Today I made / bought / learnt .... (for a post oil world) 2

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1749

Planted a row of beets today, hoping we get some rain soon to bring them up. I usually take a chance on a late garden, and sometimes win. At least the weeding is minimal. I'll probably put in some lettuce and radishes by the back porch where I can water them easily for late salads.

Meanwhile, my daughter picked green beans again, and she and her mom got them ready to can, plus cooked a big pot with some scrappy bacon I found on sale at $1.59/lb. The new back porch is proving it's worth as a nice shady place to deal with the produce. Got a garden hose handy, and the trimmings just get tossed back into the nearby salad garden. "Sheet composting" I think it's called....
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Local fix-it guy..

kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 1322

There's nothing better in the world to eat than bacon and beet greens and that's all there is to it.
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If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984

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patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1749

Put 14 quarts of green beans on the shelf this morning, but have a couple quarts left in the fridge to go with the next picking. We used 2 canners for the first time, and are working out the process to be efficient for when we get more garden area going. The standard size gas stove is barely big enough to hold the 2 canners, so we got a small 3 burner LP cooktop from Harbor Freight to boil water for sterilizing jars and lids. Now I have to work out the counter space in the summer kitchen. Got an old friend who has a stainless counter from a commercial kitchen I'll try to buy for that.

edit: Gotta find a safe and non-stealable way to store LP cylinders for the cooktop, too. Ideas?
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ki11ercane

kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 1322

I have double looped galvanized chain going through the grill, the handle on the gas tank, and the lawn mower, goes around a palm tree. The chain is not particularly strong, could be cut with bolt cutters easily, but keeps the opportunity crimes at bay.
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If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984

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Accept the Facts.

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1749

Thanks folks, I'll work on it. I'm hoping to figure out aspot that isn't visible to put them. Not that many, and just 20 lb. bottles, but it runs into money. I can do the steel cage. Short on time now, but maybe I'd better get it done. I want to keep them rust free, if possible, but maybe I'm asking a lot.
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patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1749

We canned 29 pints of corn yesterday. We're still getting some odds and ends of our canning process worked out. Going to Harbor Freight today for some cheap stainless stock pots, since we ran short of containers in some of this year's work.

Being semi-retired, prepping is almost a full time job for me. It's really a lifestyle I grew up with, updated.
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Local fix-it guy..

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1749

Yesterday I picked up a few bits of lumber for the barn addition and worked on laying out truss placement, added bracing, and a doubled beam over the 8 ft. door. The roofing party is tentatively set for next Tuesday.
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kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 1322

Put 30# pork shoulder, 20# chicken in jars along with some chicken stock
sealed in mylar bags 50# each: corn, red wheat, hulled oats, soybeans, and 40# white rice

PHEW!

Tomorrow I start pillaging the town
_________________
If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face--for ever."
-George Orwell, 1984

______________
Accept the Facts.

RedStateGreen

Ludi

I'm not doing anything anymore.
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"...powerdown so soft and fluffy you'll think you're living in a pillow." - jboogy

AnIowan

Good evening everyone! Smile

With school starting back up, my own "planning" has taken a backseat to planning for the 40 little kiddos (well, sixth grade little) who have invaded and set up camp in my classroom.

However, I am doing a little something:

1) Started digging potatoes. This is a first for our family (as are many of our veggies), and I"m frustrated with the yield. I'm not sure if I planted them too deep, or if bugs got them, or something as many plants are either dead or dying as I type. I told my wife if we had to survive on our crop, we'd be in serious doo-doo! Very Happy

2) Harvesting and putting veggies up. Our corn is terrible, so my wife has been hitting various stands on her way home from work. We've put up corn, some beans, carrots, and peppers right now. We'll make pickels soon, and we have a ton of brussel sprouts we know NOTHING about! Laughing

We half them, saute them in olive oil, and add a little cheese and they are pretty good that way.

3) Purchased a half of beef from our nephew. Just making connections there as my wife and her sister have never gotten along well.

4) And finally we dipped into our supplies to help out another sister of my wife who's having a heck of a time. The short of it, she made a bad man decision, and is paying for it by having to pick between gas and food. We loaded her up with some of our above mentioned beef, fresh veggies, and a sack of canned goods.

This weekend, it's another weekend of connection making by meeting up with some college friends, both families who live in major cities (Chicago and the Twin Cities).

All in all, while there are many things I don't know, I feel good about the small steps we have taken this summer in getting ourselves in a position to be able to fend for ourselves.

WisJim

We've been canning tomatoes, making and canning/freezing pizza sauce, digging potatoes, and made a couple of batches of apple cider from a friend's red crab apples. The apple juice is dark red and tart, reminds me a bit of tart cherry juice. We will see what kind of (hard) cider it makes, too. As a point of interest, our stored apples from last fall almost made it to August of this year, the only reason that they didn't is because I ate them all. The last of the Northwestern Greenings were good enough that I was still taking them in my lunch in late July. Our earliest bearing tree is a Duchess, which was bearing this year in early August, and is almost done, so I have had fresh/stored apples to eat for 11 months--a record for us.

Our water storage has been useful this year, as we have had little rain since June until we got 2 inches last night.

criticalmass

Currently learning to dry seeds. I've got beans and peas down (mainly because I remember what they should look like when you sew them.)

Has anyone had particularily good luck with germination of your own dried seeds?

Any hints?

WisJim

We've been using some of our own saved seeds for 30 years or so, expecially tomatoes, peppers, and a few kinds of beans and peas. Also some Chinese cabbage or bok choi. Make sure that they are actually mature, then make sure they are dry and not moldy, and then store them to stay dry and dark. We set pans (cookie sheets) of beans and peas in the oven with the oven door ajar after we shut the oven off after baking something, just to finish drying them. But make sure they don't get too hot--and what is too hot? I think 120 degrees F is okay. We store beans in gallon jars or half gallon canning jars, well sealed. The book 'Seed to Seed" is an excellent reference.

Just shelled out a bunch of been, 3 varieties, last night. Some crops are maturing earlier this year, some later than normal. Picking plums, too, and pears should be ready soon, along with the next variety of apples.