Posted on 02/26/2018 12:12:20 PM PST by CottonBall
That’s a great idea for another topic. If you don’t mind dog reference this post.
You have to teach me how you get those spices to be winter hardy. My chives and oregano dieback. But then they come back in the spring. So is that what you mean? Now I’m having a hard time getting my thyme to come back though, I even brought some inside for the winter and it is dying. Maybe it needs to rest? I do have it in a colder spot though. The basil is still alive that I brought in, and maybe it’s because I have it in a room with a humidifier and lots of windows so it gets warmer.
Garlic! I need to grow some this year. How do you save your garlic for use? If it’s easy to grow it should be fun, I’ll need to plant some. Do you plant garlic from the grocery store or get bulbs from Lowe’s?
Very neat post, thank you! That is definitely something we should talk about, you guys are great, I keep getting thread ideas from your wonderful sharing :-)
And that’s one thing I haven’t even thought of. Clothing. Probably a good idea to get some of this great quality clothing and just set it aside if we need it. Or start using it but have some extra as well. I’ll have to see if I have a Duluth Outlet anywhere near. Can you think of any other places that sell high-quality clothing like Duluth? I used to get their catalog but it’s been awhile, I should probably go to their website and sign up. Although of course an outlet is much better!
And sewing is a great skill to have. If you could make shorts out of a T-shirt, you’re a good seamstress. I can barely sew on a button.
Thanks for the recipe! I think I’ll use your post as a jumping-off point for a new topic.
When I think of all the possible topics and things that would need to be done, I get overwhelmed. There’s just not enough time.
But I need to just do one thing at a time
What I liked about your recipe is all of those things can be shelf-stable for years. Maybe decades! And it’s probably pretty cheap compared to buying laundry soap.
I’m afraid I don’t have much experience with other brands. Some of my customers would compare the Fire Hose pants to Carharts, but I don’t think I ever heard the t-shirts being compared to anything.
About 2-3 times a year, Duluth will have a 30% off everything sale, and they also frequently have things marked way down because the color is being discontinued. If you keep an eye on the website, and if you don’t care about the color, you can often combine these discounts. The website will also tell you if there’s an outlet store near you. There aren’t many, but it’s worth checking.
The plants are winter hardy (perennial) or not.
The ones I listed are and I’ve never had any issues with my thyme not coming back.
I get my garlic from Territorial Seed Co.
I can’t say I’ve ever seen them on sale at Lowe’s like the sage, rosemary, and thyme.
The garlic will be shipped when in the fall and you break apart the bulbs and just plant one clove about 8 inches apart in rows about a foot apart. They get planted in late Sept to early fall, at least in the northeast here.
I lay a strip of landscape fabric down between the rows and cover the whole bed with straw.
The plants start to come up in the fall and get buried in the snow and when the snow melts, they just keep growing.
They are generally ready to harvest in the late summer when about half the leaves have turned brown and died back.
Then you carefully dig around the plants to loosen them, gently lift them from the soil and shake what dirt you can off. They are then set in a well ventilated place, somewhere out of the sun to dry and cure for about three weeks.
Then you can brush off the dirt and at that point, I select the nicest, biggest bulbs for next years crop and set them aside to replant in Sept again, and use the rest.’
Last year, for the first time, I tried dehydrating the garlic. I sliced it thin, laid them on parchment paper on cookie sheets, and put it in my oven on proofing for several days until they were dried completely. You don’t want them like apple slices, where they can bend and are flexible.
Warning, though, it will burn your eyes out. I had to close the kitchen door and open the windows for the first day or two.
The garlic from the grocery stores is sometimes treated with anti sprouting chemicals so I order mine from a seed catalog.
Land’s End has great stuff and often has great sales end of season.
LL Bean is OK, but for their price, IMO, they are not as good as Land’s End.
My husband like Eddie Bauer, too. They can have some nice stuff.
Thanks for the garlic info, I have it copied and saved for next year’s Garden. Actually this year’s, just a few months from now. I had to laugh when you talked about the aroma as you were dehydrating the garlic! I can imagine that would be quite pungent. And everybody would think you’re making Italian for tonight.
This is not a topic I’ve been mulling around in my mind for a while. I still don’t quite know how to solve it.
Almost everyone I know that is prepping is older. Middle-aged or Beyond. And I know from my efforts that’s growing a large garden, taking care of it, then dealing with the produce, it is downright exhausting. And that’s just a small part of what would need to be done if TSHTF. I don’t imagine there would be much downtime at all. Cutting firewood, hauling water, mending or making clothes, house repairs, taking care of animals, Etc
And from what I’ve seen of younger Generations these days, most of them grew up if not in the lap of luxury, then darn near it. I don’t really see the same work ethic that would be needed, at least not a physical work ethic, they can certainly work on computers all day long :-)
I’m hoping if things turn badly, my son and daughter-in-law would come out here. But that’s only two of them. Other than that I don’t have any ideas for how to get younger people, that I trust and that will have skills and hopefully supplies, to be part of our group.
How about you?
I have a soon to be family member and another son who both have had long term ‘survial’ training and one who teaches it hands on in the wilderness across the nation.
Prepping is good but I do believe there are many instructing people how to survive when they haven’t prepped as well. The younger generations seem to be challenged by learning these skills.
The younger generation is challenged by something as simple as dressing appropriately for the weather.
You could always hire a few illegals and sleep with one eye open.
Great news!
I just got my power turned on after 5 full days and will report about preps that worked, that didn’t, what would have improved life.
That’s a great trial run!!
I look forward to your observations.
“You could always hire a few illegals and sleep with one eye open.”
Nah, we moved 2300 miles to get away from them. But I’ll have to sleep with one eye open anyway ;)
“The younger generation is challenged by something as simple as dressing appropriately for the weather.”
That’s both funny, and sad - because it’s so true.
caww, souunds like your family is ready to go.
Sense I am quite co-dependent on my little Yorkie, I’ve been curious about how to store pet food long-term.
Especially since he doesn’t eat much and of course, it’s cheaper to buy the bigger bags. For now, I’ve been putting them in a FoodSaver bag. Another option is mason jars with an oxygen absorber. It seems like that would just take too many jars, though.
Commercial pet kibble has an awful lot of oil in it, So I imagine it would go Rancid. . If there is a way to find any without oil it could last for 10 or 20 years. So it’s possible that canned food would last longer than kibble.
My go to plan is to feed my dog and cats. What we eat, the combination of rice and beans will give enough protein. The dog would probably eat it, cats not so much.
So I would love some advice or stories on what you are planning or have planned to do.
And pets might seem Expendable to some, but I think dogs are going to be quite handy as alarms and as protection, for the bigger ones. Don’t tell Cooper He’s not a hundred pounds, He’s convinced that he can take on anything, even the bull next door. And cats will be needed in barns or grain storing situations so the mice don’t run rampant.
Our pets are definitely NOT expendable. They are family and love us just as much, if not more, as we love them. I did three prep trips to the grocery store last week and the first trip was for pet food and supplies. Their food will stay in the original containers/bags.
Dry and canned food - check
De-wormer - check
Fur ball med - check
Flea drops - check
Vit and supplements - check
Ear med - check
Heart worm - check but might see if vet will sell another box
Basic first aid supplies - check
Antibiotics - X
And check for milk, powdered milk and yogurt starter to make yogurt for the giant slobber bucket who isn’t his perky self. Though the the grocery store only had small bags of powdered milk I currently use for yogurt and bread making.
I picked up more dry cat food than dry dog food because the dog can eat cat food when his runs out but it’s harder for the cats to eat his if theirs runs out. If it comes down to it, the dog can eat human food and the cats are hunters (they share with the dog) though that’s not optimal.
I may make another shopping trip before the evacuee plane arrives in TX.
Prepper ping
I am slowly stocking up on stuff.
I just pinged out a thread about the corona virus that indicates that it’s far more widespread than previously thought and than the Chinese government is admitting.
I intend on having enough food stuff for several weeks.
Eggs, especially right off the farm, keep far longer than most people realize, probably due to the fact that the eggs they buy in the store are already far older than they know.
Don’t forget salt either. It’s critical to survival but I don’t often see it mentioned in supplies to stock up on. I keep mine in canning jars to prevent caking.
You have to make sure the mouth of the jar is clean cause the salt will corrode the bands very quickly if you don’t but that’s not hard to do.
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