Pressure Canning
July 8
Home Buyer
Education
July 15 & 22
Water Bath Canning
Pickled Product
Basics
July 31 & August 1
Gluten Free: Is It For
Me?
August 15
Egg Candling
August 19
Cooking with Herbs from Your Garden
August 20
Coastal Georgia
Small Business Fair
September 9
Garden City Housing
Fair
September 20
Home Buyer
Education
September 23 & 25
By Jackie Ogden, CEC
Family and Consumer Sciences Agent
When I think about Summer time my memories turn to food preservation when I would travel with my mother to the area U-pick veggie and fruit farms or State of Georgia
Farmers’ Markets to secure the freshest foods of the season. The day before we would check out what canning supplies were still in the pantry and make a list of items needed based on what we planned to “Put Up” during each new adventure. We would spend the day discussing the many ways we would prepare the fruits and veggies using the tested recipes supplied by the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension while we enjoyed our time together. Sometimes friends and neighbors would caravan with us in the family station wagon on our journey. By the season’s end we had made lists of new canning adventures to explore during the next harvest with friends.
Organizing the canning supplies was easy, since my dad had assembled an area in the kitchen/pantry to store the canning equipment. After each canning jar of food was used during the year, the empty jar would be returned to the shelf and the ring bands stored in a brown paper bag. Just like today the flat lids were only to be used once in home canning.
Today, there is a return to yesteryear and the “Victory Garden” of the last century, when consumers planted fruits and veggies in their backyards to stock their pantries. To grow and preserve foods from home gardens today provides the opportunity to enjoy the fulfillment returning to a simpler time but still connect with our urban environment. The
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension now celebrating its 100th anniversary this year is still providing current researched-based food preservation recipes, fact sheets and books to preserve foods safely in the 21st century.

John and Julia Panhorst- Pressure canning green beans at July 2014 workshop
Photos by Jackie Ogden
With the abundance of fresh Georgia Grown fruits and veggies found at area Farmers’ Markets and at local grocery stores you can preserve your seasonal favorites to enjoy with your family all year long. The Forsyth
Farmers’ Market located at Park Avenue and Bull Street in downtown
Savannah is opened on Saturday from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Visiting a local Farmers’ Market is an engaging opportunity to explore the current harvest each week, as you meet area farmers and connect your culinary experiences.
I encourage you to visit the UGA Extension website at www.ugaextension/Chatham or call the Chatham County Extension at
912-652-7981 to obtain food preservation workshop & class information. In addition, the University of Georgia Extension office in
Chatham County located in the Old County Courthouse at 124 Bull Street has resources to assist in planning your fruit and veggie gardens, so you can enjoy the harvest of the bounty and make new food preservation memories.
The Georgia Tax Free Weekend will ring in the 2014-2015 school year on
August 1 and August 2, 2014 for back-to-school shoppers. The same rules of the past will remain the same but shoppers can take advantage of early savings prior to the first day of school. Shopping rules include: clothing and footwear with a sales price of $100.00 or less per item, tablets, personal computers and personal computer-related accessories with each item costing less than $1000. Purchased uniforms for athletic events are included costing $100.00 or less per item however, renting uniforms are not included. General school supplies to be used in the classroom or in related activities with a sales price of $20.00 or less per item are eligible for tax credit. This is a great savings to students, teachers and parents. Mark your calendar for next year for tax savings set for July 31 and August 1, 2015!
The Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC), Live Oak Public
Libraries, and UGA Cooperative
Extension-Chatham County are sponsoring a Small Business Resource
Fair at the Southwest Chatham Library,
14097 Abercorn St. Savannah, GA. on
September 9, 2014 from 12:00PM to
7:00PM. The Fair will provide current and prospective small business owners a “onestop” shopping opportunity to meet and learn about the many organizations that can assist them and attend educational sessions. The event will feature a wide range of organizations that provide funding, educational services, technical assistance and other resources available to meet the current and prospective small business owners that attend.
If you plan to sell eggs to individuals, or at a farmers’ market, an egg candling certificate is required. The Georgia
Department of Agriculture Egg Candling
Inspectors will be conducting a class cosponsored by the Chatham County
Extension on August 19th at the Coastal
Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic
Bamboo Farm. The educational session includes classroom instruction, hands-on candling and written exam. Registration is required by contacting 229-386-3489.
Jackie Ogden
Family and Consumer Sciences Agent
912.652.7981 jogden@uga.edu
General Information
Chatham County
Savannah, GA. 31401
912.652.7981 (Phone)
912.652.7989 (Fax) uge3051@uga.edu caes.uga.edu/extension/chatham/