The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

3secondmemory

daz378 said:

Yes i think  prepping  is a state of mind...though in my case   it  ebbs and flows a few years ago  i was   maintaining my stocks    residual/ default prepping   then  your antenna twitches  and you go into active prepping...im using my covid cupboard , so i can fill it back up....on sick at the moment  bit of fatigue from 2nd jab...but my eyes have been stinging for a few weeks    optician suggested heated masks...tried them   but fiddly to get right burning eyeballs ...so i used eyemist instead...wrong  so now ive gone back to perfecting my technique on eye masks...twice a day  if doesnt improve    at least can say tried that  ....stay safe

Prepping is just ‘getting ready’ - you have to ‘stay ready’ which invariably leads longer term sustainable living plans. Last year we were filling our cupboards, this year we filling our hand built, recycled raised beds 😃

having learnt so much last year there’s so much more I can do this year. I am extending my growing space upwards. I dismantled the cumbersome potting table that I crafted 😆 from an old Argos picnic bench and would like to make a tiered unit to capture the sun on an unused wall. 

With that in mind, my plans are to enjoy the summer as much as I can, be productive, not catch or spread the virus and prep for another difficult Winter. The Economy itself has Long Covid - it will take a long time to recover from this.

 

oceanspirit

Karmacat said:

I'm re-reading an old BBC favourite, about Harry Dodson and a Victorian kitchen garden, anybody else read it?  Plus a book by a guy called Stephen Bunner, on Herbal Antivirals, only just started that.

OH and I have fallen off the healthy eating wagon and need to get back on it.  Eating chocolate and crisps has been a comfort during lockdown but has caused weight gain and lethargy.  I have always been a believer in "prevention is better than cure" when it comes to health and as we both have inherited chronic illnesses we do usually take responsibility for our general health as much as we can.

We feel that now, more than ever, quality of the food we buy/grow/eat and what we eat is of utmost importance both for us individually but also for the planet as a whole.

We are also prepping for the next wave of Covid and the potential for another lockdown.  Currently (I know I am amongst many in this) I am feeling as though I wouldn't be able to mentally cope with another lockdown.  So, for me over the next few weeks my focus will be to improve my diet and exercise as I feel this is the best way to strengthen my mental health ready to face whatever the pandemic next throws at us. 

Thank you for mentioning the Herbal Antivirals book, Karmakat.  I will have a look at that as OH has an immune deficiency so we are unsure as to whether the vaccine will give him much protection - having as much back up as we can will be useful.

So yes, we are prepping, if somewhat unconventionally!

Serendipitious

3secondmemory, I have apple crates screwed together a bit like this:

Not decided whats going in there yet but it'll be fun whatever it ends up with!

3secondmemory

Serendipitious said:

3secondmemory, I have apple crates screwed together a bit like this:

Not decided whats going in there yet but it'll be fun whatever it ends up with!

Love it! I’ve got a pallet which I would like to cut in half and rest against the side wall of my house. I’m end of terrace. I hope to supply my self and my neighbours with fresh herbs and salad leaves. I love growing stuff - I just wish I could be organised 😂

Karmacat

oceanspirit said:

Karmacat said:

I'm re-reading an old BBC favourite, about Harry Dodson and a Victorian kitchen garden, anybody else read it?  Plus a book by a guy called Stephen Bunner, on Herbal Antivirals, only just started that.

Thank you for mentioning the Herbal Antivirals book, Karmakat.  I will have a look at that as OH has an immune deficiency so we are unsure as to whether the vaccine will give him much protection - having as much back up as we can will be useful.

You're welcome.  I was reading further in to it this afternoon - it's very good, but it's pretty academic.  It's tricky - you want someone who's done their research, but I honestly didn't follow quite a bit of it.  I've got to the actual herbs used in various situations now, so that's a lot better.

Serendipitous oh my word, that's beautiful, that arrangement of apple crates, and incredibly functional.

Serendipitious

3secondmemory said:

Serendipitious said:

3secondmemory, I have apple crates screwed together a bit like this:

Not decided whats going in there yet but it'll be fun whatever it ends up with!

Love it! I’ve got a pallet which I would like to cut in half and rest against the side wall of my house. I’m end of terrace. I hope to supply my self and my neighbours with fresh herbs and salad leaves. I love growing stuff - I just wish I could be organised 😂

I should point out that the photo above is a stock photo from yahoo - mine do look very similar, but are more weathered looking and hopefully in summer by the time they are full of geraniums and fuchsias and maybe the odd tumbling tomato, I will have learned how to transfer photos to my pc.

There are lots of hanging planters that would look lovely attached to the struts of a pallet, I'm sure you'll have some ingenious arrangements with that.

Toonie

Whilst we wait for the salad leaves to get growing I have microgreens growing on the window sill in the living room. It gets lots of sun and I have a couple of lidded trays which are great (including one made using a plastic tomato tray and a plastic grape box). Whilst they don't keep us in salad for the working week, they certainly liven up salads made from inexpensive ingredients. I currently have seedlings growing from "Out of date" seeds I found when clearing out my Mum's house. The basil has sprouted, as have fenugreek and chard. The chives haven't shown any life as yet. Our tomato seedlings are doing well, and all my strawberry plants and runners survived winter, so that's very good. My gooseberry plant I put in last year is looking lush and is beginning to bud.

I'm hoping that by getting a few bits and pieces going I can have a bit of a productive space which will be good as my DPs job is only temporary, and could end at any point, and whilst my wages cover our bills, it does make it a bit squeaky and leaves no room beyond basics, so getting in some longer term preps is useful right now.

thriftwizard

I'm still slightly startled that two of my pots of chives made it through the winter without dying back; one in the little greenhouse, and one next to the greenhouse, in the open air underneath the apple tree. One of my mints also came through unscathed. Must have been a tad milder than it felt!

DigForVictory

Given the family tomato ingestion rate, I planted seeds & there are now tomato plants (looking like cress) on the “office” windowsill. 
And two bags for life of tinned veg under the desk. 

As well as the stuff “admitted to” in the kitchen.
Quite a few books, self sufficiency, cheese making, brewing, baking & so forth & Himself recently got a chainsaw. (Trying not to worry too much. I know where the tourniquet is. As well as how to use it. Just as he says he knows what to do with the chainsaw...)

greenbee

DfV - I hope he also got chainsaw trousers, gloves and either goggles or a visor...