THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

smeeth

culpepper wrote: »

I am finding my aldi long thermal underwear very good. I don't know if they are only there pre xmas but they are merino wool and were £15 each for either top or leggings . They make all my ordinary trousers wearable in this colder weather . Much better price than anywhere else I have seen for 100% merino and well made too.

They were a pre-Xmas specialbuys and aren't listed anymore so you're unlikely to find any instore unless you're very lucky.

I have the leggings, very warm!

mardatha

Plotting my veg garden now, we're having really mild days at 7-8C here and I think it's a bad sign - maybe Spring will be late and cold. Going to go for stuff that can be added to soup, plus the usual tatties. And yet again thinking of a dehydrator, whether it would be worth the money and time. Either that or store the veg in the ground lol

[Deleted User]

My dehydrator is so useful specially when we get gluts of things like tomatoes and courgettes and I like the fact that once it's dry the veg doesn't need any source of power to keep it good, just sits in jars in the store room until I need it. It does take a relatively long time to dry some things and costs some electricity but I think it's weighed out by the fact that you don't need to keep a freezer running to keep things fresh afterwards. Best so far is the apple slices I dried this autumn, they're nice as a snack just as they are.

DigForVictory

+1 for the joys of a dehydrator, says she beaming at the cheap mangoes that will soon become dehydrated mango sluices & unspeakably delicious.

Mum's a prepper for circumstances - the freezer was stuffed with heat & eat meals before the surgeons had a go as she Knew dad would require feeding, but by the time I arrived, it was looking a bit depleted. Whaddaya know, Aunt arrived clutching two fish pies, one for this evening & one for the freezer?

Mum's neighbour came round with a posy of home grown flowers including the Second Snowdrop (well, it seems wrong to cut the first) & winter jasmine & another gloriously scented blossom. They mind the cat, mum waters their garden, come holiday times.

Eyeing the back garden, I look forward to starting off the peas this weekend (propagator, but not heated) & reminding my husband of his assertion that he would plant the peas as mine were Too Untidy...

mardatha

Reason I didn't get one sooner MrsL is that I never make shops at the times when the yellow stickers come out, and I don't grow tons of anything. But this big American f/f is a waste of space as far as powercuts go it doesn't retain the cold at all and I don't trust it, so would like to store things without worrying. But not sure yet if I'd ever have enough to warrrant getting one. I hate clutter and already threw out a load of stuff inc the Remoska.
Prepping reading this week is reading "Ireland's Arctic Siege" which I've had earmarked for ages and finally got. If I canny have real winter weather then I might as well read about it!

GreyQueen

Afternoon all.

Mar, for some ridiculous reason, it's perishing cold down here and warm in Scotlandshire. Grossly unnatural, innit? I think we're getting cold weather from the Baltic.

Went to The Land of the Pound after w*rk as they have finally, finally given up on flogging discounted Xmas dross and got the gardening stuff in.

I bought my usual red onions and white onions, normally have one pkt of each but decided to have two reds. Reason being they are a bit more unreliable than the whites, make smaller onions and I use a lot of them in salads. Have enough ground so might as well sow two nets' worth. I will plant them mid-late Feb

Nights are really pulling out here and I'm getting excited about my gardening, might soon be able to sneak up there after work to do a little.

culpepper

We have an L'equip dehydrator. It is one of those rectangle things with pile up trays. Its used every year even if we haven't grown veg because I dry apples from the garden and fruit from the shop if it cheap and best of all, we can make dried meals to take camping which don't need to be kept cold at all. I looked at dehydrated meats before tackling them myself in case it was not worth drying them and it really was.


How weird the post above mine has no thanks button but all the rest do. Must be a forum glitch

westcoastscot

Mar I store veg in the shed over winter, in sand if needed or hessian bags and it works well. We don't ever have enough of anything to dehydrate, although I do apples in the oven as it's cooling over a few days. I quite like mushrooms dried too, but usually make mushroom ketchup instead.

Very mild here, but winter is bound to come - I never plant before May, and have to have it out of the ground again for the beginning of Oct - a short season!!!!

Oh can you mind those triffid tomato plants you grew a couple of years back? quite fancy giving them a try! WCS

mardatha

I have the same length of season but think I might be a wee bit colder than you WCS because of the height here. The tomatoes were Latah and I want to do them again this year
Also was looking at Galina tomatoes, they might do.

[Deleted User]

I'll tell you what It's PERISHING down here and has been all week, the frost on the grass didn't melt even in the sun and there are deep frozen puddles wherever the sun doesn't get to. In terms of prepping I'm so glad I invested a couple of years ago in some thermal vests/tops as they really do make a difference I'm also really glad I invested in some real wool jumpers which are much warmer than anything synthetic, same applies to socks and mostly wool boot socks are wonderful things for warding off cold toes when you're walking outside. Then there are the wraps I brought, if wrap is the right word, they're like a long throw but one side of it is split halfway to the middle and that's where your neck goes and the two split pieces form the front. Whatever they're actually called they make a smashing top layer over clothing at this time of day when it's really dropping temperature. Layers, layers, layers IS the way to go!!!