The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

[Deleted User]

The government probably hasn't spelled it out in black and white but I'm mighty glad that DD did, it must take an incredible amount of resolve to tell your mum something like that over the phone when you're dealing with the idea of it yourself and your own mortality is suspect if you get the virus yourself.  She's a toughie but she loves me enough to be the bearer of reality words strong enough to stop me in my tracks and make me listen and act, I'll be forever grateful and if I do get through this it will be purely because of her.

Zentimes

My stockpile has fared reasonably well. Most of the tinned veg is still untouched, as long as we can get hold of fresh veg and fruit we don't need to open them (expiry dates still into 2021 and beyond). I find I am being far more creative with meals and not wasting anything, if at all possible. Sometimes I make 2 different meals at the same time, one for me and one for DP, as we have differing dietary requirements, but that way we use up extra bits and bobs. I am making bread weekly, I think flour is one item I would stockpile more of. It's been difficult getting hold of it. Also gluten free pasta! Either corn or lentil, that too is tricky to source, so I've run out a couple of times.

We're having our shopping delivered weekly, no need to go out at all. Sometimes all the items I want arrive, other times there are subs or some things just not there. I've found getting hold of plain frozen fish fillets difficult and my diet has suffered as a result as I depend on it, I don't eat red meat. However, I had a call from our 'fish man' last week, who delivers and I was surprised he was still working, in fact he's never been busier! So got some nice salmon steaks and cod loin. I do the cod in a sort of veg 'stew' which enables me to use up various veg odds and ends.

I can and will carry on like this for the foreseeable. Things I really like right now - the incredible peace and quiet, birdsong it the loudest thing I hear! Rare for anyone to go out round here, maybe once a week, presumably for shopping supplies. Have managed to get a couple of bags of compost, also have last year's 'spent' compost which has been reinvigorated with chicken manure over winter. My grafted tomato plants turned up early, have been putting fleece over them at night, and fair warning to the rest of the gardeners here, next weekend is looking very cold indeed, frost was mentioned!

daz378

I have a few weeks in tins...  then maybe a couple more in calories....but I mainly eat from fridge freezer....but I consider  if the electric went    so if I use tin  will   double or triple replace it..I live in a flat   so prepping options are limited....good idea  of snow shoes    as a prepp    ....new fridge coming in the morning....stay safe

littlemoney

thriftwizard said:

 I do feel for the elderly living alone; it must be even worse if they don't have family to ring up & chat & check they're ok...

 In the current times it is hell to be on your own with no family. I have believe that in some parts of the world solitary confinement it is considered inhumane treatment for prisioners yet it exists now.

Greenglockenspiel

Just bit the bullet and did a massive order of seeds and a couple of fruit plants to be delivered later in the year so that I have all my seeds ready for when I need them - we are new allotment holders and have been very disorganised about it so far 😬 I should have done it last week though when King Edward seed potatoes were still available. All I managed to get now was Desiree and had to order them on their own from Wilko (which has them in stock but not much else). I’m sure I paid over the odds doing it like this (everything else from T&M) but given the circumstances I was willing to pay a slight premium for the comfort of having them now rather than waiting for shops to reopen whenever in the year that may be. 

cbsexec

I am horrified that it has been said if you are elderly and have underlying health conditions you will not be treated the same in hospital.  I totally agree that everyone should heed the advice given and take all precautions they can and that some people must take extra care.  We must all do our bit BUT my daughter works in icu and the covid wards and any patient is watched over, monitored and if they deteriorate taken to icu and given all the care they can give.   Yes you may have less than a 50% chance but you will get care.   Hopefully with all the prepping and abiding by the social distancing/hygiene rules we will all survive to live another day. 

dandy-candy

Greenglockenspiel i have planted up the hairy potatoes from the kitchen and they are growing well. My gardening group assure me they are just as good as using seed potatoes.
Apart from baked beans our tins are holding up well as we have topped up as we go. We didnt book any deliveries but as DD works at a supermarket it wasnt a problem anyway. I bought a sack of rice from the asian cuisine aisle which should last ages as we dont have rice very often. I have become aware during all this of the ridiculous amount of bread DH and DS2 eat, luckily we were able to buy it but if i was having to bake it they would be severely rationed!
If DH qualified for government support we would happily stay in lockdown but he doesnt and so has decided to go back to work in another weeks time. He has health conditions and is very overweight (23 stone) so he will be at high risk if he gets ill (as will I and DS1 if he brings it home) but we cant keep going as a family of five with no income.

Greenglockenspiel

dandy-candy said:

Greenglockenspiel i have planted up the hairy potatoes from the kitchen and they are growing well. My gardening group assure me they are just as good as using seed potatoes.
Apart from baked beans our tins are holding up well as we have topped up as we go. We didnt book any deliveries but as DD works at a supermarket it wasnt a problem anyway. I bought a sack of rice from the asian cuisine aisle which should last ages as we dont have rice very often. I have become aware during all this of the ridiculous amount of bread DH and DS2 eat, luckily we were able to buy it but if i was having to bake it they would be severely rationed!
If DH qualified for government support we would happily stay in lockdown but he doesnt and so has decided to go back to work in another weeks time. He has health conditions and is very overweight (23 stone) so he will be at high risk if he gets ill (as will I and DS1 if he brings it home) but we cant keep going as a family of five with no income.

I did think about chitting some of the potatoes I bought on Friday but everything I read assured me that you couldn’t grow from supermarket ones because they had been treated with something to prevent it. Must be a ruse to get people to shell out for seed potatoes!

Blue_Doggy

littlemoney said:

thriftwizard said:

 I do feel for the elderly living alone; it must be even worse if they don't have family to ring up & chat & check they're ok...

 In the current times it is hell to be on your own with no family. I have believe that in some parts of the world solitary confinement it is considered inhumane treatment for prisioners yet it exists now.

Hear hear! Indefinite solitary confinement under house arrest for the crime of being over 70 is my current situation. My family all live 5 hours’ drive away, and Skype etc are not a substitute for real face to face conversation. I’m very lucky in that I’m not in a failing or failed relationship, shut up with a once-loved one where hate now is, let alone in an abusive situation.

GreyQueen

The thing about seed potatoes is that they are certified virus free. You can absolutely grow ordinary eating potatoes, although I would always stump for seed spuds if I could get them and had the money - £4.50 for 2kg was the ballpark figure pre-lockdown. ATM, on my allotment, I have 16 kg of seed potatoes, a row of wizened shop bought ones (gawd knows what varieties) and a heap of grassy, twiggy trash from 2019-20  about 3 foot high, into which I have tucked very small found potatoes from other parts of the allotment where they had been missed when the crop was harvested. All are coming up. I figure, if you have a hairy spud and a bit of earth, you might as well have an experiment.