# April 2008 Prep Thread



## Guest (Apr 1, 2008)

It's a new month folks! How are the preps coming?

It seems the price of wheat and other commodities is undergoing a deal of fluctuation as speculators come and go out of the markets and the USDA makes its various reports on how much of what they think the farmers will plant and speculate on how much they think will be harvested. 

Supplies of storage wheat are somewhat tight right now, but I suspect this will ease once summer arrives. If they do I suggest stocking up while the prices are low. I believe we're not nearly done with price fluctuations so buy when you can. For myself the wife and I have decided that for the most storable foods such as wheat, corn, white rice, sugar and the like we're going to go to a two year supply as soon as we are able to figure out where we're going to put it all. We're over a year now, but want some extra so that we can afford to sit out the worst of the commdity market follies.

If you haven't started a vegetable garden then NOW is the time! You don't have to plant a monster garden to feed the family for the entire year. Even a twenty by twenty space can help take the sting out of the grocery shopping and maybe even supply you with something to put by for the cold season. There is a learning curve to food gardening that is a little different for every area. Start scaling that curve now while you have the luxury of time so a failure or two of one thing or another won't be quite the loss it would be in harder times.

For you folks who are new to storing grains and such how is your learning coming along? Bread making is not rocket science but it is experiential meaning that it is one thing to have books on bread making and quite another to be able to actually produce good bread that your family wants to eat. Are you paying your kitchen dues or is that grain just sitting in buckets somewhere?

For myself I have finally finished with that last chicken tractor and have the birds in it doing their thing growing bigger every day and contributing valuable nutrients to my pasture improvement program. My next several projects are all going to be home repairs which are valuable preps in themselves. Somewhere in there I have to shoehorn in some planting in the garden and repotting a number of container plants.

How's the prep month looking for you folks?

.....Alan.


----------



## Madame (Jan 1, 2003)

I'm off to a good start. Have some seeds, ordered others. Have 56 cans of veggies that I didn't have a few months ago. Waiting another few weeks to plant, so the snow is hopefully done and over with. I've bought some books with how-to info.


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

Three cherry 'bushes' and six new raspberry canes should be delivered tomorrow or so. Of course, with all the rain and chilly overcast lately, the spot isn't ready for them yet, but I figure that they can stay inside for a bit anyhow. The weather also has set us back on tilling and planting the early veggies .

Hopefully this month will see us ordering our chicks and ducklings - which, of course, means building a new chicken habitat. I'm seriously considering a small 'tractor' for the future layers and a regular yard for the freezer-bait.


----------



## Fryegirl (Sep 16, 2006)

> Are you paying your kitchen dues or is that grain just sitting in buckets somewhere?


You're right, AT. I've been guilty of that but, hopefully, that's changing as I post. I ground some wheat for the first time today and the dough is in the process of rising. Maybe, lol.


----------



## Guest (Apr 1, 2008)

Even the duds are usually tasty. Worst comes to worst you can always make bread crumbs out of it. If you really do get into making your own you'll eventually deveop LOTS of uses for bread crumbs!

Welcome to another bread baker!

.....Alan.


----------



## ailsaek (Feb 7, 2007)

Fryegirl said:


> A.T. Hagan said:
> 
> 
> > Are you paying your kitchen dues or is that grain just sitting in buckets somewhere?
> ...


Congrats and good luck. I ground my first corn last night and made polenta/grits out of it. It was good, and the leftovers are going to be pan-fried and served with tomato sauce for tonight's dinner.


----------



## shellrow (Feb 8, 2007)

We got started on the chicken house this past weekend. I did some grocery shopping yesterday. I got 25#'s of sugar and all purpose flour, 5#'s of Uncle Ben's rice, 2# box of baking soda and some more yeast packets. I cannot seem to find the yeast in larger containers. Loaf break for the 3 lunches that I fix daily was on sale for 88 cents a loaf so I got 8 loaves to stick in the freezer. While it was raining yesterday I set my rain barrels up. One is at the garden and one is under the roof spout. We are suppose to have a thunder storm this evening so I will take the lids off again tonight before going to bed.


----------



## nandmsmom (Mar 3, 2006)

I'm still very new to this. I've always kept a hefty pantry, so it really seems like an extension of that. In the past few weeks I have gotten 125 lbs of various flours, 60# of rice, 30# of beans, 60# of sugar and a couple cases of corn and tomatoes. The veggie garden is coming along quite well, although all indoors right now. The beds are being expanded from 200 sq ft to 1000 sq ft and I have all the seeds started indoors that need to be. The rest will be direct planted. 

I am seriously looking at grain mills, as it seems everyone else is. I bake everything from scratch and have gotten my family used to whole grains, so it seems a good time to go all the way over to the grain mill. I'm torn between three right now. The family grain mill, country living mill and Lehman's best. There is a relatively big difference in price, so I'm at a bit of a loss.


----------



## Guest (Apr 1, 2008)

If you can afford it then go with the Country Living. It and the Diamant are the gold standard of manual mills.

Once you get it start saving up for your first electric mill. You'll know when you're ready for it.

.....Alan.


----------



## Fryegirl (Sep 16, 2006)

Arghh! The dough rose in the bowl but not in the pans. Tasted fine but I need to get back to the drawing board.


----------



## lorian (Sep 4, 2005)

We spent a lot of time this early spring/winter making soups and stews and canning them.
I was surprised how easy it was and now we are enjoying them. I use them for my hubbys lunches and it's so nutritious and affordable.

Been stocking up on brown rice at the discount stores as that is what we also using for baking (rice flour, we grind).

Started the garden, had to buy dirt for the raised beds......YOWSAAAA! Dirt IS NOT dirt cheap you know!!! But we considered it an investment and a part of our preps.

Shoveled so much manure and dirt this weekend my back went out! The spirit is willing but the back is weak. 

I'm giving up on my *big* animal quest (raising our own beef,lamb, etc.....) as my hubby seems to be allergic to about all of them AND the hay!!! We have decided to grow some heirloom breed turkeys and also rabbits and trade their meat for the bigger animals we can't grow. Hard to give up the dream though.........

This dream of self sufficiency must remain flexible I'm learning...........


----------



## PineRidge (May 2, 2006)

Fryegirl said:


> Arghh! The dough rose in the bowl but not in the pans. Tasted fine but I need to get back to the drawing board.


Don't feel bad. When I make bread mistakes I can generally use them up as toast, french toast, mini pizzas, stuffing, and as Alan suggested, bread crumbs. It just depends what kind of mistake I made


----------



## RockyGlen (Jan 19, 2007)

The hardest bread still makes good french toast or croutons.


----------



## 3ravens (Mar 16, 2006)

Got the regular mouth jar sealer attachment I ordered from Amazon in the mail today. I have lots of reg mouth jars, but not too many widemouth ones, so this will come in handy. I have 20 # sugar to jar and seal, and some spices and otc meds to overwrap and vacseal in bags. 
Also got my fruit trees from Raintree. Time for some serious hole diggin'!!
ETA:Anyone know if brown sugar gets hard if you vacseal it in jars?


----------



## SquashNut (Sep 25, 2005)

We usually put in our cool weather crops in the middle of April, but there is still snow on the ground and we have had more this week. 
Stupid mouse got in my green house and ate the heads off 10 flats of broccoli and cabbage. i still have enough for my garden, those were for sale plants.
We've been buying 50 pound bags of potatoes and I have been canning those along with canning extra rabbit meat.
i get a little over 28 quarts of canned potatoes from each 50 pounds.
Still buying what ever storable groceries we can get reasonable, and the restaurant store has pork for .99 cents a pound that we are canning.
garden is planned for all the spinach, chard and mustard greens we can grow before we plant summer crops. Then hope to put more in after summer crops are done, getting as many crops per bed as possible.
i am going to put an extra bed in this year to grow potatoes. The ones we buy in 50 pound bags are pretty good, but the home grown ones will be a nice treat.
I read some where that noodles store much longer than ground WW flour so I am making as many as I can from the extra bag of WW flour I bought. Don't want the flour to waste.
It takes 3 cups of flour to make enough for us to have speggetti. I've been making double batches and drying half for storage.


----------



## Guest (Apr 1, 2008)

3ravens said:


> ETA:Anyone know if brown sugar gets hard if you vacseal it in jars?


 No, it doesn't. All of mine is vac-sealed too.

.....Alan.


----------



## 3ravens (Mar 16, 2006)

Thanks, Alan! Add 2# brown sugar to the stuff I gotta seal.....:hobbyhors


----------



## patience (Dec 29, 2005)

lehman's order just came. Chimney sweep brush and rods, grenade wood splitting wedge, and a couple of extra belts for my treadle sewing machines.


----------



## JGex (Dec 27, 2005)

I'm buying kitchen appliances/gadgets this month..... 

Mixer
Grain flaker/roller
AA canner
good manual coffee grinder
another grain mill
better strainer

Just got a new Weber charcoal grill as we already have several propane grills. Will get a new smoker next.

We're going to try building a solar oven this month, too.

We've started with the bread making, too. We used to make a lot in a bread machine, but we're both wanting to get into making artisan breads and loafs from scratch.

I joined the local CSA so I can scope out how it works and what we will be getting for the $28 per week for the summer. Purpose? If we need to, we will turn our property into a small CSA and I want to at least have an idea of what people expect.


----------



## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

Picked up a couple of cases of half gallon canning jars today and did some checking on gathering more buckets. I've got a nice pile of goods waiting for proper storage: 50# of pinto beans, 25# sugar, 200# popcorn, 50# of 9 grain mix, 50# wheat and 50# long grain rice. I ordered more goodies last week that should be arriving in the next few days.


----------



## tonasket (Oct 20, 2004)

Got all 6 of our propane tanks filled for free - my favorite price of all. BIL has a auto repair shop and when the refer trucks come in for repair, all propane must be emptied first, round up the tanks honey, time to fill er up! yea! P.S. I love this thread, it inspires me everytime I look through it. Thanks everyone.


----------



## ailsaek (Feb 7, 2007)

It's not actually the new month for me until the 15th, because that's payday, but I did get 50 lbs. of corn and 50 lbs. of rice gamma sealed in big buckets. I miscalculated how much space rice takes up, though, so I need to get another bucket and lid, because 50 lbs. of rice fill one and a half bucket, and I have another 50 lb. bag to do.

And I've started cooking with my new whole grains, which is another step forward, I think.

This weekend I walked our land in northern ME with FiL, and he pointed out to me a bunch of good lumber trees, and some others that he said ought to be cut down for firewood to make room for better trees to grow. I walked over the area where he's planning on starting a garden, but there is still three feet of snow on the ground up there, so I can't really say that I got much of a look at the actual land.

DH is getting closer to agreeing to build a house and move up there. He's starting to say "when" rather than "if."


----------



## shellycoley (Mar 6, 2003)

Picked up canned green beans, corn, tomato sauce on sale for .30 each.
Canned collard sale .50 each only got four, never eaten canned greens, only fresh. Also got oil on sale 2.00/ 48oz picked up 6. 
I am slowly turning the extra room's closet into a long term storage pantry.
Last week we planted 20+ pounds of potatoes, and I've got seeds started in the green house that I finally got moved over here. This week I will buy more potting soil and black kow for plug trays. I will also pick up the rest of the summer garden seeds this week.
I plan to get enough for at least two years.

Shelly


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

I put 7 roosters in qt jars in the pantry. LOL They don't eat as much when they are in jars.

Dollar General still had macaroni for 60 cents/pound so I picked up several boxes. Got some sardines in the big tin for a buck each and 10 pounds of rice for 3$. Went ahead and got some canned milk even tho the price has gone to 75cents. I noticed sugar was still 1.89/4 pounds, but I don't like to buy it at DG because it tastes like soap.


----------



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

Finished the hardware cloth interior of the greenchickenhouse. It's loaded with seedlings, and small plants of every type. Put aside an avocado and mango seed to put in pots later this week. Picked up some last minute items needed for the chick brooder area and some peat and a garbage can to mix potting soil in larger quantities - instead of buying ready-made bags.

Winged a new black bean dish this week from the black beans that got canned over the winter. It was pretty good. DH gobbled it up, that's always a good sign. Soaking soy beans tonight to try my hand at making soy milk again, since we're out and I didn't have time to stop for groceries while in town today.

This is an inspiring thread. I need to stop in here more often.


----------



## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

A.T. Hagan said:


> Even the duds are usually tasty. Worst comes to worst you can always make bread crumbs out of it. If you really do get into making your own you'll eventually deveop LOTS of uses for bread crumbs!
> 
> .....Alan.


You're right about that! I've been baking all our bread for 6 months and now I've always got a big bag of breadcrumbs in the freezer. They go great in meatballs and to make bread and apple stuffing for stuffed loin-of-pork.

Jan


----------



## Cheryl in SD (Apr 22, 2005)

We are filling out our stock items, starting seeds and bought a pair for meat rabbits. Not bad for one month. This month I hope to finish stocking & get the garden going in earnest. I am also working hard at finishing school before the first of May so we will have more time for real life.  All four does will be kidding in May, and we will be gardening in earnest by then. I need to order two loads of firewood, too. Still trying to figure out a back up system for water. Before the end of this month I need to fix fences and clean out the garage of things we don't need. It will be a busy month.


----------



## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

What with all this bs about the commodities market "And now the speculators moving on to beef & bacon" . . . . Do you see the price coming down on wheat..?????
I hope so.

My last two loaves of wheat bread I've added one teaspone of glutten . . .Wow . .its good.

Another way I'm using up bread heals is to use say a half a slice crumpled up into my morning bowl of oatmeal . . .good.


----------



## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

If you can't seem to make decent bread, then try two things. Forst, proof your yeast. Put it in one fourth cup of warm water and watch it bloom. If it doesn't, your yeast has died. Toss it and get fresh. 

If tha fails, try making tortillas!


----------



## Wildwood (Jul 2, 2007)

Last week I helped a coworker do an intensive prep effort and of course I had to add a few things to each of his orders which ended up being way more than I intended to spend but I'm glad I did and to my surprise our Walton order has already shipped so I'm planning to inventory and get ready to process the new stuff when it gets here. 

Our buckets and gamma seal lids came Friday so I will be transferring the things I use regularly into them which will free up more room for other stuff. I'm planning on another major grocery trip next week and after that I'm pretty sure it will be time for me to start rebuilding my prep funds before I do much more. 

That's probably a good thing because it will take me a month to get everything organized and repacked plus I'm tired and ready for a break. I've been prepping like a crazy woman since I posted a few months back about using my preps during my mother's illness, losing interest in prepping and then getting it back with a sense of urgency. 

If it ever dries up enough here, we'll be helping my father with his garden and I plan to enjoy that.


----------



## KansasBead (Feb 18, 2006)

Today DH and I went grocery shopping. I've been saying for months now how expensive everything is; and "FINALLY" today he saw what I was talking about from the prices of groceries at the store.

We kept to our budget and didn't get all on our list, but most of it! YAY!

My seeds have finally begun to sprout and the grandchildren are beside themselves wanting to go out and plant them! lol.

My darling grandchildren and I baked cookies today; and biscuits. DH was most grateful  

I have not been successful in getting canning jars yet. We have alot in the storage building; so we'll be going there this week.

It's all so exciting for me. I use to always keep alot of supplies on hand...children call me a pack rat. But after the kids all left DH didn't think we needed to keep so much. But we have 17 grandchildren; and believe me they are always hungry. 

Still have much to do; but feel better about having *some* saved back. DH even suggested we buy another pantry closet. LOL Soon or later the sheeple get it! Hopefully we have not waited too late.


----------



## georgiarebel (Jul 7, 2005)

Been busy here. A lot of stuff started in March, but decided to save it for the April tread. 

Started our chicken tractor courtesy of Alan's help (Thanks!). Got the frame & panels built, just need to wrap it in wire. Only thing is need to start another right away. Purchased 25 chickens and 15 turkeys from McMurray and they're getting big quick. Also plan to build an additional one on 4x4's with 3 cattle panels instead of two for a future greenhouse. Really like the design.

Purchased 100lbs of wheat, and 25lbs of oats from a local co-op. Need to invest in a grain mill, but don't want to spend the high $ for an electric one. Probably just go with the manual for emergencies. 

Stated a 1/2 garden. Wanted bigger but made myself commit to one I could manage. Last year the lack of rain killed it, and the year before was productive, but the grass took over more than I could manage. Planted pickling cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, and peppers so far with plans to add squash, okra and corn by the end of the week. 

With the truckers strike we headed to the grocery store right after work and loaded up on can goods. Also topped off the vehicles. Figure the strike could get worse depending on how the ones holding out see how many participate. It won't take long when the pumps go dry, and the shelves to go empty for the natives to get restless. Americans take so much for granted.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Some of what I have going right now started last week...
Got my Walton order in, I ordered over 300# of preps. :rock:
Have tomatoes out, onions look good. Planted 4 grape vines, my fig tree came back (I was worried, the goats chowed on it last fall!)
Worked on the bed for asparagus a bit, but it isn't ready yet (gotta get that finished!) Got my new manual grain mill, haven't got to use it yet, but that will be soon.
I found turkey on sale for .49 per pound, bought 4 of them. So I spent all day canning turkey. Right now I have 12 jars on the table, one canner load and possibly 2 more to be done. I will have lots of broth, as I boned the turkey, boiled the bones, and will can that broth. Lets see, I think I will end up with 15 quarts of meat, and I am not sure how many quarts of broth, probably 15-21.
:hobbyhors
Talked with DH about making a chicken tractor, think we will be working on that soon, my chickens are everywhere as a tree fell on the pen and there is no containing them now.

Yesterday I put up 12 jars of pickled eggs and 6 jars of grape/sumac jelly.
I am trying to empty my freezer. I kept putting fruit in there for making jelly, and never made the jelly. Better get with it, or I will never get it all done!
Our fridge and water heater went out, so I have been canning sorta old fashioned, boiling all my water. That is hard work! 
I managed to catch 5 little feral bunnies and get them into the rabbit pen in cages. Their mom has been loose for a year or so, always puts out babies, but the dogs/cats/hawks always get them before I do. I finally have some caught and in cages. That will help my rabbit population real well.

I had 3 canning jars break on me, I think they are just getting too old. Haven't bought new jars in 12 years or more, might be a good time to do so.
So that will be on my prep list now.

Will be going to Sam's on the 11th, so I am compiling a list for that now. It will be a good stock up list. I am no longer living on my preps, so we are finally getting ahead! woohoo!!!


----------



## treesonggal (May 4, 2006)

Did our monthly shopping - most at Save-a-Lot. Stocked up on some veggies that were on sale, flat and twist noodles (though we usually make our own), canola oil, canned soups and tuna - we eat a lot of it.

According to our calculations, we have surpassed what we need for a year's worth of food so we're on our way to two years woth. My Dad was here for a visit and could not believe what we have stocked. Sadly, he thinks we're a bit weird.

Ordered more garden seeds for storage and have started some bean sprouts for salads/sandwiches.

We advertised the Case tractor and dump truck in the local shopper's guide for three weeks and next week we'll stock up on TP, shampoo, car/tractor oil, and a few odds and ends.

Finished my fourth quilt; this one for a granddaughter. Have a few Ebay auctions that are doing very well. The money will be saved for future homestead.

I really enjoy this thread, especially now that it's combined into one for the month.


----------



## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

I have my little urban garden in and growing YAY! I have always grown herbs and flowers, this is my first year with veggies and fruits and I am excited. I do know it could flop, but it's still fun working in the fresh air and watching everything get bigger and bigger. 

I will be canning for the first time on my own soon. I am a little intimidated but I have been reading and asking questions so I'm going to give it a try with some fruit I have in the freezer this weekend. I have 70 pounds of sugar in stock and three dozen jars, 2 are pints, 1 are quarts. I am posting on freecycle to see if I can get more jars and I have been asking my friends and family to look in their cupboards for jars they aren't using.

I picked up 4 more plastic buckets last weekend from the local in store bakery for free and the gamma lids I bought for them are here! Wed. I will be going to Sam's and buying beans and more flour to fill them. I lucked up on some bags of popcorn that were marked down, the grocer said they don't sell it much, everyone wants the prebuttered microwave kind. I bought 2 pound bags for 50 cents a bag and neary filled a 3 gallon bucket 

The local family dollar is selling blankets and throws really cheap, I bought three 60" x 60" fleece throws for only $1 each because they were dirty from being tossed on the floors. They washed up beautifully and are very soft  Next year when it's cold we will have extra "snugglies" and I am thinking of cutting one down to make a light fall jacket.

I have also decided to get rabbits and chickens, they are supposedly not allowed but around the neighborhood I have noticed three different people have chicken and/or ducks, two have rabbits and six people have gardens that never did before. Hhhmmm... maybe we can do some bartering in the future


----------



## kitaye (Sep 19, 2005)

Our Mylar bags finally showed up along with the O2absorbers. Bags were bigger than expected so each bag held 1/2 a bag of wheat. The O2 absorbers were not what I was expecting either. They were packets of iron powder. Hubby, the amatuer chemist, says they will work just fine but take longer to get rid of the air. Besides the wheat, we have rye, oats, and at 4 kinds of beans. 

I've started making homemade granola bars from our rolled oats. Efforts haven't been exactly what I'm looking for but they get eaten none the less. Hubby has asked that I try my hand at pumpernickel bread now that we have rye kernals. I've tried making sourdough bread for the last few weeks but ended up with lots of croutons. I'm not fond of the taste of sourdough but hubby loves it. Eventually I'll get some decent loaves. We have added sprouted wheat and spelt to our diet in addition to most rice dishes. Quite tasty and a good way to eat grains without bread.

Spring hasn't quite sprung here yet so the garden is a full month behind schedule. We're going to plant lettuce and oats in seed flats and see if we can grow them under grow lights.

We were given a working chest freezer. Right now it is sitting in the shed but once we get things reorganized it will be plugged in and used for store flour, sugar,and the like. Fresh veggies from the garden will be stored in there as well so we can rotate everything easily. IF we have any room left over I hope to get a 1/2 cow from a local farmer this year.


----------



## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

We have kept chickens in a restricted neighborhood...trick is to never get a rooster! My sis lives where they aren't even allowed to hang our laundry or put in a garden...I'm pretty sure all my flower beds would be peppers and tomatoes! DEE


----------



## Guest (Apr 2, 2008)

kitaye said:


> The O2 absorbers were not what I was expecting either. They were packets of iron powder. Hubby, the amatuer chemist, says they will work just fine but take longer to get rid of the air.


 That's what oxygen absorbers are - finely divided iron, salt, and some absorbent material to hold a minute amount of water for the absorber types we preppers usually use. As soon as the absorbers are exposed to the air the salt and water immediately begins to rust the iron which absorbs oxygen in the process. The whole thing is usually done in about a day, mostly in the first five or six hours which is why one needs to work fast once the packet of absorbers is opened.

.....Alan.


----------



## melco (May 7, 2006)

Hi
I am new to this section. I have read a bit but I have never posted here. I have always bought bulk and cook from scratch, have chickens, and a garden. I have just started prepping and I have some questions. As far as grains go, for a family of four how many pounds of wheat berries would be considered a "fair start" for a years supply? I realize people eat different and such, I am just looking for an amount to shoot for. The same for rice, beans and sugar. I will start purchasing canned goods soon as well. what are some other things I should consider? Thanks alot.
Melissa


----------



## Guest (Apr 2, 2008)

melco said:


> Hi
> I am new to this section. I have read a bit but I have never posted here. I have always bought bulk and cook from scratch, have chickens, and a garden. I have just started prepping and I have some questions. As far as grains go, for a family of four how many pounds of wheat berries would be considered a "fair start" for a years supply? I realize people eat different and such, I am just looking for an amount to shoot for. The same for rice, beans and sugar. I will start purchasing canned goods soon as well. what are some other things I should consider? Thanks alot.
> Melissa


 http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm

Here's a calculator that will help you get onto the map. It will only get you started though. You really need to compile your own family data to flesh it out properly.

But before you start buying a lot of stuff like wheat berries is your family already eating them? I strongly recommend against putting a lot of anything into your storage that your family does not already eat on at least a semi-regular basis. 

I recommend starting with those foods that your family already eats that are storable and spending some time exploring alternatives for those things that your family eats that aren't storable or that are too expensive to store in quantity. This takes time and effort, but it gets you a storage program tailored to your family's needs rather than a "one size fits all" solution that isn't likely to make anyone happy if and when the time comes that you have to truly rely on it.

.....Alan.


----------



## stranger (Feb 24, 2008)

KansasBead said:


> Today DH and I went grocery shopping. I've been saying for months now how expensive everything is; and "FINALLY" today he saw what I was talking about from the prices of groceries at the store.
> 
> We kept to our budget and didn't get all on our list, but most of it! YAY!
> 
> ...


put an ad in the classified section in the newspaper of the city nearest you, you will get many for a couple bucks a doz and many free just for taking them..


----------



## Michelle (Feb 20, 2008)

Hello. I'm very new around here and have just started to prep.

Last weekend I put in my first veggie garden. The bed is completed and the seedlings transferred. I have tomatoes and zucchinis planted.

I've slowly started to stock up on a few items that we consistantly use/eat. I have a decent size pantry and asked DH to reinforce the shelves as I would be filling them up with time.

April goals:
- Begin bread baking trial and error
- Start personal cost tracking sheets (to determine best stock items/price)
- Look into CHL class
- Continue with garden
- Purchase rain barrel
- Begin composting (Edit to add this)
- Research


----------



## Morning Owl (Oct 13, 2005)

Love this tread a month at time works better for me than a week. LOL

It's still winter here (zone 3) got 8" of snow last Sunday. Can I tell you how sick of winter I am right about now. So no garden, chickies, etc. for a while :Bawling: Last month I bought a bread machine at the thrift store for $5 and started making bread. :banana02: It is soo good. I've figured out what chic's I want to order come mid May. 2 weeks ago I started selling my eggs to help with the feed bill. I charge $1.50 a dozen and have got about 5 costumers so far :clap: I also have been stocking up on some prep's. I got quite a few things but my big find was a case of tuna (48 cans) for $21.12. That's a really good price for here.


----------



## avandris (Jun 8, 2007)

Morning owl I totally can empathize about the snow. We got more last weekend also. It is supposed to be in the 50s for the next few days though so hopefully we will lose a foot or so of snow in melt off. 

You got a great deal on the tuna. I would have bought two cases. We really like tuna and the best sale price I can have found in the last few months is 67 cents each. 

The last few days I got a few buckets of sugar, salt, jasmine rice and some white flour put up. I don't use much white flour, but like to mix it with my fresh ground when I want a lighter product to give away. I also got 25lbs of hard red wheat put up and finally put away my can goods that I got last week. I bought some pants and shirts on clearance($2 each)for my eldest daughter. I got several of each for the next couple of years. I will be doing some more shopping and stocking when I go to town tomorrow. While I have the funds I plan on stocking up on the things we will use.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Added to my preps! A couple of days ago I found turkey for .49 cents a pound, and I bought 4 of them.
I have lots of meat and broth put up now, and as soon as I get back from my weekend trip I will grind the bones (in that cool new grinder I got) and then I will jar up the leftover skin and bones for dog food preps.

It sure was a lot of work. Made me tired!


----------



## Shinsan (Jul 11, 2006)

KansasBead said:


> Today DH and I went grocery shopping. I've been saying for months now how expensive everything is; and "FINALLY" today he saw what I was talking about from the prices of groceries at the store...
> ...Still have much to do; but feel better about having *some* saved back. DH even suggested we buy another pantry closet. LOL Soon or later the sheeple get it! Hopefully we have not waited too late.


Despite the fact that both our countries are experiencing the pain of increasing prices, Australians have for a long time envied the U.S. for the low cost of groceries. (After taking into account the different wages and dollar exchange rate.) Your food generally has been heavily subsidised by the govt., and although it might be argued that you are taxed highly, we here are taxed even higher, but with no benefit of food subsidy.)

Having said that, I admit that after looking at the shopping trolleys coming out of the supermarkets here, I've seen that too many people throw most of their money away on 'junk' food and small portions of packet or pre-made meals. Fortunately, our family is of the mindset that allows us to happily purchase bulk ingredients and do all of our cooking from scratch - but then again, we know how to: Quite honestly, too many people here don't, won't or can't.


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

mamajohnson said:


> Added to my preps! A couple of days ago I found turkey for .49 cents a pound, and I bought 4 of them.
> I have lots of meat and broth put up now, and as soon as I get back from my weekend trip I will grind the bones (in that cool new grinder I got) and then I will jar up the leftover skin and bones for dog food preps.
> 
> It sure was a lot of work. Made me tired!


Very nice! I spent my day cutting meat off bones too. Tomorrow I will start the canner early. Prob end up with 14 qts.


----------



## Wildwood (Jul 2, 2007)

I accomplished a major prep today and one that I've wanted taken care of for a while. Hubby had a spot on the side of his head that just didn't look good to me and I've begged him for a while to get it removed but he firmly refused. I finally just made an appointment and he got mad at me...wouldn't speak to me last night but he went this morning and the doc must have sensed his reluctance cause he took it off today and sent it for a biopsy but he thinks he got it all. Your prayers and good vibes will be greatly appreciated for a good outcome. I didn't realize DH was so worried about it til this morning bless his heart. 

Last month I took my son to get his last wisdom tooth removed and I'm calling for my yearly checkup appt. tomorrow. The dogs are next LOL.

Mamajohnson all those jars of turkey and broth look great....good job!


----------



## MoGrrrl (Jan 19, 2007)

Morning Owl said:


> 2 weeks ago I started selling my eggs to help with the feed bill. I charge $1.50 a dozen and have got about 5 costumers so far :clap: I also have been stocking up on some prep's. I got quite a few things but my big find was a case of tuna (48 cans) for $21.12. That's a really good price for here.


Morning Owl, just FYI, we pay around $3 / doz eggs from the farmer at the market. I don't know how you are distributing and if you hope to sell many more dozens, but you may want to consider raising your prices. 

As for my activity, I'm just in gardening mode. We get let into the community garden at the end of the week, I think. Going to grow kale, greens, spinach and beans for the spring. Tomatoes, peppers and winter squash will follow when we are frost free.


----------



## melco (May 7, 2006)

Thanks Alan for the link to the food storage calculator. It was exactly what I was looking for. Oddly enough I already had a few things on the list really close to the amounts since I always try and buy in bulk. I did get some good ideas as to what other items I may need. We do already eat our home ground wheat products and that is one of the items I was really close to having in storage here. I will work on some of the other items. Thanks alot.
Melissa


----------



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

So far this month I've purchased 30 pounds of flour and sealed it in buckets. I received four more gamma seals, and stocked up on peanut butter, rice, bullion powder, and spaghetti sauce at Costco. 

But the big purchase this month is a Harsch crock for making sauerkraut. It was pretty expensive, but well made and should last forever. I also salted a bunch of sliced radishes and put them in canning jars. The first batch of kraut should be ready in a month.

I also made yogurt in my oven, using just the light for heat. It turned out great, and the kids loved it with some honey stirred in.

Today I've got the dehydrator making some more beef jerky. Someone in this forum suggested I dry it extra dry, vac seal it then put it in a canning jar, so I'm going to try that. I'm hoping to avoid keeping it in the fridge or freezer.

Also finally ordered used copies of the Encyclopedia of Country Living and also a book called "Preserving Food without Freezing or Canning: Traditional Techniques Using Salt, Oil, Sugar, Alcohol, Vinegar, Drying, Cold Storage, and Lactic Fermentation".


----------



## Morning Owl (Oct 13, 2005)

MoGrrrl said:


> Morning Owl, just FYI, we pay around $3 / doz eggs from the farmer at the market. I don't know how you are distributing and if you hope to sell many more dozens, but you may want to consider raising your prices.


MoGrrrl I wish but $1.50 is all the market will pay here. The Hooterites sell their eggs at the farmers market for $1.00 a dozen. I get away with $1.50 because I sell to people I work with and friends so they don't have to go any were to get them I bring the eggs to them. :chicken:

Hey Albertson's is having a sale on tuna, .77 cents for the first 3 cans :hobbyhors I think I will be hitting Albertson's a couple times a day for the next 5 days. LOL


----------



## themamahen (Jun 26, 2005)

Great job on the turkeys Nice price too. 

So far this month i have added to my "To Do and To Get" List

Bought about 400# of wheat and grains. 

Placed an order thru a restaraunt service for some dry soups will let yall know how that works out. Was Cup of soups dehyd. 1 per serv. 88 per case for 28.00 there was a 3 case minimum so i ordered 1 of each kind they had. 264 cup of soups for 98.00 with shipping. 

Hubby and I went thru our food storage which was all over the house and we have NO way to organize it, so I bought 13 Totes and Had Fun  In each tote we placed a variety of foods #10 cans # 2.5 cans and vac sealed products everything from tvp milk eggs granola oats wheat dehyd. veggies pudding kool aid sugar exc. Our thought Is 1 tote per 4 people = 1 very GOOD week. IF the food is rationed we could easily feed 6. 

the totes were to catch all the extras that accumulate and they had for a year. 

Got 7 FREE buckets fromt he deli washed cleaned bagged and stored my grains in them.

Leaving on SAT to go look for land in KY wish me luck yall 

Learning how to use my jar sealer that i ordered. 

Stocked up on Cocoa ( i have to have my chocolate) and jello on sale for .40

Bought some hard candy for the kids for storage.

Ordered several new books Raising Pigs, milk goats, root cellering which I find I devour those books and am almost done with all 3. 

Bought more seed for storage and planting

Ordered $200 worth of trees from arbor day 
8 Apples
3 cherries
4 pears
2 chestnut
2 hazelnut
3 maples 
and 10 free trees

Also ordered 50 blueberry plants off Ebay havent recv'd them yet but if they are nice ones will let yall know because i didnt pay very much for them.


----------



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

And all I got around to was weeding, preparing and planting one raised bed with chinese cabbage and putting windows over another so it could dry out/warm up. Hopefully in a couple of days I can pull weeds from it and plant it too.

Moved the cold sow plants outside yesterday, except the seedlings. Got ourself some laying hens (chicks) started in there with the seedlings and have been tending to them. The temperature in the greenhouse has some extreme swings so I need to check them every hour or two to make sure they're okay.

Have stocked up on peat and garbage can for mixing potting soil. Next . . . playing with the soy milk and bread recipes and seeding carrots, beets, chard and spinach, planting the garlic starts.


----------



## farmermom4 (Feb 17, 2007)

Got more squared away with the firearm situation. Had bought a 45 Ruger semi-auto at the gun show last week, went and got a holster and ammo for it today, also got more 22 shells and more shells for our hunting rifle. Also got a new gun cleaning kit. Will be sighting in the guns and target shooting this weekend to get more comfortable. Another of our local stores is having a case goods sale, will be stocking up on more fruit and veggies, even though I garden and can, you never know what the season will bring!!
Also started my prep binder, am going through and making sections for everything (food, 1st aid, water etc.) and putting down what I have and also what I need, much easier to see it on paper and focus on needs. Have alot of veggies started will be moving them to the greenhouse soon, their under the basement grow lights now.
Toni


----------



## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

I picked up a sewing machine (loaned mine out and never got it back) and canning jars from freecycle this week. I also got a ton of old windows as a start toward my small greenhouse and my first raised bed is built. This will be my first serious attempt at gardening. (last one was a dismal failure) I am going to try one more time to make jelly this weekend. If I don't get it this time, I never will. I will have to barter for jelly or stock up on the store brand.

I have also decided to install a false wall with a can storage system behind it. Someone posted the link to one, and I thought it was brilliant. Since there is little or no storage in trailer home, this is one option I can really put to good use. I will lose about a foot of floor space in the living room, but will gain amazing canned good storage. 

DH has started bringing home pallets from work to finish the fence and get the shed started. 

AND-the zoning board called back. There are NO laws or zoning regulations that prevent me from having chickens or goats in the trailer park. There are nuisance laws-if the coops are not kept clean, if manure isn't composted and is allowed to smell. However, if I am doing it right, none of those things should be an issue. Now all I am waiting for is permission from the owner of the park to have them. Then my chicken coop will be built and my chicks will be on the way. I'm hoping to have them this summer, but I am not holding my breath.

Called the meat packing plant and put in an order for 1/2 a cow, 2 pigs, 3 turkeys and 12 chickens. Getting venison from a friend for DH-have to label that very clearly so I don't eat it by mistake. (allergic to venison, which totally sucks)


----------



## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

I have been filling my new frosting buckets with dried food goods, and continuing to make the rounds of my local grocery stores to acquire more. 

Yesterday at the store they had huge bags of skinless boneless chicken breasts for sale for $1.69 per pound. I bought some. When I got home I tossed some in the slow cooker and let it cook overnight. I'll be canning it this morning (with a pressure canner of course). 

I bought an extra ham for Easter and canned that. I like to use smaller jars when I can meats. One jar is the right amount for a soup or cassarole.


----------



## AR Transplant (Mar 20, 2004)

I had to go up North to attend a funeral.

While there I called atchison farmers direct foods to get some wheat. Sadly, they are all out of the wheat berries and expect some on Friday (today). Sadly, I had to come home yesterday. Still, the berries shipping here is not bad, it works out to 33.00 a bag. I have not decided what to do.

I did go to the bulk foods store in St Joe and got some corn, pop corn, dutch processed cocoa, pink beans and cranberry beans that I hope to plant to see how they will do down there. I think that I should be shoring up what are true heirloom seeds and what isn't. It doesn't hurt to have different varieties of beans as well.

I went to a few thrift stores as well and was shocked at the prices of jeans. One store had them for $3.75. For a pair of used jeans that is dissappointing.

ar


----------



## PineRidge (May 2, 2006)

We finally got started working on our water storage. DH puchased a 275 gallon tank in a metal cage that had had apple juice in it. We figure for now it will be used to haul water to the animals (once we get them) but can be put under the deck to catch drinking water. We also have an old leaky cistern that we want to repair. Between the two we should have close to 500 gallons of water collectors.

This is a big step for us. DH likes me prepping but is an optimist compared to me, so for him to admit that being able to store water is worthy of funding is a big deal!

This week was my week to stock up on "personal hygine" at the store. So extra soap, shampoo, toothpaste and laundry detergent.

I try and rotate my purchases, one week is pet care, one meat, one cleaning, one baking....that way I don't get overwhelmed with any one catagory, or end up with a huge bill, or wonder where I'll ever put all this stuff!


----------



## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

I just wanted to say Pineridge....I absolutely love the idea of doing category weeks. I would have never thought of it. I'm excited to implement it already. It will definitely help with the budget (so I don't overspend) and not being overwhelmed. I also won't be in the store as long doing it that way.

So....Thank You for that.

SARAH


----------



## PineRidge (May 2, 2006)

sparkysarah said:


> I just wanted to say Pineridge....I absolutely love the idea of doing category weeks. I would have never thought of it. I'm excited to implement it already. It will definitely help with the budget (so I don't overspend) and not being overwhelmed. I also won't be in the store as long doing it that way.
> 
> So....Thank You for that.
> 
> SARAH


No problem! It really helps me avoid overspending, and too many times in my "early prepping days" I would come home from the store to realize I already had five containers of soap, but was out of cat food  This way I can do inventory on one group at a time and get what is really needed. It did take a while to get used to. It's hard not to grab "one more" of something for storage.

This can also work well with the $20 storage challenge.


----------



## ovendoctor (Jun 28, 2006)

the 5' of snow is gone off the garden

rhubarb is 2'' high,the berry plants are budding

DW finally gave in on the garden size so X2 it goes

spuds going in next week after the tiller gets fixed today

also Alan; is there a way to vac. pack flour in the food saver bags
sugar works great if ya double bag it


----------



## Guest (Apr 7, 2008)

ovendoctor said:


> also Alan; is there a way to vac. pack flour in the food saver bags sugar works great if ya double bag it


 I don't vac-seal flour in bags myself, but a number of other folks have told me they've had good luck leaving the flour in the original paper bag then vac-sealing the plastic bag over it. I think trying to seal flour in plastic bags without some sort of interior liner bag is likely to work poorly.


It rained pretty much all weekend here, not a terrible lot at one time, just frequently. I came up with a cold Friday afternoon so didn't have a lot of patience for getting wet so we went shopping Sunday afternoon. A little canned goods for the storage, shampoos, mouthwashes, that sort of thing. There's really not very much at the Super Wally-World that I care to go there for anymore, but there are about a half-dozen things that I either can't find elsewhere or can't find at a good price so every five or six weeks we'll head over for those things.

I really need to sit down and finalize our truck pool order. Money is tight so we are having to be pretty selective this time around. I'm think another ten pounds of gluten and some new water jugs. Someone on the last truck pool odered a bunch of the five-gallon jugs from Walton and I liked the look of them so that's what we're going to replace our aging containers with.

.....Alan.


----------



## shellrow (Feb 8, 2007)

I hit all the local sales at the Food Lion and IGA here last week and this week. I had decided to clean out the freezers and use up everything meat wise that I had in there before purchasing more. In the past I have concentrated on staples such as flour, sugar, dried beans and canned goods... now I am thinking along the lines of canning meats. Over the past two weeks I have gotten chicken, hamburger, pork loin and ribs on sale. I stock piled all of them! Right after Easter I also hit the sales on the hams so I have 2 of them now also. I have never canned meat so I am a little leary about doing it and I have been kinda putting it off. I also have several pickled eggs sitting in the fridge from Easter that I would like to can. I saw a post about it on here that I need to look up. The garden is doing well but we do not have much planted. Our seedlings did not come up so we are having to replant tomatoes, cukes and peppers . We have had several bouts of rain (thank goodness) so both of our rain barrels are full and I think we need to purchase more!


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Finished canning ALL the freezer meat FINALLY! That is a good feeling! I'll be putting the pigs in soon tho. Now I've got to do the frozen butter today. I'm rotating some grains and beans thru the freezer because I've had such a major infestation of pantry moths again. Figure it won't hurt to freeze every container that I'm using stuff out of. I have a bunch of pecans in the shell in the freezer too. Need to find time to shell them. Never ends.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Got my asparagus planted today! woohoo!!
Last weekend I found a 2/$1 sale on hair gel and deoderant, so I got what little was left (seems I was late getting there!) I added 4 deoderants and 2 hair gels to the stores. I guess I need to keep a closer eye on the local stores.
Also got some more lettuce, carrots and radish seeds out. My little lettuce's are doing well, and onions look great!
So, we seem to be progressing nicely. Will start putting my frozen fruits into jelly next week. This week I have to finish 2 quilts.


----------



## bowhunter (Apr 5, 2008)

Well, just got 2840 vac sealer from Bi-Mart. 50# pinto no sweat, 25# sugar no problem, 10# egg noodles easy, 10# elbow macroni a breeze.

Flour--now that is another story-finally just sealed the jars and screwed the lid on and hoped for the best. Nah-they did not seal. Oh Well. 

10 pints of pinto beans pressure canned. Will be working on the frozen berries tonight to make more jam.

I had never seen a pressure canner till last summer. Now have 40 lbs. of tuna in the jar, 15 pints of applesauce, 4 pints of green beans, and just finished up the last of pinto's done last fall. I am really liking the vac sealer. Small dry works really well. Long spaghetti I had to break and then gave up. Thinking I will use the roll of bags for this. Everything else went into jars.

Have a steer just about ready, just gotta get arrangements made for the trip and rsv with the butcher.

Boer goats are in pretty good shape, triplets, twins, twins, and even the mama that prolapsed is doing good.

Ken


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

Welcome to the boards, Ken. Sounds like you are in full swing!


----------



## 3ravens (Mar 16, 2006)

Ken, Try cutting a circle of coffee filter to fit inside the jar sealer attachment. This seems to help with the sealing for me, and keeps the flour from getting into the vacsealer and ruining it. In fact, I just leave the filter in there unless I'm sealing something wet.


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

The weather's NOT cooperating, so I went to a produce auction this morn and came home with three and a half flats of veggies and herb starts as well as new seed potatoes and onion sets. I mean, a full flat of Brandywine Pinks (30 plants nearly big enough to go in if it were warmer) were only $6.50! This will replenish our preps quite a lot come end of summer.

Have to wait two weeks to store more wheat, though. _Someone_ must finally be listening to the news because many of their shelves of basics were bare or nearly so! No wheat berries whatsoever available. The most flour they had in bulk was Gold Medal Stone Ground (3 bags) - 50# $37  (two months ago it was twenty dollars!). Wheat Montana flours (my fav is Prairie Gold hard white) was only $27 for 50# but the shelves were bare and the order won't be in for a couple weeks. Big bags of sugar -50# $20 - were all gone. Beans were a bit scanty, but at least there was some. Sea salt was non-existant although there was plain bleached salt. And oatmeal - down to one lone 50# bag of quick oats. The "luxury" foodstuffs (noodles, cereals, candies) were plentiful. I've been going there for some fifteen years and NEVER seen such low stores - and they're very taken aback, as well. 

Anyone have recommendations on a food vac sealer? Don't want the top-of-the-line necessarily but a good value for the money.


----------



## virtualco (Feb 3, 2006)

Finished vac sealing 25 lbs of whole wheat and bread flour in quart canning jars.

Note: Paid $10 each for 12 quart jars and $2.50 each for 5 lbs flour. $12.50 for the flour and $20 for the jars, total $32.50.

This can get expensive real fast, but jars last forever so I consider this a good investment.


----------



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I waxed a bunch of cheese (including Swiss, which was a different challenge with the holes), canned 6 pounds of butter in pint jars, got some more sauerkraut percolating in the crock, and bought two cases of canned beef cubes. I also got some good deals on food from Amazon with free shipping (organic choc. milk boxes, microwave popcorn, noodle side dishes).


----------



## Chickengirl (Mar 16, 2008)

We are in autumn here, so I am getting started on a winter garden (no frost!), am working out where to put the muscovies and chickens we are culling (about 10 all up), the freezer will be full with all that in there.

Am also collecting lots of info, and doing lots of planning...big fan of planning (I'm also a fan of permaculture, and permaculture relies on REALLY good planning and observation). Doing a stocktake on what we have (not much), what we need (a fair bit *sigh*) and how to get rid of the junk...

Am also busy convincing DP that prep is a really good idea....the biggest job!


----------



## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

I just received my monthly order from Alison's Pantry yesterday and the three 50# bags of wheat that I ordered didn't come. I looked in the new catalog and you can't even order it next time. Glad I've been ordering extra in past months. Had a feeling I should. She had received an extra bag of 6 grain, so I snagged that. Have to get my order put into buckets tomorrow. As far as the price coming down on wheat, I wouldn't keep your fingers crossed. I've been told that its going to be worth more than gold because of the famine.
Anyone know how long cornmeal will last in white 5 gallon buckets in cool temp? Just started storing that and don't know much about it. Doesn't it go rancid fairly fast?
My lettuce started coming out of its funk after I took it out of the direct sunlight. Had that on another thread. Thank you people for your 2 cents. 
Have lots of things ready to plant but we keep having snow and cold temps. Suppose to be in the 70's next week but I'm sure if I planted, the following week would be down to 8degrees again. 
Has anyone seen a rainbow this year yet? Been looking, haven't seen one. 
What's a good way (maybe a natural deterent?) in keeping wildlife away from your gardens & flowers? We have deer, bears, rabbits, skunks, fox, cats, more deer, my daughters pain in the butt dog Bear, and so on. Need to build a cheap but decent fence and not sure what to do. Wondered if there was a smelly spray or something I could use as well? 
In my order, I received my manual grain mill. Glad I have that now. My electric one is spitting more flour out the sides and bottom than out the spout. I am NOT mechanically inclined. Don't know what is wrong with it. I made sure not to plug it up and all but......*sigh* it messed up anyway....
Looking forward to warmer weather BUT does anyone else feel that next winter is going to be a REAL doozey, or is it just me? Keep having promptings to get prepared for it now.


----------



## sparkysarah (Dec 4, 2007)

Bajiay, Where are you located? I see that you're in the Law Enforcement loop as we are. I know what you mean about the weather. I'm sure next week I will have the itch to plant something...anything, but know that I need to wait another month.

I am also curious about how long vac-sealed corn meal would last.

One thing that I've used to keep some animals away is a spray that is made from the blood of Bovine. It is red and stinks like rotten blood, but it works. Being that you have bears near I don't know if this would actually attract them yet repel other animals.

Did you get one of the Basic mills? I've been debating it. I order from Alison's Pantry as well.


----------



## SCRich (Feb 27, 2008)

What did I do/doing in April??? I am starting from almost the ground up. I have some generators, firearms, some skills but that is about it. A few weeks ago I found this forum and after reading it quite a bit I found out a lot about myself, I am one of "you". I have started the garden but I have not planted yet, lucky we will hit freezing Monday-Tuesday. I am looking into what I need to do to connect a hand pump to our well and be able to afford it and also a way to control my land errosion here. When it rains it seems to rain REAL HARD so why not harness all of that out of our gutters, and just the land. I have several dry runoff creeks that look like rapids when it rains and a seasonal creek about 900ft behind the house. All runoffs lead to the creek, why not harness all of that into a tank make use of the water AND resolve my errosion problems in the yard. 
It feels good to be able to do SOMETHING...

One general question- I see people making LARGE purchases here. We have no Costco, Sam's or BJ's near us and when I did vist these stores living in other places they had large quantities of some things but not much of what I would consider essential pantry things. What sources should I look at to start some purchases and storage?


----------



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

I learned how to make whole wheat crackers and graham crackers from scratch this weekend. I have tried a couple of recipes from the internet. They need some tweaking, but satisfied my cravings for crackers and cheese. All in all, better than I expected.

I'm loving this wheat grinder, and the amazing flavor of everything made with the fresh ground wheat. The boost in energy helps too. It makes such a difference when the food you eat has it's full nutritional value intact.


----------



## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

bajiay said:


> What's a good way (maybe a natural deterent?) in keeping wildlife away from your gardens & flowers? We have deer, bears, rabbits, skunks, fox, cats, more deer, my daughters pain in the butt dog Bear, and so on. Need to build a cheap but decent fence and not sure what to do. Wondered if there was a smelly spray or something I could use as well?


My friend's father, who I learned all sorts of great homesteading techniques from, uses snow fencing to keep the deer and other critters out of his vegetable garden. Cheap, easy to put up and take down, easy to move.

Jan


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

> One general question- I see people making LARGE purchases here. We have no Costco, Sam's or BJ's near us and when I did vist these stores living in other places they had large quantities of some things but not much of what I would consider essential pantry things. What sources should I look at to start some purchases and storage?



SCRich, where are you? Different areas of the country have different places to get bulk foods.


----------



## SCRich (Feb 27, 2008)

Cyngbaeld said:


> SCRich, where are you? Different areas of the country have different places to get bulk foods.


SC Rich- Guess it was not as obvious as I thought. South Carolina on the North Central end just South of Charlotte. I believe there is a Sam's club in Charlotte but I have not been to any of them in about 6 or so years and it's a bit far to go to unless we do it every couple of months. 

We avoid the city if at all possible, I only go there if I need to for work and the wife has been there a couple of times with our child for a doctor's visit. 

From what I remember most of the bulk clubs had bulk can's and condements. I guess canned vegtables could be opened up and re-jar'ed to be managable. But other than that and several gallons of mayo or ketchup I can't think of what else they would have for a pantry.


----------



## Wildwood (Jul 2, 2007)

SCRich I buy a few things in bulk and have it shipped in that I can't get locally but most of my preps were bought locally. Shipping charges being what they are, it's often better to just buy what's available.

I don't advise buying the large cans and re-jarring them when you can find the smaller cans of veggies at fair prices. For one thing they would be overprocessed and you would have the expense of canning supplies not to mention the work. Honestly sometimes the large cans aren't cheaper either when you do the math. I did a visit to a Sam's club a while back just to guage the possibilities and there were a few...flour in 25 pound bags seemed like a good deal but I've switched to grinding my own. The bulk yeast they had was a good price but I already stocked up at Walton Feed but I'm keeping it in mind. I'm going to go ahead and get a membership because there were lots of items for quick meals on the days I work. It is an hour's drive for me so I want be going but a few times a year.

In the long run, I think unless you live close to a bulk supplier that has grains and such, the best bet is to use a variety of means to build those preps.

Good luck and welcome to the board :bouncy:.


----------



## Ohio Rusty (Jan 18, 2008)

I've added 8 more small boxes of long grain rice and 6 more two liter bottles of fresh water which now gives me a total of 18 put away. It will snow here in Ohio and be below freezing the next few nights so any outdoor garden stuff is out. The peach tree and the apple tree have buds on, I just hope we have bees this year to pollinate the trees. Last year there were no bees, and I had only 5 apples on a tree that normally produces close to 1000 apples. 
Been adding a few non perishable items every couple of weeks when shopping. They add up a little at a time. Cast quite a few new lead ball for the flintlock rifle and cap-n-ball pistols. Hunting ammo-n-food preps are coming along. 
Paid off all 3 credit cards with the income tax refund. That will give me a few extra dollars of liquid capital for the months ahead.
Ohio Rusty ><>


----------



## Wildwood (Jul 2, 2007)

pickapeppa I agree on the ground grains. We are loving it. I would love a recipe or link for those crackers.

I made my first pan of cornbread using home ground corn last night and it was so good. My father is 79 and came over for a glass of cornbread and milk and thoroughly enjoyed it. He talked for a good hour about his mother's cooking and preserving...all triggered by the taste of that cornbread. They grew their own corn and took it by wagon to the mill to be ground for a percentage of the corn.


----------



## MisFitFarm (Dec 31, 2007)

I don't have a garden yet, which worries me, but the weather simply has not cooperated. I keep buying seeds though, in case in need to replant, and also to stock up on them. I bought my first pressure canner, I've always been scared of them and have only done the hot bath canning. I also bought my first dehydrator, can't wait to play with that. Every time I go to the store I buy extra of something, beans, rice whatever I can. It's hard to do when the person you have to live with does not approve of stocking up!

On a brighter note, I ordered 100 brown egg layers from Meyer Hatchery. They always send extras, so I don't know how many we have, but they all arrived ALIVE! In the week and a half since they arrived, only one has died. I don't think I'll have to worry about eggs this year!


----------



## bajiay (Apr 8, 2008)

Thanks ai731! Hadn't thought of that one. Wonder if the bears would knock it down?
I worked in the yard some today. Trying to finish my HUGE rock patio that I started last summer. Boy, I didn't know what I was getting myself into! It will be pretty, if I ever get it done!
Stuff I got from Alison's Pantry, I'm going to use to make granola this week. Haven't made it before. Was thinking I could vacuum seal it and store that. That would store okay, wouldn't it?
Envious of you all with chickens. Would love to have them. We have so much wildlife it would be a waste of money to even bother. Eat some fresh eggs for me!!!


----------



## nandmsmom (Mar 3, 2006)

I finally got to go to the LDS cannery this weekend. We got there at just the right time. There was a huge rental truck out back that had bought almost the entire warehouse. We were able to get the last of the wheat that they had. The man told us that today we got the wheat for 6.25 for 25 lbs, but the next shipment would be $44 for the same bag!!!! He said they probably wouldn't even bother to stock it since nobody could afford to buy it. 

I got 250 lbs of wheat, 250 lbs of beans, 25 lbs of milk, 35 lbs of dehydrated onion, 50 lbs of pasta. That will bring me to about a years supply with everything else in the basement. The problem is that the neighbors were out asking about what I had gotten. They now know that I have big stores in the basement. 

Anyway, I need to get everything repacked and stored properly now. We couldn't get it canned today and I'm not lugging it all back there.


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

> wheat for 6.25 for 25 lbs, but the next shipment would be $44 for the same bag


 Just a wee bit of difference, huh?

Usually it's more economical to buy in bulk, right? Yesterday, 2-10# bags of rice was cheaper than a single 20# one. Weird. Noticed several of those....and empty shelves, even at China-Mart.

Anyone know of quality - but not bank-breaking - shovels and rakes, pref. made in the US? All I can find are poorly tack-welded China versions and some of them aren't inexpensive, either!


----------



## Guest (Apr 14, 2008)

Made a Sam's run today. Picked up canned goods and some stuff I need to repack and vac-seal. Didn't notice anything missing among the usual things I check every time I go in.

The food and feed storage are back up to snuff again.

.....Alan.


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

nandmsmom said:


> ......The man told us that today we got the wheat for 6.25 for 25 lbs, but the next shipment would be $44 for the same bag!!!! .....


That's the price for the hard white wheat. The LDS church doesn't grow its own white wheat, but purchases it. I wonder if the price of the red wheat will remain the same. They don't make a profit off the sales in the storehouses - they sell for what is costs them.


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

so much work to get done! 

I did the easy thing this month - made a trip to Sam's and one to Costco and loaded up. We have started on our second year of food supplies. Our storage room is getting pretty tightly packed. Time to build another pantry! 

I am waiting for more consistent weather to set out all my seedlings. They are getting impatient. The new chicks are fully feathered out. Soon I can put their tractor outside and let them go to it. The bees should arrive any day. Strawberries are blooming - which is good, since we just opened the last of the jam and ate the last frozen berries. 

I have been checking out canning recipes of things I want to put in our pantry this year to be sure I have grown the right plants! It is my first year of all heirlooms and all organic growing. There is so much to do this time of year. It is really exciting to get out of bed in the mornings!


----------



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

Wildwood said:


> pickapeppa I agree on the ground grains. We are loving it. I would love a recipe or link for those crackers.
> 
> I made my first pan of cornbread using home ground corn last night and it was so good. My father is 79 and came over for a glass of cornbread and milk and thoroughly enjoyed it. He talked for a good hour about his mother's cooking and preserving...all triggered by the taste of that cornbread. They grew their own corn and took it by wagon to the mill to be ground for a percentage of the corn.


The graham cracker recipe I used was from this site

I made a couple of changes - used all butter instead of butter and shortening, and I used all hard white wheat flour instead of the combination. Next time I'll try it with soft wheat and see what happens. The consensus was, they needed more honey (translation - not sweet enough). And I forgot to prick holes in them with a fork - so the first batch isn't as crunchy as the second.

For the cracked black pepper/garlic crackers I tried this one.

Again, I used hard white wheat only. For the spices I added 1 t garlic powder and 1 t ground black pepper.

They turned out tough. Next time I try this, I'll use a combination of soft and hard wheat flours. But yesterday all I had prepared was the hard wheat flour. Also, the seasoning wasn't enough. Next time 1 1/2 t will go in of whatever spices get used.

I fixed that today by getting a super work out and hand cranking two quarts of hard wheat flour, 4 quarts of soft wheat flour, and 2 quarts of corn meal.

It was so nice to get that done, and I'm feeling it now. :bouncy:

We celebrated by having some egg salad on whole wheat rolls for dinner.

We really love melba toast crackers here, and with the left over rolls, that's the next project.

Callie, that is so true. It's hard to stay in bed this time of year and lollygag.  Just the sun coming out and seeing the blue sky makes me want to pop up and get started.


----------



## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

I'd love to just "pop up and get started". The problem is that there is so much to be done and I don't know what to do first! My raised beds are built, but not filled. No money in the budget for dirt for 2 more weeks. Can't plant directly for another 6 at least, so that is not an issue. The yard is clean and neat. The cabinets have been scrubbed and reorganized in preparation for re-stocking all my used up preps. (and I do mean ALL) After supporting 3 households all winter on my food storage, there is nothing left. I have 2 pounds of cornmeal left. That's it. 

I did learn this year that 1 pig is not enough. 2 or 3 is necessary for a year, as my kids seem to think my freezer is actually a grocery store. At least I know what they are feeding my grandbabies. I am shopping around for a place to purchase meat already processed. There just is no room here to raise 3 pigs, a cow and chickens and still have a garden. Lord, I want to get out of this place. There is no room to breathe. 

Heard back from the zoning commission for the village and the township. There is no law that prohibits me from having chickens, as long as my neighbors do not become inconvenienced by them. Since I will not need a rooster, that should not be an issue. However, I am still waiting for written permission from the owner of the lot. Management will go nuts no matter what I do. He is still telling me that whatever I plant into the ground belongs to the park. (hence the raised beds...my dirt, my labor, my veggies)

I guess for now, I have to focus on more of the repairs that will make this place sound and energy efficient for next winter. I am really wanting to convert to wood heat, but cannot. I have decided to purchase an extra fuel tank and just keep sending money into my account at the oil company. 

It's frustrating for me, because I can see what is coming. It's clear as the nose on my face. Already, we can barely afford to buy commercial foods in this area. Produce has been high at the market for a few years, and it's only getting worse. Growing my own is the only way to go.

Meats are getting high as well. I remember when a pound of hamburger was a cheap meal. Now, even goulash tends to cost more than 10 bux for a family of 5. I am 39 years old and hear myself saying "I remember when" a lot more than I should. 

At least my family is starting to see the problems. My youngest son just reminded me that he has empty space under his bed for canned goods. He has even offerred to close in part of the porch for a pantry for me! (the child is not all that talented with a hammer, but he means well) My daughter and her son have moved home and are living all over the living room. Even she noticed that all the unnecessary stuff is gone and there is more stuff being stored. She even had an idea--there is a tool available to attach to my computer for converting vhs tapes to dvd recordings. It costs about 50 bucks. Would save me the space that my video cabinet currently takes up--9 feet long by 1 foot wide. DVD's are stored in a large cd case, inside the coffee table. Sometimes, she really gets it. 

I am just stressed. I see so much I want to do, and so much that I need to do. With DH just getting back to work for the season, there are bills to catch up on. There is little money to get ahead with. I feel guilty going to school because it is costing so much. Even with the idea that it will help in the future, I can't help thinking that I should drop out and go back to work. I feel like I am always playing catch-up and I will never be ready. Especially now, when I look at my cupboards and they are empty. In 20 years, my cupboards have never been empty before. It's quite a revelation to me.


----------



## Wildwood (Jul 2, 2007)

Thanks for posting the links pickapeppa! I guess you did get a work out today grinding all that grain by hand...I'm impressed.

Ninn don't get discouraged. It sounds like you are doing a good job with what you have...knowledge is the greatest prep of all. I hope you can stay in school so you can make the good money when you are through. I do understand needing to take a break for various reasons though. We use to have a seasonal business and had to save enough for bills and groceries for several months out of the year and that's what got me started prepping only I didn't know there was a name for it .


----------



## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

Hope y'all don't mind my posting this little bit of sillyness: the last time I bought canning jars, before I had a chance to put them away, one of our cats decided that the stack of boxes made a great perch, so I got this photo of my cat 'guarding' my preps!


----------



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

neat photo... reminds me of my cat.
Angie


----------



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

ai731 said:


> Hope y'all don't mind my posting this little bit of sillyness: the last time I bought canning jars, before I had a chance to put them away, one of our cats decided that the stack of boxes made a great perch, so I got this photo of my cat 'guarding' my preps!


That is adorable. She looks just like one of ours - attitude and all.

Today I went shopping and tried out that $20 challenge. I found some great buys. Then the cashier said "$450.!!" And I said, "How much was that?!?!" It was around $150. I just picked up what we were running low on, and little extra of what we already had. I found a 20 lb bag of rice for $6. I haven't seen that price on rice for a couple of months now.

I'm trying to get one of my frugal neighbors onto the prepping bandwagon. I think she's coming around.

:clap:

They are a sweet family, and very busy and overwhelmed right now. They don't have time to keep up with the news. It's one of those ignorance is bliss situations. Maybe I shouldn't say anything. I probably should just prep extra and if they have hard times, give out of our stock instead. Why spread doom and gloom?


----------



## Sonshine (Jul 27, 2007)

We added a couple of roosters to go along with our chickens. Planted 2 blueberry bushes and got my tomato plants I had in the greenhouse out in the garden. Also planted some sunflowers. I'll be putting in the rest of the garden this week-end.


----------



## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Well,we have made it thru another freezing weekend with no damage to our orchard so maybe we'll have fruit this year....sure glad we live on top of the mountain as heavy frost in the valley this am. Plums and peaches blooming and apples about ready to bloom with our bees working diligently. This was a hard hit last year having no fruit to can. Planted 18 more apple trees...9 different varieties. All budding out. 
Today we are gonna clean out the deep freeze...since we have the biggest chest freezer they make this will be a challenge. Want to get a 1/4 beef and looking for a couple of feeder pigs as we got the cow side of the barn cleaned out where we have cement floor. Chickens still paying their feed bill with sales to the health food store. 
Garden with peas,potatoes,onions in and a greenhouse busting with plants but don't dare plant out until end of month,still have the full moon the 20th where we are inclined to get cool weather. Besides, 'maters and peppers tend to sulk if you try to rush them into the garden early. The raised beds are great as they warm up much earlier and with all the rain we've had the main garden is still quite soggy. DEE


----------



## awayfrmitall (Apr 7, 2008)

Hello everyone,

This is my first post after reading almost the entire forum for weeks. I started my preps yesterday....

Because I have been mainly concerned with the rising prices for wheat I started there and got:
1. 528 pounds of Hard Red Wheat (Cost was $202.40)
2. 100 Dry Pack Pouches (not sure on the actual size but VERY thick and about the size of a 10# can... cost $35.00)
3. 100 Oxygen Absorbers (Cost was $9.00)
4. 1-Back-to-Basics Grain Mill (yes I know this one is not very good but I wanted to use some of that wheat right away and was the ONLY thing I could find in area. I plan on having this be my "back up grinder" and get the Country Living Grain Mill in the next month or two.. just need to budget that $$... cost for this one was $75.00)

My next purchase I want to obtain is corn... Do you all mainly store popcorn because from what I read it can be ground, popped etc etc or should I be investigating something different?

Anyway, it felt good to finally do something yesterday towards putting this together instead of thinking about it...

~Jamie


----------



## AngieM2 (May 10, 2002)

Welcome Jamie - looks as if you jumped right in. The folks here will help you a lot.

Angie


----------



## Guest (Apr 15, 2008)

awayfrmitall said:


> My next purchase I want to obtain is corn... Do you all mainly store popcorn because from what I read it can be ground, popped etc etc or should I be investigating something different?


 Popcorn will make good meal. I've used it for that many times. But it will wreck your Back To Basics so maybe you'll want to hold off on it until you can get a better mill.

Welcome to the forum!

.....Alan.


----------



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

I've been wondering about the corn myself. I bought a bag and milled it this weekend. It has the aroma of field corn and reminded me of my grandparents' corn crib where I wasn't allowed to go in case there were rats.



Is popcorn a better choice? One of the elder ladies unloading the coop truck with us asked me if that was for my dog or something. She mills her own grains. Maybe she knows something I don't.

:shrug:


----------



## horselover.com (Jul 3, 2006)

My big purchase for April - the non electric water distiller - yay!


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

Just added a heavy forged bow rake and solid-good tempered shovel to the hand tools here. Our others (which we'd had for years) grew legs and walked out of the backyard this spring so have been looking for replacements. After I don't know how many stores and hours, finally found one that was at least _assembled_ in the USA!!! It's much bigger and heavier than all the other China-made tack-welded p.o.s. ones, too, so anticipate having this one for a while . When I brought them inside, husband said "they don't have to come in" to which I replied, "Oh yes they do. They were expensive and I'm not having these go missing, too!"

Couldn't find any point-of-use tankless hot water heaters, though.


----------



## Willowdale (Mar 19, 2007)

Began baking whole wheat bread a month ago and eating it as a staple. Living 50% off my food storage now, and figuring out what I need to stock up on to be self-sufficient if I couldn't buy anything. 

I'm buying a grain mill this month (K-Tech). It's ok that it's electric, because I'll be generating my own electric on the farm within the next year if all goes as planned. 

I've put in a big order at Walton Feeds, but may not buy if the shipping is prohibitive. I hear Alan's idea that grain will be cheaper in the summer but I feel insecure right now.

I'm looking for an LDS church member in SW Ohio who will let me tag along to the Bishop's Storehouse in Columbus. I'd be happy to do the driving, and I have some extra mylar bags to contribute.


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

For the first time in years, I've got this really panicky feeling inside when it comes to prepping. Must be the queer economy. Visited a 'bargain outlet' this afternoon and scored quite a bit. Vacuum packs of Red Star Yeast (non-instant) $1.29 each, 3 lb pkgs thin spaghetti $1.50 each, 5# my fav. brand shredded cheddar $9.99, decaf Columbian coffee $1.99/13 oz. Got more stuff, but those were the highlights. 

They had 28# buckets of black cherry puree (only ingred) for $5.99, but since I was unsure if I could thaw and re-can it, left it . Now I wish I had bought it. Would've made killer syrup.

Now I feel sure enough to concentrate on grains again.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

FalconDance said:


> Couldn't find any point-of-use tankless hot water heaters, though.


Be sure you really want one of those. We actually bought one and discovered it was prohibitive to install. The installation cost was as much as the water heater.
The one we got required 3 dedicated circuits, which our little house would have needed a new electric panel and lots of wire.

And we thought we researched it well.
So, just a heads up to you.


----------



## Trixters_muse (Jan 29, 2008)

Good point to share mamajohnson, I am experiencing the same.

I have a very old home and found out that I was in need of well over $800 in electric rewiring plus the cost of the tankless water heater and installation. Way too much for me so I'm just going with the kind I had.


----------



## tab (Aug 20, 2002)

SC Rich, have you tried looking for a coop? I cannot remember the link I used but the phone number (from '06) is 1-800-451-4520 Buying Club Services. United Natural Foods. A google search should work, too. I emailed and got a coop within 15 miles. 

I have kitty helpers whenever I am doing preps, anything else for that matter .

Hope to till the garden this week. Have the tiller on the lawn tractor this year for the first time in years. DH didn't object to a larger garden, we'll see how that goes... I want to till an area behind the chicken coop for some greens for the birds, feed is ridiculous and with the garden I cannot let them range like I usually do.


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

Thanks, mamajohnson. I've been reading the threads here on HT about them and have researched, as well. Either husband or I could install them (cue "I have the power!" music ), but I do wonder about the energy usage. We're trying to use *less*, and it sounds as if, in the end, these may use more instead even though they're strictly on demand.

It's weird, Europe has been using tankless for years and years and don't have the troubles the US is having with them. Wonder what the difference is.

Strange thing at China-Mart yesterday. On my never-ending quest for affordable meat protein (until our fledgling herd/flocks provide), I found young GOOSE marked down from well over $3/lb to *0.98/lb* . (Not clearance/ expired, either!) I picked up three of the four still in the bin. Maybe Wal-Mart won't be carrying goose anymore? Duckling was marked down, as well, though not as steeply. The meat person said this was "the time of year geese and duck are plentiful so that's why". Huh? Last time I checked, it was only the babies that were 'plentiful'. Talk about disconnected from Nature!


----------



## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

FalconDance - I got turkey at 50 cents per lb last week at WallyWorld. Ours didn't have the duck or goose marked down though. Those turkeys look pretty good all canned up in quart jars. Looking at the canned meat beginning to stack up, dh asked how much we had. I told the goal was at least a years worth of food (I'm there on most of it) and dh for the first time voiced his approval and promised to help organize things on shelves in the extra bedroom. That's a big deal since I can't lift much and dh has always acted like I can for entertainment.

I'm working on clearing the freezer of any meat that can be canned, getting ready for summer produce.
We should have the free pallet pig palace done this week so we can get a couple of porkers. We have access to lots of free bread/cornchip product that should help with the feed bill, plus extra eggs and garden scrap.

DH brought home 50 lbs of organic multigrain flour last night - free! I have to find more buckets, I only have enough for my grain order that is due on Friday. So far I've gotten all my buckets free from the bakery, but other folks are asking for now too.

I dred the fire ant battle in the garden this year, but I can't see buying dried beans when we can raise every kind right here in our sandy soil. 

Halo


----------



## jlxian (Feb 14, 2005)

I posted this on CF in the Tightwad tips section, but thought I'd post here as well. 

Today I found 4 lb bags of pinto beans at Dollar General in the Hispanic section for $2, or 50 cents a lb. I was thrilled since I'd seen pinto beans for nearly $1 a pound in the grocery store over the weekend. I bought 2 - 4lb bags. Yay!!


----------



## ai731 (Sep 11, 2007)

FalconDance said:


> It's weird, Europe has been using tankless for years and years and don't have the troubles the US is having with them. Wonder what the difference is.


One of the reasons they work so well in the UK (where most people have one installed in the bathroom for the shower) is that they have 240v electricity, rather than our 110v.

Jan


----------



## Spinner (Jul 19, 2003)

I added a mop bucket with the squeeze handle on it. A nice mop that has the "head" that opens so I can insert rags to make a new mop head. I also added a pair of wash basins and 2 wash tubs. After being without water for a couple of weeks I'm concentrating on things I wish I'd a had during that time. 

Plans for the near future include a beehive, and more gas storage. Also a few more 6 volt lights. I'm hoping to add those things in a week or two.

I almost forgot to add that I picked up another 50 lb bag of pinto beans. The price has skyrocketed, they were $25. These are the same bags I used to buy for $5.99!


----------



## SCRich (Feb 27, 2008)

ai731 said:


> One of the reasons they work so well in the UK (where most people have one installed in the bathroom for the shower) is that they have 240v electricity, rather than our 110v.
> 
> Jan


I don't know about you but I got 240v coming in to the house. I also have it in the garage, workshop and my office. It's not till' the power comes into the breaker pannel that it get's broken down to 120-116v to where it is necessary or continues to other places in the house as 240v where that is necessary. Many people use 240v here for many things like a stove, water heater, well pumps, dryer, Wall Mounted Air Conditioners and for amateur radio operators sometimes amplifiers. I also have a 400amp service coming into the house since my home also feeds my mothers home which is connected to us by a hallway, and expected to have a compressor and stick welder in use at various times. If I were to add in a barn, outside workshop, front gate etc etc. that adds up to a lot of POTENTIAL current and by code you got to rate at what your building can potentially need. 

I too was going to do a tankless AC unit but decided against it even with my large 400a service. It has got to be more expensive, if I ever decide to go tankless I'll have to burry a propane tank and purchase a LPG Water Heater.


----------



## Wildwood (Jul 2, 2007)

I bit the bullet and inventoried my pantry today. I don't know why I've dreaded it and put it off as long as I could but I don't want any holes I'm not aware of since I'm planning a trip to the city and can pick up things not available here...didn't make that last trip I planned. I've also got more buckets coming from Emergency Essentials to put my last grain order in and I was hoping a little reorganization would free up some room but by the time I put the stuff up from my local grocery shopping, I'd used all the room I had freed up. Looks like my buckets will go somewhere else.

I have learned a lesson and that's that I won't be counting on the vac sealed bags for long term storage and have ordered mylar and oxygen absorbers to go in the buckets coming. Don't get me wrong, I love my vac sealer but not for grain in bags. I read a thread a while back that said other folks had the same experience. My failure rate was about 25% but I did learn a lot and if I ever need to vac seal it again, I don't think it will be as bad. I'll be getting a couple more cases of the half gallon jars for the granola and dried bananas I have coming. Another problem with the vac sealed bags of grain is that they are kind of bulky to store which probably contributes to the failure rate.

I also took the time to give my Berkey a thorough cleaning since my filters were slowing down and my scotch brite pad almost fell apart. I got my Berkey 15 months ago and we use it daily and we are still using the same set of filters and the same scotch brite pad used only for cleaning filters. I've got a few extra pads but will be putting these on my prep list. BTW DH rides dirt bikes and was meeting a buddy to clear some trails a couple weeks ago. His buddy forgot to bring water and called DH to bring extra and he commented that the water had a really good taste...pretty good for 15 month old filters and well water full of minerals. I love the taste of the water filtered through the Berkey and can only descibe it as a soft taste so I was glad to have my opinion validated by someone who had no idea he was getting home brewed water . I really should be a Berkey salesperson cause it's one product I am very pleased with after years of dealing with this water. I strongly urge anyone who has bought a Berkey as a prep to pamper themselves and use the thing on a daily basis. On city water those filters would probably last two or three years or more.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Wildwood,
you are so right! I LOVE my Berky. I had not, however, thought about prepping those pads. I have thought about getting extra filters.
I have had my Berky 5 years, and I am currently just now starting on my 3rd set of filters. Our water is very harsh, the filters will get a thick, slimy sludge on them. (GLAD we don't drink THAT!)
So, we average 2 1/2 years on one set of filters. 
My kids will come home from a weekend or day or whatever away, and always grab water first. My 16 yr old DS says "ahhhh I was ready for Berky water"
lol!
Off to add scotchbrite to my preps.


----------



## Wildwood (Jul 2, 2007)

My filters get that same sludge and I'm glad to hear you got 2 1/2 years on yours. We almost changed filters at one year because they were needing cleaned so much more often but we finally realized our water had just gotten that much worse plus our son was getting water from our Berkey for his home...he got his own Berkey for Christmas. 

The filters are working like new after yesterday's cleaning.


----------



## Cyngbaeld (May 20, 2004)

I use field corn to grind for meal or corn flour. I get mine at the feed store. I tried popcorn once, but it was too course.


----------



## TundraGypsy (Feb 25, 2005)

I canned a couple pints of butter today and ordered some more gamma lids for future use. I'll be picking up 100 lbs. of Montana Gold wheat next month from a friend.


----------



## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

I got 4 more turkeys to can @ 50cents per lb. Last time that equaled 12 quarts of turkey meat and 14 quarts of turkey soup base(too much meat to call it stock).
White wheat berries came in yesterday, so I did a test run in my grain mill today. I have a Kitchenetics mill I got for $15, I think it must have been someone's y2k prep - it was never used, but the box was rough. The mill is a little loud, but it makes the most perfect flour! I'm well pleased with this bargain, but still keeping my eye out for a backup hand mill.
Still need to locate more buckets, last trip to WM was a dry run.

Halo


----------



## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

I made my first ever orange marmalade yesterday! Made one batch plain, but with honey, and one with red pepper flakes to use as a glaze for roasts and such.


----------



## dragonchick (Oct 10, 2007)

I also canned butter today. I only canned 2 pints because I want to be sure the process works BEFORE I invest in the time, energy, and of course the butter. This is the first thing I have EVER canned so I hope it works. I am going to give it a month on the shelf and then open it. Do you think that will be long enough to know if the process worked?
Andi


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

farmergirl, care to share the recipe for the marmalade with hot pepper flakes? Sounds really yummy.


----------



## sgl42 (Jan 20, 2004)

Bagels! just made my first batch ever of bagels (plain whole wheat). pretty tasty. much better than the cheapo store bought bagels. i'll also try freezing them to see how they are. next will be different flavors, eg, cinnamon & raisen.

ordered lard cans from lehman's, to use instead of 5 gal plastic buckets. haven't been able to get a reliable used supply. plus i doubt rodents will be able to chew thru the metal. 

mulling over buying a grain grinder, but haven't pulled the trigger yet.

--sgl


----------



## northprairiegir (Apr 11, 2008)

Got 2 extra bags of brown sugar and more quick oats to put away for storage. Bred 4 more rabbits whose babies will eventually be meat for the table. Made a deal with another young family to trade a breeding trio of rabbits for having her come and help me warp my loom so I can make some more rugs for farmers market sales this summer.


----------



## virtualco (Feb 3, 2006)

Vac-sealed twenty lbs of my favorite Jasmine rice, 32 lbs of hard red winter wheat (opened a Y2K six gallon bucket the other day to repack items that didn't go bad) and 15 lbs of bread flour into quart mason jars.

I am going to have to pay close attention as to what I put into mason jars because of the cost. The wheat could have gone into vac bags instead of jars.


----------



## fostermomma (Feb 26, 2007)

Ordered some wheat berries and also ordered blueberries, strawberries, grapes, miniture lemon, lime, orange, tangerine, & banana trees. They should all be here next week so I will get them planted asap. I also plan on planting a couple more apple, peach, pear and cherry trees. I am also considering a couple pecan trees.


----------



## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

A trip to Sam's today yielded 25 lbs organic basmati rice for $13.58. That's a pretty good deal compared to what I've found, and we like basmati.

Halo


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

Just sprung for two new pairs of eyeglasses -- gotta see the zombies before they get too close, ya know .


----------



## MisFitFarm (Dec 31, 2007)

HaloHead said:


> A trip to Sam's today yielded 25 lbs organic basmati rice for $13.58. That's a pretty good deal compared to what I've found, and we like basmati.
> 
> Halo


What is Basmati rice? I've seen it mentioned here, but had never heard of it before that. Does it have a different taste or consistency?


----------



## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

MisFitFarm -
Basmati is a longer grain rice that is not as sticky. It has a nutty sweet taste and the grains 'separate' in a dish.


----------



## MisFitFarm (Dec 31, 2007)

Thank you very much, I think I'll look for some the next time I go out.


----------



## Mutti (Sep 7, 2002)

Husband has been buying new quality shovels,rakes,hoes,forks and replacing some handles on other tools. Sanded all the handles on my hand tools,too. He also inventoried the ammo supply and is getting plenty of screws/nails ahead. Got a huge scrap pile lumber from a neighbor's remodel and made three more benches for the greenhouse. Big shopping trip to Aldi for oil--found interesting new product there. Hashbrown potatoes sealed in foil pouches you don't have to refrigerate...tried one and they were pretty good for processed food. They sell basmati rice now which are in foil pkgs and easy to toss in the freezer. We are lucky to have two really nice Aldi's around here. DEE


----------



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

Put in an order with the bulk buying coop for some commonly used canned goods, frozen fruits, various cheeses, baking supplies and some spices to prepare for pickling season.

It isn't long term storage, but short, and that's fine. Found some decent prices, and get the added bonus of avoiding shopping at the local WW <mob city>.


----------



## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

Got about 200,000 gallons of liquid manure out today and disked 60 acres in. Custom operator had two trucks going all day, only got stuck once










Some more seed got delivered too, looks like we might be planting corn this weekend so hopefully we can use it as fast as it gets delivered.

Got some more blueberries, raspberries and asparagus in tonight after supper.


----------



## Guest (Apr 23, 2008)

Well, here's a small victory.

The wife just told me she wants to give up diet soda in favor of coffee. We've never kept soda of any sort as a storage food, but we do keep coffee.

This may be what it takes to get me to try my hand at roasting my own. I'd much rather buy green beans in bulk.

Now I'm looking at Nissan thermos bottles.

.....Alan.


----------



## Shinsan (Jul 11, 2006)

Mutti, after sanding the handles of your gardening tools, do you treat them with oil?
I use regular applications of linseed oil on mine, so that they don't dry out and become brittle.


----------



## DaleK (Sep 23, 2004)

Research farm up the road called and wanted to know if I'd take their horse manure off their hands for them again this year.... well.... ok.

Should be 800-1000 tons again, it'll take me 3-4 days extra work to get it out but it should save me a few thousand bucks.


----------



## MisFitFarm (Dec 31, 2007)

DaleK said:


> Research farm up the road called and wanted to know if I'd take their horse manure off their hands for them again this year.... well.... ok.
> 
> Should be 800-1000 tons again, it'll take me 3-4 days extra work to get it out but it should save me a few thousand bucks.


Wow, that's great! We call it "Black Gold" around here.


----------



## Willowdale (Mar 19, 2007)

Ordered 18 #10 cans of powdered milk at a price that works out to around $3.80/gallon. I kept hoping to find it cheaper but I don't see milk coming down anytime soon.

Got in canned wheat, beans, and oats, plus yeast and gluten. Hope the grinder arrives soon! I haven't been buying flour in anticipation and I miss the fresh bread


----------



## jamala (May 4, 2007)

went by target tonight and found 20 bars of ivory soap for 1.98. And organic orange juice boxes for DS-age 2 for .54 cents for a 4 pack. I was so excited to find some deals on sale racks.


----------



## MoGrrrl (Jan 19, 2007)

I raided the clearance bin at the grocery store. Got some super cheap mouse traps (4/50c), rice vinegar(39c), roasted dried peppers (that we use in our canned salsa) (50c / bag). 

I also got some candy, but I don't think that will last more than a few weeks though.


----------



## shar (May 3, 2006)

Everyone might want to check out the availability of canning jar lids, I needed some reg. mouth ones and went to 4 stores and was only able to 4 boxes (12 lids per box), I have a couple years worth at our cottage but needed them today. Also I had to pay over $2.00 a box. Glanced at the rings and lids they were $4.99 a box. If I come across some at a good price I will buy all that I can afford.


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

Just picked up 6# Luzianne tea for $4.99, two more vacuum packed pounds of yeast and 3-50# bags of "baby" oat flakes (marked down from $15 because no one knew what baby oats were .). One bag will go to my friend with the 8 younguns. Another goes to preps (I think) and the other.....well, dunno yet but it will be well spent . I was going to make a bunch of bath sachets for a local early May Artisan's Show in which I have my hand-spinning, so these will actually prove a huge savings over having to grind the oats down (for one of the recipes).

Bid on a 300# cannister of roasted garlic powder at an auction. Wonder if I'll get it?


----------



## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

Recently picked up 5 50gal food grade barrels with lids and yesterday picked up 10 food grade 5 gal buckets with lids on sale at Atwoods. Got some extra O2 absorbers so I can FINALLY get caught up on putting some supplies up.


----------



## MisFitFarm (Dec 31, 2007)

Ok, I can get plastic barrells from the distillery in Owensboro, for free. I think you would have to cut the top off to make a lid, but I'm not sure. They are 50 or 55 gallon barrells. Would it be worth getting these for storage? I know I can use them for feed, but didn't know about long term storage of anything, including livestock feed. Any ideas?


----------



## jlxian (Feb 14, 2005)

FalconDance said:


> Bid on a 300# cannister of roasted garlic powder at an auction. Wonder if I'll get it?


That's a lot of garlic! Got any vampires to repel?


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

Nope - and I GOT IT!!! Lots of seasoned salt and such to make as well as oodles to re-sell. It smells soooooo yummy. Anybody want some roasted/toasted garlic powder for affordable?

_Of course_ it was raining - thank goodness I'd packed heavy plastic and tape to wrap the canister in or it'd have all been ruined (and I'd have been highly irate).


----------



## vickie (Aug 8, 2002)

I want some of that garlic powder at a affordable price. Thanks Vickie


----------



## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

MisFitFarm said:


> Ok, I can get plastic barrells from the distillery in Owensboro, for free. I think you would have to cut the top off to make a lid, but I'm not sure. They are 50 or 55 gallon barrells. Would it be worth getting these for storage? I know I can use them for feed, but didn't know about long term storage of anything, including livestock feed. Any ideas?



If they are anything like the barrels I just got they may come with lids. I can thing of all kinds of ways to use them: rain collection, feed storage, bulk storage for salt, charcoal etc. I have one that doesn't have a lid that I use to store my garden tools in.


----------



## unregistered29228 (Jan 9, 2008)

I canned 10 pounds of potatoes this week, for use in stews and soups. Plus I made 5 pints of strawberry jam with berries I got on sale for $1 per pound. 

I also received 50 pounds of cornmeal and 50 pounds of sugar, which I'll be vac sealing in gallon bags, and storing in buckets.


----------



## Guest (Apr 27, 2008)

Our tax refund came back a bit earlier than we were expecting so last night I stopped off on the way home and picked up some more storage at the grocery - peanut oil ($14 a gallon!), flour, beans, canned brown bread, and some other stuff that Publix carries that the local Winn Dixie doesn't. I had wanted to go to Sam's tonight as well, but after seven hours on the soccer field I am too fried (literally!) so the K. Minor and I stayed home to bake bread. I finally completed the truck pool order that I'll send off on Monday and tomorrow I'm thinking of putting in a Penzey's order. All of that will use up the amount we set aside for expanding the storage.

Hey Gecko!

.....Alan.


----------



## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I've become a bit concerned about all the talk of hoarding. I'm not doing anything different than I've been doing for the last 40 years but I've put off ordering additional wheat partly because I'm hoping the price will go back down somewhat...its $22 more for 50# than my last order. Is it paranoid to think people are suddenly paying attention to prepping? I certainly do not want to attract any attention to myself and since an order requires the use of a credit card I'm wondering about the advisability of ordering. I'm used to ordering another 50# when I start using a new 50# bag.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Ann-NWIowa said:


> Is it paranoid to think people are suddenly paying attention to prepping? I certainly do not want to attract any attention to myself and since an order requires the use of a credit card I'm wondering about the advisability of ordering. I'm used to ordering another 50# when I start using a new 50# bag.


From what I gather, they look at your history (which I am sure is in some database somewhere) and if your buying more than usual, then they are taking notice.
I have always ordered in bulk, so I am not concerned.
I don't think you should be either.


----------



## pickapeppa (Jan 1, 2005)

I learned a new recipe, or two, and how to really make bread from freshly ground wheat.

:banana02:

Tomorrow is dedicated to packaging the wheat's and corn to prevent infestations.


----------



## ovendoctor (Jun 28, 2006)

got a chance to test storing flour in food saver bags yesterday

so far doing good 

took 2 cups of bread flour put it in the bag,squeezed out as much air as I could

then vacuumed and double seal the bag

hopefully getting as much air out as I can will keep the dust down and out of the sealing area


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

Went in search of canning jars yesterday since I had 28lbs of pureed sweet cherries I wanted to make jam with. Wal-Mart wanted $8 for a flat of 1/2 pint jars. Dollar General, $7. Then swung by the Amish store (was looking for other stuff and it's nearly as far east as "town" is north). Their half pint jars runs $3.65 per flat BUT the lids are non-standard (_really_ inexpensive to replace, however) and the pint jars are $4.50/flat (regular canning lid interchangeable). Yep, picked up flats of both sizes. These jars are plain sided, not fancy like Ball or Kerr jelly jars .... but so much more affordable! Also pectin was just over $4/lb which was a considerable savings over individual packets at the "normal" store!

Although I have some canning jars stored away, I'm going to need lots more come summer. Guess where I'll be getting them?

Anyone have a good (canning) recipe for sweet cherry syrup that does _not_ contain corn syrup or maple syrup (all the ones I've found so far have one or the other)?

Or how about a cherry wine recipe?!?


(Wheat flour was pretty high compared to six months ago but there were still bare spots on the shelves where they'd got more in this past week and folks had snatched it right up!)


----------



## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

sgl42 said:


> Bagels! just made my first batch ever of bagels (plain whole wheat). pretty tasty. much better than the cheapo store bought bagels.--sgl


Please post the recipe for bagels. The only one I have makes 60 dozen at a time. Great if you run a bakery. Not great if you are baking for a small family. (5 people)


----------



## sgl42 (Jan 20, 2004)

Ninn said:


> Please post the recipe for bagels. The only one I have makes 60 dozen at a time. Great if you run a bakery. Not great if you are baking for a small family. (5 people)





> http://www.breadnet.net/bagel.html
> 
> Whole Grain Bagels
> 3 c. warm water (110-115)
> ...


this is the one closest to what I used. I think I did the the ingredients exactly as above, but in the process, I borrowed from some other recipes I found online. (eg, I put in only 1/2 the flour first to make a sponge first, to make it less dense due to better gluten stretching.)

whenever i try to make something new, i google recipes for it, and compare them all a bit, both ingedients and process. there's always a very wide range of both. As a simple example, the time to leave the bagels boiling water ranged from 45 seconds to 4 minutes between various recipes I found. The conclusion I get from this is: it mostly doesn't really matter exactly how long. 

next batch is gonna have cinnamon and raisens! not sure how much to add -- i'll just wing it again, and hope for the best.

hope this helps. 

--sgl


----------



## Guest (Apr 28, 2008)

Made the Sam's run on Sunday. Nothing refrigerated or frozen and only one bag of fresh potatoes. Everything else was storage food. Spent nearly the entire afernoon repacking and vac-sealing stuff which used up most of my empty jars. Had to wait and let the vac-sealer cool down twice even with trying to go slow between jars. Got maybe half of it put away last night and hope to get some more put away tonight. The flour and coffee will have to wait until this weekend. I've learned that with powdery foods and whole bean coffee not to put anything away until after it's sat for a few days.

It's not very often I get a chance to feel like I'm packing a Conestoga to cross the prairie but that's what it felt like last night.

Tonight I finalize the truck pool order and get our Penzey's order in and that will pretty well use up the portion of the tax refund we allotted to food storage.

.....Alan.


----------



## Jaclynne (May 14, 2002)

I go chicken thighs on sale this weekend, so canned 6 quarts. I have 7 quarts of turkey soup in the canner cooling now. And I have strawberries prepared for a couple batches of sugar-free jam. 
I see that the blackberries are just beginning to ripen. I need to keep an eye on them.
I picked up 1/2 pint size jars for canning butter. I've never done butter, but saw mamajohnson's canned butter - I was quite impressed.

Halo


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

A.T. Hagan said:


> The flour and coffee will have to wait until this weekend. I've learned that with powdery foods and whole bean coffee not to put anything away until after it's sat for a few days.
> .....Alan.


Why does it help to wait a few days? I usually end up taking a few days to get it done anyway, but just curious how that helps?? ( that will go in my future reference remember this file ) 




HaloHead said:


> I picked up 1/2 pint size jars for canning butter. I've never done butter, but saw mamajohnson's canned butter - I was quite impressed.
> 
> Halo


Thnx for the compliment! I will be canning more butter soon. My DH has already popped open a jar. 


I got my 5 gal of honey today and it is yummy! I will be putting it in jars pretty soon. That way I can hide some, my kids have already found it and tackled it big time!


----------



## Guest (Apr 28, 2008)

mamajohnson said:


> Why does it help to wait a few days? I usually end up taking a few days to get it done anyway, but just curious how that helps?? ( that will go in my future reference remember this file )


 Small amounts of really powdery foods can sometimes be sucked out of the jar during the vac-sealing process. If this happens it can cause a slow vacuum leak due to dust on the jar rim. When it occurs it can take a day or three for it to reveal itself. I don't get very many jars that fail this way, just enough to make me cautious about it. I once had a mouse find the only jar out of thirty half-gallon jars full of flour with a seal that failed. He made quite a mess all over the other jars and the inside of my storage cabinet with the flour out of that one jar. Now I wait a week to see if there is going to be a problem. If they're still tight by then I put them in the cabinet. Never had a failure from any of those jars.

.....Alan.


----------



## foaly (Jan 14, 2008)

Since my prepping budget is so small (just a few $ a week), I bought another 3 pound bag of rice, 5 lbs of flour and sugar, and another box of baking soda. Seems no one wants the small bags of rice, just the big ones. That's okay. I'll just keep buying those small bags and no one will ever notice.


----------



## mamajohnson (Nov 27, 2002)

Oh I see! Thnx Alan for explaining that to me!
yuck, I hate mice, they can really mess stuff up, can't they!!

Pamela, I think you have a great outlook on this!!


----------



## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

Bought 10 more buckets and lids today...would have gotten more...maybe should have gotten more after hearing that folks are having trouble getting them. Packed 9 5 gal buckets day before yesterday with 7-grain mix, popcorn, dehydrated potatoes, dehydrated onions. Also vac sealed 5 lbs on sun-dried tomatoes, 5 lbs tomato powder, and 10 lbs of dehydrated soup mix (carrots, onions, tomatoes, red and green sweet peppers, celery).


----------



## blue gecko (Jun 14, 2006)

Oh, and Hi Alan!!! You're much too busy and should come and visit the "crew" more often. You've been missed.


----------



## Guest (Apr 30, 2008)

Got the spring Walton Feed truck pool order off yesterday and today I get the Penzeys herb and spice order in.

.....Alan.


----------



## Ninn (Oct 28, 2006)

SGL- thank you. I can't wait to try these!


----------



## tyusclan (Jan 1, 2005)

hey falcon,
I'd also be interested in the price of the garlic if you're serious about selling some. tyusclan momma


----------



## FalconDance (Feb 4, 2007)

tyusclan momma - posted it in the Barter Board. It's $2.50/lb plus shipping. I've been shipping by flat rate which 1) saves on postage, 2) goes Priority and 3) includes delivery confirmation. All the info is in Barter . Or you can pm me.


----------

