Preparations Update

[Amish Heart]

Added 3 pints of honey to our stockpile. Went to my cousin's house this afternoon and they had just finished harvesting. They got five gallons this year.

 

[SheepDog]

Timely preparations:
Clean the area within 5 feet of your home and attached structures. No leaves, no bushy plants, no firewood, no combustibles. Gravel, concrete or cement tiles on the ground. Move out to the next 30 feet from your home and buildings to clear combustibles. Place small walls or sparse low plants that are burn resistant to help stop the flow of embers that are wind blown. Use drive ways or patios to keep the area free of small evergreens and plants that produce pitch or oils. Out to 100-200 feet keep trees that are mature well trimmed and at least ten feet apart at the crowns. Keep branches trimmed to ten feet above the ground and thinned to allow embers through without starting new flames. Keep it watered and moist.
Back at home make sure all your vents are covered with 1/8" hardware cloth (metal screen) so embers are kept out. Clean the leaves and needles out of your gutters and off your roof and window sills. Replace your windows with tempered glass and have shutters or steel roll down protection over the windows to protect them from breakage. Put screen over your chimney and around any deck or walkway to keep embers from getting into someplace that can start a flame. Curtains and drapes should be fire-proof.

These are normal preps that folks who live in areas prone to fires should always maintain.

 

[Tank-Girl]

YAY!!

Just ordered 12 khaki campbell ducklings.
My climate is too hot for chickens to lay during the summer so I'm buying these wee beasties.
I'll need to buy some starter ration for them which is high in sunflower seeds so they don't get angel wing.

 

[Amish Heart]

Khaki Campbells are good ones. And they'll lay all summer. Don't expect anything in the cold months, though.

 

[Tank-Girl]

Khaki Campbells are good ones. And they'll lay all summer. Don't expect anything in the cold months, though.

I'm tropical/ sub tropical. It gets cold here for about 3 days and then it goes back to being hot.

 

[Amish Heart]

You'll get lots of great eggs

 

[LadyLocust]

Timely preparations:
Clean the area within 5 feet of your home and attached structures. No leaves, no bushy plants, no firewood, no combustibles. Gravel, concrete or cement tiles on the ground. Move out to the next 30 feet from your home and buildings to clear combustibles. Place small walls or sparse low plants that are burn resistant to help stop the flow of embers that are wind blown. Use drive ways or patios to keep the area free of small evergreens and plants that produce pitch or oils. Out to 100-200 feet keep trees that are mature well trimmed and at least ten feet apart at the crowns. Keep branches trimmed to ten feet above the ground and thinned to allow embers through without starting new flames. Keep it watered and moist.
Back at home make sure all your vents are covered with 1/8" hardware cloth (metal screen) so embers are kept out. Clean the leaves and needles out of your gutters and off your roof and window sills. Replace your windows with tempered glass and have shutters or steel roll down protection over the windows to protect them from breakage. Put screen over your chimney and around any deck or walkway to keep embers from getting into someplace that can start a flame. Curtains and drapes should be fire-proof.

These are normal preps that folks who live in areas prone to fires should always maintain.

Great reminder!

Our beef should be ready about the end of the month $3/lb + cut & wrap
Just got confirmation that we will be getting a whole hog Oct/Nov $2.25/lb + cut, cure & wrap

 

[Meerkat]

How do you preserve baking powder and soda so they will still make fluffy and light items?

Lilmiss, thats a good question ,i've been wondering about it myself just this past week.

 

[SheepDog]

Start using sourdough. It can make light and fluffy stuff without yeast, baking soda or baking powder.

 

[WVDragonlady]

Just added freeze dried chicken and beef to the LTS. ( and it was in stock! what a shocker lol)
Should be here by the end of the month

 

[CalicoKatie]

One of our grocery stores has a major sale on their pasta this week - 67 cents for a 16 ounce box. That's an item that never goes on sale around here and it's never below $1 a pound. I've loaded up on every form of pasta they have and will probably go back for more before the sale ends.

 

[lilmissy]

Start using sourdough. It can make light and fluffy stuff without yeast, baking soda or baking powder.

We dont eat enough bread for sourdough. I love sourdough bread, but would have to throw it out more than eat it. (I assume)

 

[lilmissy]

Lilmiss, thats a good question ,i've been wondering about it myself just this past week.

From the research I did, thanks to Caribou and Amish Heart . You can make it using either cream of tartar and or arrow root

 

[Caribou]

From the research I did, thanks to Caribou and Amish Heart . You can make it using either cream of tartar and or arrow root

Amish had it right, I got it wrong.

 

[LadyLocust]

I’ve been canning like a crazy woman. I think it’s going to slow down soon, but every time I think that, I’m wrong. I’ve cleaned, baked and dehydrated 6 spaghetti squash. Will probably do a few more. I don’t actually know how many we eat in a year so am working for 1 per month. Also hubby and I have made a little over 5 gallons of salsa but he’s already eaten at least 1-2 gallons
I did get another jar of lanolin for the stocks. I use it in my lotion.

 

[angie_nrs]

We've been busy these past couple of weeks. I finally feel like I'm ready.....at least for winter. If the rodents (mice are rampant), acorns, mushrooms, and apples are any indication.....it's going to be a brutal winter. I also heard on the radio yesterday that firewood, heating oil, and propane are all going to be in short supply. I've heard the farmers almanac is also indicating a rough winter. That, along with the other craziness going on, inspired us to kick it in the rear. Thus far, here's what we've done.
* invested in the ROTH IRA so that money can go to work for me when Trump wins!
* ordered an air purifier with extra filters (but haven't received it yet.....any day now)
* filled all the empty gas cans
* had the annual maintenance done on the generator
* filled all the small 20#, medium 30#, and large 100# propane tanks
* got a new bed and ordered new pillows
* stocked up on vitamins and supplements with a BOGO sale
* stocked up on electrolyte mixes that I found on clearance
* bought 5 more cases of bottled water just to have on hand
* took the dogs in for their annual vaccines, ordered their meds for 1 year, and stocked up on dog food for 6 months
* bought extra water filters for the camper
* bought 10 more bags of softner salt, so we should be good for at least a year now
* bought storage racks so I can put them together and get some things organized this winter since we'll probably be locked down again anyways. At least I'll have something to do.

I think I've got all the heavy stuff that I wanted before winter. I hate dragging that stuff thru the snow, so we put the truck to work and got it home . I'd still like to get some more dog food though. I also need to get the freezers organized again after it starts to cool down. The freezers are full but things were just thrown in there this summer when it was hot and I don't know where things are now. So, I've still got plenty of chores to do, but am feeling pretty good about being stocked for a while. If there is a canned goods sale this year, I might grab a few things but overall, I'm pretty confident with the pantry stock too. So, whatever is coming our way......I guess I'm about as ready as I'll ever be.

 

[CalicoKatie]

I'm still stocking up on any good sales especially meat. Years ago I bought some #10 cans of basics like beans, rice, powdered milk, etc. I'm going to start cooking some of the beans and rice to dehydrate them and store in quart jars. I haven't done this before but I've seen others mention it and I like the idea. I'd appreciate any tips from those who have done this. The apples and pears will also be abundant in the next month and go on sale. I'm going to load up on those to dehydrate and sauce. I love autumn!

I saw this interesting video from Elliot Homestead showing their root cellar. She uses some different types of storage including storing cooked chicken in grease. I'm going to watch it again when I'm not preoccupied with something else so I can pay closer attention.

 

[Amish Heart]

Yes, I've done that, Calico Kate. It's easy. Throw cooked beans in the dehydrator. Dry them. Store them. Instant beans in the store costs alot, and it's cheap to make.

 

[hiwall]

We've been busy these past couple of weeks. I finally feel like I'm ready.....at least for winter. If the rodents (mice are rampant), acorns, mushrooms, and apples are any indication.....it's going to be a brutal winter. I also heard on the radio yesterday that firewood, heating oil, and propane are all going to be in short supply. I've heard the farmers almanac is also indicating a rough winter. That, along with the other craziness going on, inspired us to kick it in the rear. Thus far, here's what we've done.
* invested in the ROTH IRA so that money can go to work for me when Trump wins!
* ordered an air purifier with extra filters (but haven't received it yet.....any day now)
* filled all the empty gas cans
* had the annual maintenance done on the generator
* filled all the small 20#, medium 30#, and large 100# propane tanks
* got a new bed and ordered new pillows
* stocked up on vitamins and supplements with a BOGO sale
* stocked up on electrolyte mixes that I found on clearance
* bought 5 more cases of bottled water just to have on hand
* took the dogs in for their annual vaccines, ordered their meds for 1 year, and stocked up on dog food for 6 months
* bought extra water filters for the camper
* bought 10 more bags of softner salt, so we should be good for at least a year now
* bought storage racks so I can put them together and get some things organized this winter since we'll probably be locked down again anyways. At least I'll have something to do.

I think I've got all the heavy stuff that I wanted before winter. I hate dragging that stuff thru the snow, so we put the truck to work and got it home . I'd still like to get some more dog food though. I also need to get the freezers organized again after it starts to cool down. The freezers are full but things were just thrown in there this summer when it was hot and I don't know where things are now. So, I've still got plenty of chores to do, but am feeling pretty good about being stocked for a while. If there is a canned goods sale this year, I might grab a few things but overall, I'm pretty confident with the pantry stock too. So, whatever is coming our way......I guess I'm about as ready as I'll ever be.

Wore me out just reading your post. Great job getting all that done.

 

[CalicoKatie]

Yes, I've done that, Calico Kate. It's easy. Throw cooked beans in the dehydrator. Dry them. Store them. Instant beans in the store costs alot, and it's cheap to make.

Do you rinse the bean broth off before you dry them? How long do they have to cook when you rehydrate them?

 

[Amish Heart]

Yes, I rinse the broth off. I dehydrate them about 10 hrs, usually overnight. You can tell pretty easy when they're done. Beans done like this were some I used in the Zatarains rice mix recipe in the mixes discussion.

 

[Tank-Girl]

So, I've been as busy as most here!

Freezer mark II turned up and fit EXACTLY into the slot in my kitchen I had allocated for it.
I need to fill this sucker with a LOT of beef.

My baby ducklings arrived at the airport with zero deaths! These little critters chow down like meat chickens! I'm filling up their food bowl at least 6 times a day and one thing I learned is they don't go to sleep at night like chickens. These little dudes are hard at it all darn night with 10min naps between shoving as much food down their necks as possible.

The Bear Cruzier compound bow, customized carbon arrows and release aid was delivered and I'm in LOVE. The archery store I brought it from tuned it to perfection and the poundage is perfect for my little stick arms.

Tomorrow is pension day and I've got another huge purchase planned - a 12volt , 70 liter camp fridge freezer.
All the weather modeling is saying we are in for a very brutal wet season with up to 6 to 8 cyclones (hurricanes) forecasted for the Northern East coast. I want to get this set up and running and have my lifestyle adjusted to using it before it's really needed. At the moment I'm using a bar fridge for everyday use and the seals are shot and it leaks badly. The camp fridge freezer will go into service the moment it arrives to replace it.

I need to buy and install a hefty gate bolt and padlock for the outside laundry to stop two legged vermin from walking off with my gear.

 

[MoBookworm1957]

Going to be reorganzing the chest freezer.
Putting in huge (to me at least) meat bundle order for next payday.
Going to try my hand at dehydrating beans and rice too.
Making up mixes for pantry, just items I use all the time.
While I'm add it will be making up cake mixes in jars, drinks in jars to give as gifts for Christmas.
Need to stock up on more canning jars payday too.
Flats, rings jars on my list.

 

[Amish Heart]

Flats (lids) are no where to be found, and hardly any jars. Sorry, Mo.
Looks like you've got it going, TankGirl

 

[Weedygarden]

Flats (lids) are no where to be found, and hardly any jars. Sorry, Mo.
Looks like you've got it going, TankGirl

This is true. Shelves are empty in many places, but True Value closest to me had a stack of them on the floor that was over my head. The buyer for True Value scored. I did not look at the prices, but have heard that some places have inflated prices.

 

[Amish Heart]

Amazon had showed they had them at $6 a dz. Husband put in an order at a company called Berlin, that we've ordered #10 can lids from. They say they're a few weeks out, but I bet it'll be delayed.

 

[CalicoKatie]

The forecast on lids and canning supplies isn't good. Newell is the parent company of most if not all the canning supplies in North America and they issued a statement a few days ago that there will be nothing available until March 1, 2021. They'll be working through the winter to build up their supply for next year.

I found a really good site with loads of info on prepping, canning, etc. called Suttons Daze. She did a video on the shortage and read the letter from Newell. I highly recommend this site and it's especially helpful for newbies. She has some great videos on what and how to build up your pantry if you're just getting started.



https://www.youtube.com/c/SuttonsDaze/videos

 

[hashbrown]

Jake and I spent the day doing inventory and assessing or food preps. Our frozen meat storage is up from previous years up enough that we have no room left the deer we harvest this year will have to be canned. We are down from the past years on home canned goods that's because of high busy are lives has became in the last couple of years. We are at an all time high on commercially canned items. I guess you never feel completely confident in your preps but overall I'm happy with our current position.

.

 

[Bacpacker]

Very nice HB

 

[Tank-Girl]

Well the 70ltr duel powered camp fridge freezer was delivered and I got a bonus fold out table.
Yay for free stuff!
Yay free shipping!
I've plugged the fridge freezer in the mains and it's working a absolute treat, Both the fridge and the freezer zones are two completely separate compartments with their own lids and adjustable thermostat.
Which means that both compartments can either be a fridge OR a freezer.

I'm still utterly in love with my compound bow even though the buckle on my release aid digs into my wrist. I'll have to see if I can get a tennis wrist band to wear under it.

The ducklings are growing like weeds. I'm still staggered by how much food they put away in a single day. Yep they're every bit as messy as I remembered but then every class of livestock has its downsides.