The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

Thriftygifty

MrsLurcherwalker said:

Thriftygifty have you heard of 'window quilts' an American invention that you put inside the curtains not quite against the windowpanes held in place on  a wooden baton to be an insulating layer and keep heat inside rather than losing it through the glass.  Might help, look online to see how to make them, all the rage a few years ago and very effective.

Foodwise I try to make things do more than one meal, I like dishes that happily overlap like Bolognese sauce that next day with a tin of beans becomes a shepherds pie and if there's any of that left then with a bit of corned beef or cheese and a handful or so of flour mixed into it you can make potato cakes for the third day.  I also like dishes that start as a hot meal like Marguerite Pattens Victory Cook Book raised pork pie (made with sausage meat) which is super hot with mash and salad or veg on the first day and then is really nice cold with a jacket and salad or chips and beans for a few days after.  Saves cooking fuel too which is another area to look at. 

No I've not heard of those, I will have a look, thanks. We do have double glazing but seem to have a gap at the bottom of the patio doors which is freezing in the winter, I try not to put the heating on however we dont have a tumble dryer, i'm thinking of maybe investing in one of those dryers that go on the ceiling.

My problem with the food is we've allowed the children to become fussy, I need to break them! I think its more a texture thing with our 4yr old he gags on pasta etc.
I've just seen a freezer storage guide on bbc website that I thought was quite handy
 https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/how_to_freeze

Si_Clist

MrsLurcherwalker said:

...do any of you feel this situation is going to carry on for quite some time to come? i.e possibly into next winter?

We certainly do.  That's why we bit the bullet and bought a tonne of smokeless fuel last month (at the winter price!) rather than our usual half tonne in July at the summer price.  Given that the raw material for that (i.e. coal) is all imported, who knows what the supply situation's going to be later in the year?

We've also got a full winter's worth of logs now finish-drying under under cover, and we're determined that somehow or other our now-enhanced stash of food is going to be maintained at its present level. 

In other words, we're planning for the long haul, for sure

[Deleted User]

We put in another log store upstairs in the back garden last week and have moved the stored logs in the makeshift pallet log store up to fill it.  Now I think I've been missing a trick, when we moved we (we're an upside down house so we live upstairs, bedrooms on the bottom floor and we're built into a bank so steps up the side of the house to access the back garden) used part of the downstairs front forecourt which had previously been where the owners kept a large touring caravan to put in a fairly large greenhouse which is  used in the spring and summer through to early autumn to grow mainly tomatoes.  We can get a big load of logs in the summer and store them in the greenhouse to overwinter when we clear it, keeping them dry, why did I not think of this before? call myself a prepper???

DigForVictory

Since some Saxon spuds have chitted, I may well try growing my own spuds, albeit not from seed stock. <blush> Is it bit late to try growing kale from seed?

[Deleted User]

Not at all. we're waiting for seed from Dobbies before we can plant ours.

jamanda

I also think we are going to be in a bad situation for some time.  The farmers were struggling with planting because of floods.  US was in the same boat.  Italy have frosts when they don't need them spoiling the fruit harvest.  France, similarly to us I suppose, have no-one to pick the crops.  I think fruit/veg/salad is going to become very expensive and scarce.  DH and I are currently putting every effort to plant the (large) garden.  Seeds now planted, spuds and onions in and salad stuff.  I really, really think we are going to need them.
DH also brings wood home from work for burning but currently furloughed.  This is actually working well for us because he can get the garden going.  Luckily we are in agreement on this, that food is the priority.

boultdj

Go for it DFV, my Mum used peelings from spuds that had started sprouting one year, as we did not have a lot of money coming in and we needed to eat what was in.   I've never bought seed spuds, always used shop bought that have started sprouting.

[Deleted User]

We all think similar future developments will be slow and we all feel that we'll need to provide for ourselves for quite a long time to come it seems?  I am going tomorrow to clear a fairly capacious under stairs cupboard, it's been full of things we moved when we got here and not touched so I'll have to rehome quite a lot of it, some to the loft and some to the shed and use that to start stocking up for next winter.  It's situated on the inside wall next to the bank we're built against but isn't damp so I'll concentrate on tins and tetra packs for storing in there and glass jars, it's frost proof and should hold fairly good amounts of stocks.  Sadly it's only waist high so is a hands and knees job to access!

pineapple

MrsLurcherwalker said:

Question...do any of you feel this situation is going to carry on for quite some time to come? i.e possibly into next winter? and has the thought that even though we've prepped for now we might be sensible to consider starting to prepare for next winter and putting in a couple of extras now come into your heads? it's certainly just dashed through mine and I'm wondering if that's a sensible thing to have in the back of my mind or if it's overkill?

It's certainly going to last for people like me - unless they come up with a miracle vaccine. I'm stuck at home and getting into growing stuff again, but seed potatoes online are mostly sold out. They are now taking orders for next year!  Gardeners be warned.

pineapple

mothernerd said:

 I'm not in any danger of starving as I'm with mum and she is currently paying for food but it's rather an ambiguous position to be in.

You mum and maybe both of you should qualify for the weekly gubberment food package x