to Noon

Children, ages 2-17 years, are invited to participate in a Kid’s Fishing Derby, presented by Greencastle Parks and Recreation on June 4, 2022 at Jaycee Park.

Registration will open at 7:30 am with the contest beginning at 8:00 am. Or, you can register online www.greencstleparks.com.

Weigh-ins will continue throughout the day. Prizes for the event winners are provided by Greencastle Hometown Auto Sales.

Livestock producers have the continual task of evaluating their pastures to ensure they have adequate plant stands for their animals to graze. When evaluating, you need to take an inventory of the plants and evaluate their growth.

When taking the inventory, take note of the different types of forages in the field, the amount of each forage present, and types and amount of weeds present. There are two rules of thumb to follow when assessing your pasture stand.  They are:

1. Less than 10% of the soil should be visible in a cool-season grass or cool-season grass/legume pasture.
2. There should be 2 legume plants per square foot in a grass-legume pasture.

If either of those rules of thumbs are not met, then you may want to consider renovating your pasture. If weeds, including toxic plants, are found, you should take appropriate steps to eradicate or control them. However, those steps cannot be taken until you successfully identify the plant of concern.

When allowing your animals to graze, you want to make sure you do not overgraze the pasture. When determining if the animals have grazed that field long enough, there are two rules of thumb to follow. They are:

1. Leave 3 or 4 inches of cool-season grasses after grazing.
2. Leave 6 to 8 inches of warm-season grasses after grazing.

Once you reach either of the height suggestions, you would remove the animals from that field and put them in another field to graze. This process is referred to as rotational grazing. It may seem like you are leaving a lot of useable forages in the field, but plants will recover much faster if a larger amount of leaf surface remains to grow from.

If you would like to know more about how to evaluate your pasture and forage fields to determine if they need renovated, then you may want to attend the Management of Pastures & Forages program scheduled for June 2^nd at the Putnam County Fairgrounds – Harris Hall Building. This program will start at 6:00 pm. In addition to discussing how to evaluate your pastures & forage fields, this program will also cover how to identify toxic plants in your fields. If you would like to attend, please register by June 1^st by calling 765-653-8411 or emailing smith535@purdue.edu.

Purdue Extension Office by calling 765.653.8411 for more information regarding this week’s column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events. It is always best to call first to assure items are ready when you arrive and to RSVP for programs. While many publications are free, some do have a fee. Purdue University is an equal access/equal opportunity institution. All times listed are Eastern Time.

Upcoming Events:

May 24 – Turning Your Lawn to Garden webinar, 12 pm, register at
                https://women4theland.org/upcoming-events

May 30 – Extension Office closed in observance of Memorial Day

June 2 – Management of Pastures & Forages, 6 pm, Fairgrounds, register at 765-653-8411

June 17 – Summer PARP, 9 am, Fairgrounds, register at 765-653-8411

July 12 – Forest Management and Selling Timber webinar, 12 pm, register at
               https://women4theland.org/upcoming-events

If you sell food to an end consumer in the state of Indiana, you are either established as a Retail Food Establishment or a Home-Based Vendor. Most individuals who sell goods at farmer’s markets or roadside stands are operating under home-based vendors laws. Indiana recently passed a new law (HB 1149) which includes changes that will impact all persons operating as a home-based vendor. This article will help you understand who qualifies as a home-based vendor, which foods home-based vendors are allowed to sell and what has changed in the new law.

Who is a home-based vendor?

Pursuant to newly enacted (effective 7/1/22) code: IC 16-42-5.3, “A home based vendor shall prepare and sell only a food product that is:

• made, grown, or raised by an individual at the individual's primary residence, including any permanent structure that is on the same property as the residence;
• not a potentially hazardous food product;
• prepared using proper sanitary procedures;
• not resold; (e.g. you must sell to the end user not someone who intends to resell; if you did this you must be licensed as a wholesaler).

What products may a home-based vendor sell?

Home-based vendors are allowed to sell non-potentially hazardous foods. Non-potentially hazardous foods are those that do not require refrigeration for food safety. This list of allowable foods has not changed and includes:

• Baked items
• Candy and confections
• Produce, whole and uncut
• Tree nuts, legumes
• Pickles processed in a traditional method (e.g. fermentation)
• Honey, molasses, sorghum, maple syrup
• Mushrooms grown as a product of agriculture (wild mushrooms should be certified)
• Traditional jams, jellies and preserves made from high-acid fruits and using full sugar recipes (This is the only home-canned food allowed.)

Exceptions:

• In-shell chicken eggs can be sold if you are registered under and follow the guidelines of the Indiana State Egg Board
• Poultry and Rabbit
  • Must be frozen at point of sale if sold at farmers’ markets or roadside stands
  • Must be refrigerated if sold on-farm
  • Contact Indiana State Board of Animal Health (BOAH) for further specifics
• Eggs, poultry and rabbit may only be sold at farmer's markets and roadside stands

What has changed under the new law?

Two major changes under the new law include 1) how and where products can be sold and 2) the addition of requirements for food handler training.

1. How or where can a home-based vendor sell products? Home-based vendors may now sell their product:

• in person, by telephone, or through the Internet; and
• delivered to the end consumer in person, by mail, or by a third-party carrier
• sale and delivery is limited to within the state of Indiana
• this does not apply to eggs, poultry and rabbit which may only be sold at farmer's markets and roadside stands

2. All home-based vendors must “obtain a food handler certificate from a certificate issuer that is accredited by the American National Standards Institute” (ANSI). ServSafe Food Handler training fulfills this requirement. This certification is valid for three years. You have two training options to fulfill this requirement.

• The Purdue Extension Food Safety Team is preparing a series of in-person food handler trainings. Call your local Purdue Extension office or visit purdue.edu/servsafe/workshops to find classes as they are scheduled.
• For those who prefer an online option, the ServSafe Food Handler training can be taken online at www.servsafe.com

Visit our homepage at www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or you can contact the local office by calling 765.653.8411 for more information regarding this week’s column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events. Office hours are Monday thru Friday from 8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-4:00pm. Evening and lunch appointments are available, upon request. It is always best to call first to assure items are ready when you arrive and to RSVP for programs. While many publications are free, some do have a fee. All times listed are Eastern Time. Purdue University is an equal access/equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

Upcoming Events

May 18 – African Violets & the Gesneriad Family Webinar, 7 pm, register at https://tinyurl.com/afviolet22    

May 23 – Container Gardening 101, Roachdale Community & Senior Center, 2 pm, register by calling 765-653-8411

May 24 – Turning Your Lawn to Garden webinar, 12 pm, register at https://women4theland.org/upcoming-events

Greencastle School Foodservice along with USDA will sponsor Free Healthy Meals this summer in the Greencastle area.

Summer meals will be served to all children 18 and under FREE of charge this Summer. 

Please check the Greencastle web site for menus - www.greencastle.k12.in.us .

Middle School 

6-1-22 thru 7-1-22

Breakfast: 9:00-9:30  

Lunch: 11:30-12:15

Ridpath

5-31-22 thru 7-15-22

Breakfast : 8:00-9:00   

Lunch: 11:00-12:00

Elite Skyhawks (1101 N. Jackson Street)

6-1-22 thru 7-15-22

Breakfast:  7:45-8:30 

Lunch 11:00-12:00

Robe-Ann Park     

6-1-22 thru 7-15-22

Lunch   11:00-12:30

Shelter House #2 by Skate park.

Deer Meadow

6-1-22 thru 7-1-22

Breakfast: 9:00-9:30   

Lunch 11:30-12:30

No meals will be served on July 4^th

Meals must be consumed on site.

Adults may purchase breakfast $4.00 / lunch $5.00

For more information contact Ms. Carrico, Director of Foodservice @ 653-3725.

From time to time parents will comment about the cost of feed for animals or making things for 4-H projects. Often that is followed by comment “well it is still cheaper than sports” type of comment. Hopefully most are doing 4-H for the fun way to learn life, career, and interpersonal skills. But what if you could learn to invest and actually make money via the 4-H program?

Well now that is actually happening. For the second year through school programs, youth have been learning about investing using mutual funds, stocks, bonds and relative to a traditional savings account. Nearly 90 youth were virtually given $100 thousand to invest where they started making trades early March. These students have seen a lot of market conditions in this very short time.

Students learned about ticker symbols, risk management, diversification, dividends, capital gains, sectors, rule of 72 for doubling funds and the grid of capitalization with value to growth focuses. It is so important to understand that placing funds in an account that pays an interest rate of 0.05% when inflation runs 7 percent per year results in a loss of buying power of 6.95% each year. The goal of the program is to help students learn to save and to grow savings wisely through being successful investors. Too many are scared of investments due to lack of knowledge. This program gives students knowledge through hands on skill development to become more powerful investors. Future goals include developing a youth investment club that would actually manage real fund dollars.

Last year there were just 30 students in the program and where they left the program last spring can still be tracked. Despite the poor market conditions of 2022, only two would have a loss today based on their positions, with one being less than a percent and the other losing roughly 10 percent. A year later the other 28 students would have all been better positioned than having their funds in a basic savings account. Of those 28, six would be sitting on double digit gains while 14 students would have seen positions grow by 5 percent. Time is such an important aspect of investing.

This week students will be recognized for successes in Mrs. Labhart’s classes and photo’s will be forthcoming. If your class would like to participate in a future event, please contact the Extension office to schedule. Additionally, the goal is to develop a 4-H investment club so please contact Mark Evans at the Extension office if you would like to become involved.

Visit our homepage at www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or you can contact the local office by calling 765.653.8411 for more information regarding this week’s column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events. Office hours are Monday thru Friday from 8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-4:00pm. Evening and lunch appointments are available, upon request. It is always best to call first to assure items are ready when you arrive and to RSVP for programs. While many publications are free, some do have a fee. All times listed are Eastern Time. Purdue University is an equal access/equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

Upcoming Events

May 18 – African Violets & the Gesneriad Family Webinar, 7 pm, register at https://tinyurl.com/afviolet22  

May 23 – Container Gardening 101, Roachdale Community & Senior Center, 2 pm, register by calling 765-653-8411

May 24 – Turning Your Lawn to Garden webinar, 12 pm, register at https://women4theland.org/upcoming-events

Indiana Secretary of State Holli Sullivan is reminding Hoosiers that May 3 is Primary Election Day. On Primary Election Day, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.

Hoosiers can check their voting status, see polling locations, and view a sample ballot at IndianaVoters.com.

“Exercising the right to vote is foundational to our nation’s democracy. I hope all Hoosiers who have not had the opportunity to vote early cast their ballots on Primary Election Day,” Secretary Sullivan said. “Hoosiers can go to the polls with confidence thanks to the work of election administrators in each of Indiana’s 92 counties to ensure safe and secure elections.”

Thus far, more than 155,000 Hoosiers have already cast their ballots, including more than 120,000 people who have voted during Indiana’s early in-person voting period.

More than half of Indiana counties now offer vote centers, which allow voters to cast a ballot at any polling location in their county. A valid photo ID is required to vote.

Hoosiers may also call the toll-free Hoosier Voter Hotline at 866-IN-1-VOTE to speak directly to a representative for information, polling locations and to file grievances. Staff will be on hand to answer calls from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET on Election Day.

Main Street Cloverdale is hosting a book sale at Putnam County Center for Women's Ministries (CWM), located at 404 N Main Street in Cloverdale - just north of the Family Dollar store, on May 14, and it starts at 9:00 AM.

The sale will be held rain or shine in the basement area of the Center and refreshments will be available.

The titles, mostly Christian in nature, will include fiction and non-fiction, as well as educational, and will appeal to all ages.

CWM is a non-profit, non-denominational ministry.  Their mission is to offer HOPE to hurting women through free peer counseling for emotional and spiritual healing. They also provide support groups, Bible studies and prayer support to women within the community.

For more information, call the Center at 765-795-6774.

Herbs and spices add fabulous flavor and color to food without adding salt, fat or sugar. Cooking with herbs and spices is also a great way to introduce a variety of flavors to children while helping foods look more appetizing.

The terms “herbs” and “spices” are often used interchangeably and are sometimes referred to as “seasonings,” however they are different. Herbs are the leaves of low growing shrubs and include parsley, chives, thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, and more. Herbs can be purchased dried, fresh or as a paste. When substituting in recipes, use the ratio of 3 fresh to 1 dried. For example, potato salad would use 3 Tbs. of fresh parsley or 1 Tbs. of dried parsley.

Spices come from the bark, roots, buds, seeds, berry, or fruit of plants and trees. Spices include cinnamon, ginger, onion, garlic, cloves, black pepper, paprika, and more.

Additional Ways to Add Flavor:

• Seasoning blends include a mixture of spices and herbs such as seasoning salt, Italian seasoning, taco seasoning, and poultry seasoning. Check labels to see if “salt” is listed among the ingredients and opt for salt-free or lower sodium versions.
• Rubs are a mixture of spices and can be wet or dry. Web rubs usually have a bit of oil or other moist ingredients such as mustard or yogurt added. Dry rubs are mixtures of several dry spices and herbs that are worked into the surfaces of meat, poultry, or fish. They are both added to enhance flavor.
• Marinades are used to add flavor and tenderize meats and poultry. They generally contain herbs and spices, oil, and an acid such as yogurt, citrus juice, or vinegar.

Experiment with Herbs and Spices:

• Add fresh mint and lemon to a glass of ice water.
• Omit the salt when cooking pasta and flavor with basil, oregano, parsley and pepper or use an Italian seasoning blend.
• For more flavor, add spices to uncooked dishes, such as salads, several hours before serving.
• Introduce children to herbs and spices with some easy flavor combinations such as apples with cinnamon, bananas with nutmeg and chicken with rosemary.
• Start a small herb garden or grow a few herbs in containers. Children will love watching them grow! This time of the year is a great time to plant some herbs. Just be cautious of the drops in temperature or potential frost.

Approximate equivalent amounts of different forms of herbs are:

• 1 Tbs. finely cut fresh herbs
• 1 tsp. crumbled dried herbs
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp.ground dried herbs

Source: Nebraska Extension

Visit our homepage at www.extension.purdue.edu/putnam or you can contact the local office by calling 765.653.8411 for more information regarding this week’s column topic or to RSVP for upcoming events. Office hours are Monday thru Friday from 8:00am-12:00pm and 1:00pm-4:00pm. Evening and lunch appointments are available, upon request. It is always best to call first to assure items are ready when you arrive and to RSVP for programs. While many publications are free, some do have a fee. All times listed are Eastern Time. Purdue University is an equal access/equal opportunity/affirmative action institution.

Upcoming Events

April 30 – Plant Auction, 10 am start, Fairgrounds

May 3 – Extension Office closed for Election Day

May 18 – African Violets & the Gesneriad Family Webinar, 7 pm, register at https://tinyurl.com/afviolet22  

May 23 – Container Gardening 101, Roachdale Community & Senior Center, 2 pm, register by calling 765-653-8411

May 24 – Turning Your Lawn to Garden webinar, 12 pm, register at https://women4theland.org/upcoming-events