THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

[Deleted User]

It's a strange old world this one isn't it? nice to see a prediction come true though! I hope we do find out why Kittie was suspended in the fullness of time, she's one of the unlikeliest people to deliberately offend anyone and such an integral part of the prepping group I'd so like the full story behind what happened and why? not long now until she's back with us though is it?

Cappella

Sigh.
It happens to me every single summer and no matter how much prepping I do or have done those b****y horesflies get me every time. :(:(

Living_proof

thriftwizard wrote: »

Living proof, don't use your Rumtopf unless you are sure the glaze doesn't contain any heavy metals; glass is best. The lacto-ferments like sauerkraut & kimchi are quite acidic and can leach stuff out of ceramic glazes that you really don't want to ingest. See if you can get hold of any 1.5 or 2 litre Kilner jars, as you can buy fermentation lids for these.

I will stick to the Kilner jars then thiftwizard as I plan kimchi and sauerkraut later in the year so it would be worth investing in a few larger ones. Thank you.

Cappella

MrsLW

It's a strange old world this one isn't it? nice to see a prediction come true though! I hope we do find out why Kittie was suspended in the fullness of time, she's one of the unlikeliest people to deliberately offend anyone and such an integral part of the prepping group I'd so like the full story behind what happened and why? not long now until she's back with us though is it?

She's been very helpful with regard to an eye problem I've had and her advice worked. I find it very disturbing. She seems to have been the victim of a very nasty troll. Sad to think that there are even lower forms of life than horseflies :(:(

ziggy2004

We went out for the day and I managed to sneak in a visit to Ikea so stocked up on the glass jars ( love how much cheaper they are there!)

Great Guardian article! The sceptical part of my brain wonders if they ask people to stock up just so they can hold up their hands and say we did tell you if there are any supply problems. I like the point it made about lack of choice as that is my main motivation for making sure my pantry is in prime condition in March - I have a horrible memory of years ago when I was ill and my housemates decided to cook for me and served me a plate of microwaved spam, tinned potatoes and tinned carrots and peas. I rather like being in charge of what I eat after that!

The last of our raspberries will come in tomorrow, planning a change in lay out in the garden to include more gooseberries, black currants and red currants next year as they all did well but only 1-2 bushes each so not much to work with.

I am looking forward to our apple harvest and will be making compote and jelly, heaps of apples on the trees so should be a good haul.

Does anyone know what the expectation is for sloes currently? We have not had a good crop locally for the last 2 years and I would love to be able to put some sloe gin and sloe vodka away this year.

Cheapskate

My eating apple and plum trees are groaning with fruit this year - it's a sight to behold! Last Friday, I harvested loads of the apples, as we were forecast heavy rain and wind - very glad I did, as it blew a hoolie - only a few windfalls on the ground, and still fruit on the tree. The plum tree seems unscathed, only a few plums knocked off, and they should be ripe in the next couple of weeks. The apples will get cooked down shortly in the slow cooker (will need 3 or 4 loads as there's so many) and frozen in tubs. Likewise when the plums are ready, although some will be used for booze of some sort.

Dh has had the garage re-fitted inside as he'll be working from home soon, so it's become a sort of stock room !!! workshop. There's still space, on some high shelves around the edges and along the apex of the roof, to store things. The garage is now insulated and weather tight, so tins and glass will be fine - just need some large storage tins for dried goods.

I'm applying for an allotment this week - quite a wait round here, but there are a couple of sites less than 10 minutes walk from me, and I can wait. Need the wait to practise more on a small scale in our garden!

A xo

Karmacat

thriftwizard wrote: »

See if you can get hold of any 1.5 or 2 litre Kilner jars, as you can buy fermentation lids for these.

I'm rushing, sorry, and I've tried googling but it comes up with an out of date linkie on an amazon product. Special lids can be bought separately? And I have a kilner jar, a 5 litre thing, I bought for continuous fermentation, like this https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kilner-Beverage-Dispenser-Vintage-Service/dp/B01A6VV4Y8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532939676&sr=8-1&keywords=5+litre+kilner+jar


Hmmm. If the cliptop lid is already in place, I probably need to start again ... rats, rushing things never works!

chirpychick

I hope its ok if i rejoin you guys after a really long absence from the thread!

I have created myself a store cupboard over the weekend in my tiny house. I showed my nan (the only person according to the hubby who is allowed to know) and she wasn’t phased by my stocking up at all. She just said it looks like a well stocked larder and suggested most people with bigger houses probably have just as much in their cupboards (though I’m not sure everyone has 48 tins of beans :rotfl:) Since my husband got made redundant and then found work again i have been stocking up. I have ramped it up recently. But i want to feel security.
My nan has always had a well stocked larder and I’m just kind of taking on what ive learnt from her. If you will use it get extra when on offer.
The reason for my 48 tins of beans is because we buy one brand and they’re cheap (24p) and we dont shop there often so when we do we get a few..

We do a monthly “big shop” at costco and when we went yesterday it was MENTAL - we live walking distance so i go often maybe once a week and never ever have i seen them run out of trolleys! The huge car park was full and as we were walking in we heard one of the workers say have they missed the Armageddon notice :eek: so clearly people are taking notice of the media.

We have stocked up on some extra toilet rolls and ive yet to find them a home, I’m going to start having to get creative, hubby was horrified when i suggested putting them behind the bath panel :rotfl:
This for us though is more due to living in confined space rather than overdoing the stocking up.

I only have a couple of food concerns really regarding Brexit, that being not as much fruit as i have an autistic little boy who lives off fruit but only specific ones which are almost out of season here. So i am consciously stocking up on some dried fruits (which can always be used in baking if nothing else) and some long life fruit squeeze tube things which can be used for days out if we dont end up needing them. Plus fruit juice. He wont eat tinned fruit or frozen.
It is his eating habits that bring me the biggest worry if we cant get hold of things, i guess every other child would understand “this is all we have so if you dont like it then tough” but mine would pretty much starve himself.

Prepping seems to be right at the forefront of my mind and now hubby is on board too.

Oh ive also brought a camping kettle to use on my gas hob incase the electric goes out, it was 50p at a carboot.

short_bird

And another view of potential food issues, this time from Claire Rayner's lad: he went out to talk to people who deal with food supply on a daily basis.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jul/29/no-deal-brexit-food-supply-chain-crisis

GreyQueen

Flying visit with a mention for ziggy about blackcurrants.


You can make new blackcurrant bushes by cutting off branches of old ones and sticking them straight in the soil. I have done this several times and the success rate is about 80%. I will be doing it with the redcurrant bush prunings too, for the first time. I have done this as late in the year as early December.


It will take about 2 years to get a well-established and heavily-fruiting bush but that's about the same as for a shopbought twig to transplant and this has the advantage of being easy-peasy and totally free. HTH.