Preparedness for when

Cappella

Thank you MrsLW I'll go and browse online and have a look for recipes using the produce.
I've bottled tomatoes and French beans in the past, also gooseberries and other soft fruit but I think dehydrating looks a better option given that dehydrated produce will take up far less storage space.
I'm also thinking of trying fruit leathers this year - given the possibility of rising food prices every little bit of produce harvested and stored is an invaluable investment for the future.
Last year our honey harvest wasn't great, too wet and cold, but seven hives still gave us over 300lbs of honey so I used it to make strawberry and raspberry conserves with. I used 14ozs of honey to 1 lb of fruit and it's kept very well. Quite a strong flavour, but lovely on plain scones. Definitely making it again this year, as most has long been eaten.

[Deleted User]

I like it because it doesn't rely on a power source to keep it good, the power input is in the drying and then it needs nothing until you want to use it.

If you're going to make fruit leathers in a dehydrator you'll need a special liner for the shelf, the liner the shelves come with is perforated to allow the air to circulate, fruit leathers need a special membrane to cover the shelf, they're relatively expensive for what they are but last years and are very useful.

CraftieJoolz

Hi Mrs Lurcherwalker, could I ask a question please? I remember a while ago you gave some instructions on how to clean 5 litre plastic
containers that had held vinegar. I have 6 knocking about in the shed and would like to store water in them without the vinegary taste.

If you don't mind repeating the instructions for me I would be very
grateful.

Cappella

I have a birthday coming up very soon, will drop very broad hints that a combined present of one from all the family would be very acceptable, and failing that will go ahead and acquire one anyway.
It will be worth the outlay in terms of dehydrating tomatoes alone I suspect. Our allotments produce a phenomenal amount of fruit and veg, and last year I was conscious that too much ended up on the compost heap, despite MrO also keeping our son and daughters families well supplied. I don't want that to happen again.
We always offer surplus produce to our neighbours, but sadly many turn it down. One neighbour, offered French beans picked only ten minutes earlier said, "No thanks, I like to get the ones from the supermarket because they top and tail them for you !!" Worth it though, not often MrO is rendered speechless :rotfl::rotfl:

Crochet_Flower

maryb wrote: »

Hi Crochet Flower!! Welcome

Two allotments!! What do you do in your spare time,lol?

And although you are not into politics, just a thought - some food prices will fall because there are high external tariffs set by the EU. Tate & Lyle told their employees Brexit wouldn't hurt their business because the tariffs on a single boat load of sugar top £250,000 which is used to subsidise competitors in the EU - although that presumably includes British Sugar. Anyway, the point is that it isn't quite as straightforward as you might think

But growing your own on that scale will certainly insulate you from a lot of food price inflation. How do you store your surpluses - or do you have a large and grateful extended family?

hi!
To be fair, the plots are only 1/2 size plots (council started halving them when allotments became trendy and the waiting list grew), so I only really have one full sized plot in reality. I tend to grow a lot of stuff that overwinters in the ground well...leeks, cabbages, kale, parsnip. so I just harvest as needed.Also freeze stuff and the rest goes in the shed. There are only 3 of us!!

[Deleted User]

I wash them many times with detergent in water and give them a really good shake, rinse then repeat until you can't smell the vinegar any longer, fill them up with water and soak them overnight for a few days change the water every day then make up a bleach solution and give the containers a good soak for 24/48 hours, tip that out and give the container a really good rinsing and sniff. if it smells of nothing try filling it with tap water, leave it for 24 hours and see if the water is OK or tainted with vinegar. Keep rinsing and soaking until the water does smell and taste pure. If you worry about being able to drink water that has been stored you can make it safe for drinking by adding 1/2 a teaspoon of Milton sterilizing liquid to 5 litres of water, shaking well and leaving it for 5 minutes. The information on the bottle doesn't state this but the Milton website does.

Karmacat

monnagran wrote: »

I do remember when they started Ofsteding nursery schools. Our school had a nursery department and they had an impending Ofsted. In our area all the nurseries got together and made up a large box of all the items that the inspectors made known that they expected to find.
When a school was about to have an inspection they put out a call and the school that had the Ofsted box rushed it over to them.

I often wondered if the inspectors realised that they were looking at the same coloured doll etcetera in every school they visited in that area.

See, preparedness! I think thats great

machasraven wrote: »

Any ideas about what to do with lemon balm? I have a receipe for wine but need other ways to use it too.

I've made a note of the links that came up in response to your question, machasraven, I bought a lemon balm a few years ago, and it must really like my soil, because I have three now :j

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[Deleted User]

Please don't go Mrs LW, I read your post with interest as I am around 3-4 years older than you and remember the same things.Life was so different for us all back in the post war 1950s, and I certainly wouldn't want to return to the austerity of those times.

I am actually looking forward to seeing how we all cope with the different things ahead of us.I am sure the majority of people will cope perfectly well as long as we all pull together. Let the politicians huff and puff and the media rant and rave but the rest of us will keep calm and carry on regardless I think. The psyche of the British people is such that we are quite a stoic lot and the stiff upper lip and understatement is something we grow up with.The young are not really so different from the rest of us ,we were all young and worried once upon a time Back in the dark ages of the late 1950s early 1960s I was an ardent marcher on the Aldermaston marches, having grown up with the aftermath of WW2 my generation didn't want to think of the horrors of a nuclear strike, we were quite vocal that the older generation were war mongers and we all just wanted peace to reign.today's youngsters are probably worrying about their futures as much as we did. Our struggles were perhaps a bit more basic than theirs tough, rationing did feature so much for many of us .I seemed to spent half my early childhood in a queue with my late Mum :) but we all survived, and with age we come to appreciate the luxuries that the 21st century has given us all. I certainly don't want to go back to lino on the
floors and my Dads army great coat on the bed.I am quite happy with a health service that saves my life and clean hot water coming from the tap and the varieties of foods available in the shops to try

[Deleted User]

Thanks Jackie, you're very kind and I certainly will stay but I will as Mar so sensibly suggested only post about prepping and leave politics and all that is related to them to those who are interested.

Cappella

I'm very happy and relieved that you're staying MrsLW. I hope that everyone stays and we can all prep together. I love the prepping aspect of this thread - so good to know that I'm not alone after all
I once, many years ago got a serious lecture from my dad (very, very rare, he wasn't the sort of dad who lectured much) after starting to talk politics in the village pub. I was eighteen and knew it all as you do when you're young.
"There are two things we don't talk about here my girl," he said. "Politics is one and religion is the other."
"Oh," says Miss Smarty "what CAN I talk about then?"
Long pause.
"Runner beans," was his reply, "You can't go wrong with runner beans."
Longer pause.
"Best not talk about runner beans the week before the flower and veg show though. Might try listening that week for a change."