The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

boultdj

I keep buying and extra tin or packet when doing the delivery order, did a Lidl shop the other day, they had full shelf of herbs, spices and baking powder in, so replaced the herbs I'd run out of, got a another ginger for baking with, and the baking powder means my chapatti flour can be turned into self raising flour for cake making.

DigForVictory

Every time I mention things getting more expensive, some Male mutters economists never could model properly. I don’t bother trying to defend the a academic discipline, but they aren’t hearing my concern about inflation. 

I pondered pulling my funds from the credit union (after I realised I’m paying them £3 a year admin for no interest & no loan), but some of me thinks they’re honest & if I do need a loan I’ll have almost a decade of history with them. I think I’ll empty one high st savings account into tinned & dry goods though. Himself is saying we’ll grow some of our own “next year” - aye, when seed spuds, seeds, compost, etc are all in higher demand. A godfather is keeping himself & mother well fed on fresh veg & ys shopping - & my guy doesn’t think we might need to. He’ll grumble “come the revolution” at a birthday photo with his eyes shut to the economic one coming round the corner. It’s tiring, being the only one in the house who worries.

jamanda

My DH is on board with the growing as much as we can, and agrees that prices will be higher and goods scarcer.  If, however, he realised how much prepping I actually have, he would probably have me committed.  (Until they are really needed, of course).
I haven't actually been able to buy flour since before lockdown.  I haven't run out either as I had prepped some pre-frozen bags.
I know I could order on line but am dithering with this also.

maddiemay

pineapple said:

Another one here with bags of potatoes in every spare space though still not convinced it's cheaper growing them than buying them. But they do taster better imo and you can choose the variety. I''m supposed to be shielding and haven't been shopping in months so compost has to be via telephone/internet order and the price seems to have gone through the roof. Got hold of some wool compost the other day. It smells very, err, rich and there are reddish worms in it - which I'm assured 'is a good thing' Not altogether convinced!

Oh yes, I believe red worms in compost are very desirable, I always used to try and catch any that tried to escape when I was stirring up the compost in my dalek bins.

euronorris

I remember seeing posts about using vacuum filters in mask the other day, and meant to comment, but forgot. It is not recommended, as per below:

"Part of the reason is that most HEPA filters are composed of microscopic glass fibers, which can be harmful to the lungs if inhaled. There are vacuum bags made without glass fibers, but these are "micro-filters," not HEPA filters, which only block particles 2 microns in size."

Taken from here: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/scarves-hepa-filters-kind-face-covering-best-bet/story?id=70058603

So please be careful what material you choose as a filter. X

Si_Clist

maddiemay said:

Oh yes, I believe red worms in compost are very desirable ...

Not arf!  Here's all you need to know about them

https://animalcorner.org/animals/brandling-worms/

DigForVictory said:

 I think I’ll empty one high st savings account into tinned & dry goods ...

Late January, when we saw the writing on the wall, we reckoned two things were inevitable; shortages and price rises. So we started turning money into just that - tinned and dry goods*.  Then last month we finally realised that on top of the current supply problems and price rises, we can look forward to The Brexit Factor adding to shoppers' woes.  So we upped the rate of stash-building to the limit of our available cash.

That explains why there's currently 17 tins of corned beef and 21 jars of coffee in the box alongside my left foot and a stack of 7 5kg bags of sugar alongside my right one.  Downstairs, the usable space in the kitchen is getting less all the time, which has the advantage that each week it takes less time to mop the floor

You can eat tinned and dry goods.  You can't eat money in a bank account.  All you can do with that is buy those same goods later on when they cost you more - assuming of course that you can still get them.

( * And fuel - I forgot about that.  Logs and solid fuel.  That's why there's now a lot less space than there was at this end of the garden ...)

oceanspirit

jamanda said:

I keep dithering as to whether I have too many preps or panicking because I don't have enough.  I'm expecting this winter to be difficult food/price/shopping wise and I'm driving myself daft arguing with myself both sides of the argument.
Has anyone else noticed food prices are shooting up?  Some possibly for good reason, but some a bit baffling.

I'm with you on this one.  We don't have as much in as Si Clist but looking ahead if Brexit meets Covid meets beast from the east this winter, we want to be able to hunker down with a good fire and enough light for a good book or game of scrabble.  It could be a long, hard winter.  But also, it may not and I'm trying to declutter my home to make it easier and more pleasant to live in so filling it up with food, toiletries and other supplies goes against the grain.

We have the firewood in early this year and I may pinch Si Clist's idea of getting in some smokeless fuel to top up as well.  I don't like it as much as wood (I like a flame) but if the electric is off for a while or bottled gas supplies can't get through (not sure I can buy extra of this) the wood won't last as our only form of heating.

Normally at this time of the year I start thinking about where I want to be for Christmas (I have chronic fatigue and other health issues so it takes a long time to plan anything), but we've said we'll be happy with a tin of beans by candlelight at home if that's how it has to be.

MingVase

I'm expecting this winter to be a nightmare. Let's face it, everything has been since Boris and his mates took over so I don't see it changing anytime soon. I'm buying one of these big Ikea Kallax units for the spare room and using it for storage, that way I can get a lot of stuff in the one place..

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/kallax-shelving-unit-white-70301537/

jamanda

That looks handy.  Is it strong enough for tins cos they is heavy?  DH reckons our house will turn upside down if I put any more in the loft.

elaine241

Well I bit the bullet and took two of last years lambs to the local slaughter house yesterday ( excuse the pun, black sense of humour!) Ironically Welsh lamb is too expensive in the supermarkets and I avoid buying it! which is mad as we send over 150 to market every year. The lambs were making very good money a few weeks back so I had to argue to keep two back for ourselves. Only managed it as they were over a year old and they were getting new types of teeth which meant they weren't as valuable as those without (who knew??)
I put one of our broody hens on some eggs yesterday in the hope she will raise some chicks to increase my hen count. God knows what they will be like as she is an ex battery and the cockerel is a mix breed! Any cockerels will be given away to homes or if they look like they will fatten go in our freezer!
Veg garden is going mad and my squash plants are like triffids spreading everywhere. I am thinking of trying to grow them up a trellis before they conquer the world. I am a bit worried this weekend gives humid , warm, wet conditions ideal conditions for a Hutton period and the dreaded blight. I have some copper sulphate and I am wondering whether to spray some on the plants, apparently its ok as its considered natural. Last year I lost some tomato plants to blight but they rejuvenated as I had put copper sulphate in their water, I am assuming it went up into the plants and killed the blight from inside. Either way the plants died off with classic blight and tbh I just gave up and left them. Only to notice a couple of weeks later they were re growing and eventually fruited.
I am going to do a stock take on my dry food preps as the larder is chaotic and looks like it could do with a clean out. I seem to have managed to hoard plenty of jars and useful plastic containers for storage and freezing produce. I think I am going to buy a big sack of bread making flour next time I see one in Morrison s, divide it up and then freeze in smaller amounts. I noticed the small in store packaged bags only had a couple of weeks until their use by dates which is strange as normal bags have a much longer shelf life.
Anyway I am going into prepper mode over the next couple of months!