The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

silvasava

A lady at a CS told me years ago to use wet wipes for small stains on clothes, not baby wipes though as they sometimes have an emolliant (sp?) In them.  I've used them very successfully on a silk jacket! 

RAS

MingVase said:

I was reading a book about the first Gulf war and in it was mentioned washing  (think was an SAS guy or something like that pottering about in the desert).  He said water is so precious  that among the desert arabs it is used only for drinking, nothing else at all. No washing. So maybe getting in a load of baby wipes would help cut down on the bulky water bottles that take up so much room.

I know folks are keen on the "Farm" series. 

I think it was the Tudor Monastery one where Ruth Goodman recommends buffing? Since they were living the life, they didn't bathe. She compared all-body buffing with a linen cloth to remove dirt and dead skin cells (until slightly red) with her colleagues who washed their clothes. And found that she was less odorous that Alex or Peter.

Basically achieved the same result through friction rather than water. Although I think there are bits I'd still lather.

And the Esther Rantzen "no hair wash" experiment suggests that wearing your hair bound in cloth might have been designed as a self-care technique rather than a status symbol. After 6 weeks, the oils balance and the cloth prevents dirt getting to the scalp. Brushing at night deals with the scalp.

annieb64

When I worked in a charity shop we used baby wipes to clean book covers

elaine241

Hello all, just caught up.
Lambing has been going at a pace and we have only about 25 left thank god! 
I've been busy planting seeds and trying to get the veg patch under control. I'm a bit behind but then I can not be in two places at once. I have about 60 potatoes planted, parsnips, onions, carrots and beetroot. I've planted in pots runner beans, french, borlotti  and some mystery black beans I can't find the packet for. I have squash, tomatoes, chillies and leeks growing in heated propagator or cold frames. I am aiming to grow as much as possible this year to try and offset rising prices.
I think finally my OH is starting to get on-board with some aspects of prepping, mainly food security. He has decided to grow swedes and potatoes on a much larger area of the farm, and out at least two lambs in the freezer.
I too am guilty of adding things to my food stocks every shop without having a inventory. I do date things and use them in order. I will try and get round to it but life is just too busy atm!
I was helping my sister clear her father in laws house after he sadly passed away. She has booked a clearance charity but was clearing food etc that they don't take. I managed to get a couple of books, pressure cooker recipe book and the sas survival handbook. She has given me a brand new digital pressure cooker too.


Well oh just tested positive for covid! That means he's isolating in a bedroom and we are now looking up the recommendations in Wales as things change so often.

euronorris

Sorry to hear about hubby Elaine. Hope he's not feeling too bad and recovers quickly.

We prep as much as we can reasonably fit, but have been running down the freezer a bit to save money this month and also use up some random odds and ends that were in there.

Tomato seedlings are growing strong. No idea where I will fit them all! Haha. The elephant garlic I planted in autumn are coming on a treat and there are a few 'volunteer' plants in the trug. I wasn't sure what they were, but I now think they are sprouting broccoli, and they seem very happy, so they can stay there. The mange tout are also out and growing happily. Planted twice as many plants this time as they are good producers, so I should be able to store the extra for the winter. The strawberries and blueberries are flowering. I need to get more strawberry plants mind. Going to try and stack them vertically somehow to maximise space. The onion sets are growing well and seem happy, and the potatoes have started to peek their heads up. Need more compost to cover them up I think, encourage more potatoes in the soil. Still need to get in carrots, beetroot, radishes, cut and come again lettuce and courgette. Cucumber planted, also planted some red sunflower seeds a friend gave me.

Eta: a few pepper plants have started to sprout up too, in the propagator.

thriftwizard

I'm astonished by the fact that most of my seedlings have actually come up, this year! Last year, germination was very poor; a combination of cool dim weather and poor-quality compost, I think. We had an awful infestation of fungus gnats in the compost - which was the only stuff I could get hold of, the home-made not being ready at that point - which ate the roots of half of the poor little plants that did manage to struggle upwards. Sooo frustrating! And not a mistake I'll make again in a hurry; some things are worth not scrimping on or leaving to the last minute.

This year so far, things have been different; nearly everything has galloped upwards. I've had to plant my courgettes out as they'd got big enough to overbalance their pots, and as for the Lazy Housewife beans, I suspect DS1's partner bought them from a man named Jack! One day they were just little green dots in the bottom of the pots, the next they were 6" tall and waving about looking for something to climb up! The sweetcorn's not looking so enthusiastic, only 3 so far out of 15, but there's time to start more off if need be. That's one thing that did do very well last year, along with spuds, raspberries & kale, so as usual there's an element of swings & roundabouts. And we've been finding self-sown little kale plants all over the garden; I haven't even had to sow those! Some are already in big pots to grow on here & the rest will be transplanted down to the allotment.

Hoping it's going to be a cracking year for growing, for all of us...

Si_Clist

Must-see latest (Thursday afternoon) Harry's Farm video.  He starts on fertiliser and the impact on food prices at 6.5 minutes ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6ws7GKb6ss&ab_channel=Harry%27sFarm

tboo

Is strip washing with a bowl, soap & flannel, not the most efficient way to keep clean rather than using copious amounts of wet/baby wipes?

On a side note - Baby wipes and wet wipes are changing in most stores (Tesco and Boots to name 2).due to them being made from plastics and biodegradable ones are supposedly now not as good i.e.not as wet.

MingVase

How easy - or not - is mangetout to grow?

DawnW

Mangetout is easy to grow. I grow some every year in a large tub. Just needs some twigs or some netting to cling onto as it grows