Preparations Update

[lilmissy]

Today 1 kilo of live meal worms are going to be delivered.
These are going to be the start of my meal worm colony that I'm going to breed to feed my quail.
I'm pretty happy that these critters really don't require electricity or heat in my climate.
One less power drain on my solar system when ( NOT IF) SHTF.

How do you farm meal worms?

Also, how do you prepare for not being able to buy xxx for years? It wont be just 1 item. i know most you can do without and We will have to eat local. But even now, canning lids are hard to get, how or what do you do without them? use your lids more than once? What happens when you cant get beef, we do buy that local, but they too have families that they will take care of first. Just trying to think of what I need to get or learn.

 

[Neb]

How do you farm meal worms?

Also, how do you prepare for not being able to buy xxx for years? It wont be just 1 item. i know most you can do without and We will have to eat local. But even now, canning lids are hard to get, how or what do you do without them? use your lids more than once? What happens when you cant get beef, we do buy that local, but they too have families that they will take care of first. Just trying to think of what I need to get or learn.

Napoleon's troops were fed with stew canned in wine bottles sealed with corks.

Ben

 

[Meerkat]

Trying to get back to gardening, so far making myself get motivated for the task.

 

[Meerkat]

Area is becoming more important now since we no longer have a country or culture. Daughter is looking for land but many rural places are very high priced or filling up with crime.

N. Georgia is very hilly and hard to find good fields for pasture or crops.

 

[Neb]

@ThePrincess was at it again.

A little bit at a time.

Ben

 

[hiwall]

@ThePrincess was at it again.

View attachment 61345

A little bit at a time.

Ben

I just ordered another one of those today! Along with some other stuff.

 

[LadyLocust]

How do you farm meal worms?

Also, how do you prepare for not being able to buy xxx for years? It wont be just 1 item. i know most you can do without and We will have to eat local. But even now, canning lids are hard to get, how or what do you do without them? use your lids more than once? What happens when you cant get beef, we do buy that local, but they too have families that they will take care of first. Just trying to think of what I need to get or learn.

You can use your lids more than once so you know as long as they aren’t damaged. I’ve been replacing my tin lids with reusable ones. Also, over the course of the past decade I’ve been working on being less dependent on big business and finding what I need locally- not to say things wouldn’t change in drastic situations but the whole run on grocery stores last spring didn’t effect me other than we went without spuds for a while (voles got mine.) It is possible- most folks don’t want to think about it. That’s one of the things I like about this site- don’t have all the answers (nobody does) but most here are willing to think about it and the what ifs.

 

[Morgan101]

I finally got an appointment to get the vaccine; Monday morning @ 8: 45. Does that count as prepping?

I have mixed emotions about it, but think it is best for a number of reasons.

 

[hiwall]

I finally got an appointment to get the vaccine; Monday morning @ 8: 45. Does that count as prepping?

I have mixed emotions about it, but think it is best for a number of reasons.

Nobody can argue with a personal decision someone else makes for themselves. Just be thankful it is a decision that is still up to the individual.

 

[UrbanHunter]

I was in WM yesterday, the canning section looked like someone went through and opened every box of lids that had, no lids left so I guess they re-boxed in something less expensive. I'm glad that I have the lids that I have. I am sad to think that so many people no longer have any honesty left.

We are planning to can another batch of meat stew with potatoes, carrots, and onion, they make good quick meals and take some of the pressure off the freezers.

 

[lilmissy]

You can use your lids more than once so you know as long as they aren’t damaged. I’ve been replacing my tin lids with reusable ones. Also, over the course of the past decade I’ve been working on being less dependent on big business and finding what I need locally- not to say things wouldn’t change in drastic situations but the whole run on grocery stores last spring didn’t effect me other than we went without spuds for a while (voles got mine.) It is possible- most folks don’t want to think about it. That’s one of the things I like about this site- don’t have all the answers (nobody does) but most here are willing to think about it and the what ifs.

Thanks! I wasnt sure on reusing. I too have some Tattlers. I have mixed reviews on them. I think we will all need to be able to be less dependent on big business.

 

[angie_nrs]

The inflation I'm seeing is getting me worried.....

We went in town earlier this week and topped off the 20# propane tanks. One of them we had to switch out at WM b/c it was outdated. WM hasn't raised the price on their propane.....yet. I'm sure they will before too long.

Pulled the trigger on some more silver on the dip. It started going up as soon as I placed my order. LOL! I didn't order that much! I've been waiting for a dip yet this month to buy more, even though it's double what I paid for it last year. I'm kicking myself for not really loading up at that time, but we needed to keep our cash liquid at that time due to a project we were working on. Woulda....shoulda.....coulda..... I still think it's going up from here, so I think it's still a bargain. Hopefully in a couple of years I'll be so glad I wasn't too stubborn to buy at a higher price.

Bought some supplies that we will need for several projects we have planned for this spring like heavy bags of lawn/garden stuff, paint, brushes, storage bin, etc. Hubs had the truck so we loaded it up with heavy and bulky stuff. I'll be making some calls this week on a couple of things that we need more information about before moving forward. Hopefully I'll be able to get the ball rolling on those.

Got the ham for Easter dinner at a really nice price at Aldi. I decided to buy it while I was in town and loaded up the fresh foods so I don't have to fight the crowds next week. I didn't want to use a hams out of the freezer b/c I want to keep the freezer stocked while the prices are good. If I can find room in the freezer, I'll snatch up another ham or two after Easter so we can enjoy some cheap ham over the summer and into the fall.

It's been a busy week b/c the weather has been perfect for chores. We wanted to take advantage of it before it gets messy or too hot to do anything comfortably. I LOVE this time of year for getting things done. We have a few days of crappy weather ahead of us so it gives me time to take a breath, get some housework done, and get a plan together for next week, which I'm sure will be another busy one.

 

[Bacpacker]

I've been building some raised beds and have more planned, but thats going to be a fall/winter project and a couple other projects. With the inflation hitting across the board I am going to move ahead with materials purchases now and store them till I can use them. Adding food as we find it as well.

 

[WVDragonlady]

Stocked up on granulated fertilizer
Also bought a gallon of fish emulsion
Bought large box of granulated plant food ( water soluble)
Saw 2 boxes of wide mouth canning lids so I bought them

 

[Terri9630]

How do you farm meal worms?

Also, how do you prepare for not being able to buy xxx for years? It wont be just 1 item. i know most you can do without and We will have to eat local. But even now, canning lids are hard to get, how or what do you do without them? use your lids more than once? What happens when you cant get beef, we do buy that local, but they too have families that they will take care of first. Just trying to think of what I need to get or learn.

Some people use their canning lids more than once. I save all my undamaged used lids for "just in case". I also bought Tattler lids for all my jars, or close to it. Right now I mainly use those on the things we go through quickly though I have had some in the pantry for 5 years with no issues.

 

[Meerkat]

I just ordered another one of those today! Along with some other stuff.

Powdered milk is hard to find down here.

 

[lilmissy]

@Terri9630 I use tattlers on some things. i have noticed and not sure why. I was cleaning my canning shelf, moved all the jars, 1 applesauce was unsealed with a tattler. Got rid of it. A few months later(yes months) I cleaned there again and moved the jars another came unsealed. Not sure why and I hate to do a whole batch of something and they keep coming unsealed And I have to toss food out.

 

[joel]

I have not used these, but a lot of people treat their birds to these & it is cheaper to grow your own.

 

[LadyLocust]

I had to make a couple miscellaneous stops yesterday which I seldom do anymore. After seeing no jars or lids at WM the other morning, I thought I’d check. All sizes of jars available and a sign where the lids went that said please ask at counter, limit 4 boxes per household.
PS I got a case each of quarts and pints just for good measure.

 

[user 2656]

For some reason everyone around me thinks I cannot be without coffee (they think I,M CRANKY@$%&8) - go figure!

So since the first warning post appeared in another forum about a week ago, I have ordered 10 bags/20 oz and 8 bags/12 oz for the near future. Had 9/20 oz bags. So that is 35 weeks worth. Price jumped the day I first ordered $2 on the 20 oz so now is at $.64/0z. Was $.52/oz. Still better than feeding the Starbucks coffers. 12 oz bag is still at $.60/0z.

Also have backup of 3 -3lb Kirkland dark roast. We buy ground so this will be our backup - I think the Kirkland cans lasted 1 month +/- a few days. Also going to lay in some really good instant as I truly don't mind it if I add a drop of maple syrup to it.

EDIT TO ADD Just ordered some Starbucks VIA decaf Italian (50 pack) and regular Italian (50 pack) as backup. Much as I would like to NOT drink Starbucks, they have a lock on flavor for instant and they are easy to pack for travel.

 

[Amish Heart]

We ordered a dozen cans of Folgers last week, and 4 large bags of whole bean from Sams two weeks ago when we heard about the possible price jump. Already have them stored away.

 

[hiwall]

I did order extra coffee just this morning even though I have a good supply.

 

[Amish Heart]

The price hasn't changed from two weeks ago on Sams for coffee, so we ordered more

 

[Terri9630]

@Terri9630 I use tattlers on some things. i have noticed and not sure why. I was cleaning my canning shelf, moved all the jars, 1 applesauce was unsealed with a tattler. Got rid of it. A few months later(yes months) I cleaned there again and moved the jars another came unsealed. Not sure why and I hate to do a whole batch of something and they keep coming unsealed And I have to toss food out.

I've had a few issues with short waterbathing times.

 

[CalicoKatie]

I had already gotten a couple of 3 lb. cans of ground coffee and filters for my coffeemaker as a backup to my Keurig. Today I bought 3 more 96 count boxes of coffee pods so adding that to what I already had, it's about a 7 month supply of coffee just for me but I'll probably need to share some with my daughter. In my next grocery order, I want to get a couple more large cans of ground coffee.

Another thing on my list is to buy a few pounds of sprouting seeds. If supplies dried up and fresh vegetables were limited, sprouts would be a welcome addition to our diet and I like them on sandwiches. I haven't done my own sprouting before so any suggestions on seeds for flavor and price would be welcome. Those seeds can get pretty pricey.

 

[joel]

Why is coffee going up?

 

[angie_nrs]

Why is coffee going up?

It's Trumps fault!

carry on.............

 

[joel]

A year ago I worked in A processing plant that roasted coffee & the lab had a chart graft on the raise & fall of coffee. When It falls low we would buy extra tons of coffee, the halls would be packed with pallets of coffee & traffic could only flow one way.
I was just wondering if they had a bad year, no frost in most coffee countries.

 

[CalicoKatie]

From what I understand, they do the projections a couple of years in advance based on global demand and production schedules primarily from Brazil, Indonesia and Vietnam. This potential coffee shortage and higher prices were being predicted in 2019. Weather is a factor as is a shortage of shipping containers. I repeat - a shortage of shipping containers. Think Suez Canal and global manipulation.
US wholesale coffee prices rising | Vending Times

IMHO, any and all shortages that we are facing are casualties of the war going on behind the scenes.

 

[Meerkat]

I had to make a couple miscellaneous stops yesterday which I seldom do anymore. After seeing no jars or lids at WM the other morning, I thought I’d check. All sizes of jars available and a sign where the lids went that said please ask at counter, limit 4 boxes per household.
PS I got a case each of quarts and pints just for good measure.

We have a few more jars than we will ever use but do need to find some lids. Maybe look again since itsbeen a year since we did .