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All Things Prepping, Simple Living, Back to the Basics [Survival Today, an on going thread]
vanity | 2/26/18 | CottonBall

Posted on 02/26/2018 12:12:20 PM PST by CottonBall

I’ve been missing the vast amount of information on prepping, survival, camping, simple cooking, the old ways of doing just about everything – all the things nw_arizona_granny knew so much about and shared with us, along with numerous other posters with a vast array of skills and knowledge.

We have our various related-threads here, a recipe thread, a gardening thread, and even a prepper thread. They are all great and I don’t mean to take anything away from those and the hard work their owners put in.

But I was missing a place to talk about ALL those things, to get the camaraderie that we used to have on granny’s thread.

I learned how to can on those threads! The pressure canner was not my friend, I thought, but I bought one and stared at it for a month, intimidated. Then I read the directions for another month. But with the help and encouragement of posters on granny’s threads, I jumped in and now have my very own food storage room in the basement with lovely jars of shelf-stable meats, vegetables, and fruit. When we moved, I fashioned my food storage room – and insisted upon having a basement – from what I learned on her threads. Getting started gardening was from her threads. Making my own cleaning products….the list is endless.

So I thought I would take the chance and start another comprehensive prepper thread and see how it goes. I used to have granny’s ping list since I made one of the threads for her, but alas, with numerous computer changes, I cannot find it. So please pass this onto any posters you think might be interested.

We’ll just keep it running until..whenever. Granny created a new thread at 10,000 posts or so. I do like the idea of having ONE thread to go to – because often I cannot find or keep track of the weekly threads. I won’t be posting lots of recipes or tidbits myself – to any mods concerned about the size of this thread. I’d just like a place to chat, post questions, post ideas, make new prepping friends.

Here are granny’s threads, if anyone wants to peruse them:

nw_arizona_granny’s Thread #1

nw_arizona_granny’s Thread #2

nw_arizona_granny’s Thread #3



TOPICS: Food; Gardening; Health/Medicine; Outdoors
KEYWORDS: brb; cooking; food; gardening; granny; prepper; preppers; prepping; simpleliving; stinkbait; survival; vision
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To: metmom
You can die without enough salt and if TSHTF and deliveries are delayed, just where are you going to get it?

Supposedly there are certain plants that accumulate enough salt in their tissues that, when burned, the ashes can be used as a source of salt. I've never tried that, though.

Some places have so much salt underground that it comes out in the well water.
1,281 posted on 02/05/2020 8:04:01 PM PST by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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To: CottonBall
I don’t think salt is naturally occurring in any food, is it?

Milk is surprisingly high in salt. And there are some plants that will accumulate salt in their tissues. Coltsfoot is one, it was burned and used as a seasoning because of this. I've heard of hickory, nettle, and even corn cobs used the same way. I've never tried it myself though.
1,282 posted on 02/05/2020 8:12:00 PM PST by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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To: bgill

i just gave Cooper some Oui vanilla yogurt - he ate it and asked for more. Who knew! Sounds like it is healthy for their digestive system just like for hours. I have a cat that has a lot of digestive problems and food allergies. Maybe I’ll see if she’ll eat some next time. Although she might prefer the unsweetened kind that I make.


1,283 posted on 02/05/2020 8:18:37 PM PST by CottonBall (This space for rent.)
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To: CottonBall
What kind of home-grown things can you feed your chickens? Cracked corn?

You can feed them cracked corn, but it won't provide a balanced diet.

They can eat a lot of things, actually. But I haven't found a combination yet that supplies 100% of all the nutrients they require, without giving them way too much of something. Still working, though.

I know that if you don't have pellets to feed them, they'll need a lot of green leafy vegetables. They love brassicas, so kale and cabbage are both good bets. Add some sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. And, if you can get them, oyster shells or ground, dry animal bones for calcium. That's not a complete diet, but it might be as close as you can get when you can't get to the store.
1,284 posted on 02/05/2020 8:18:48 PM PST by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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To: Ellendra

Do you know how people in the past got enough salt? Like the pioneers especially in the middle of the country, where there was no salt water


1,285 posted on 02/05/2020 8:19:53 PM PST by CottonBall (This space for rent.)
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To: Ellendra

Do they also need protein? I think if they’re allowed outside they go foraging for bugs don’t they?

kale, swiss chard - I can see that they might really enjoy my garden! I’ll either need to fence in the garden or fence in the chickens.


1,286 posted on 02/05/2020 8:21:56 PM PST by CottonBall (This space for rent.)
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To: Ellendra

Yes, Syracuse is called the Salt City.

But you have to be somewhere where that happens.

I tried looking online for a list of high sodium veggies and fruit but did not find anything.

However there was this advice from the Cleveland Clinic about a sodium restricted diet.

If you have canned goods, especially soups, the sodium content will be higher and that will help.

But apparently it’s still going to be a better idea to stock up on salt.


1,287 posted on 02/05/2020 10:18:33 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: metmom
Salt is a must have. And lots of it.

It is estimated that you will need about 50 pounds a year and if you do not live next to a brine spring or the sea you have a problem.

Baking soda and Epsom salt is another thing that you should stock up in major amounts.

1,288 posted on 02/05/2020 10:25:08 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (A hero is a hero no matter what medal they give him. Likewise a schmuck is still a schmuck.)
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To: CottonBall

Our friends say that their chickens, which are free range, forage for everything.

They scratch and peck at the dirt and will eat EVERYTHING- bugs, seeds, plants, whatever.

By the time they are done with a patch of ground, it’s free of everything and well fertilized and garden ready. Weeds are hardly a problem.


1,289 posted on 02/05/2020 10:28:22 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Epsom salt is good for magnesium, but is not a good source for ingestion.

You have to figure out what the absorbable forms of magnesium is.

But it apparently is a GREAT fertilizer.

Why baking soda?


1,290 posted on 02/05/2020 10:35:21 PM PST by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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To: CottonBall
Do you know how people in the past got enough salt? Like the pioneers especially in the middle of the country, where there was no salt water

They bought or traded for it.

Salt is probably our oldest trade good. Not such a problem when we lived by the sea but an issue when we moved inland.

Salt was being mined in Hallstatt at least 7000 years ago.

1,291 posted on 02/05/2020 10:35:34 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (A hero is a hero no matter what medal they give him. Likewise a schmuck is still a schmuck.)
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To: metmom
Hygiene, cleaning, medicinal, gardening and of course baking.

Baking soda is a great drawing agent for infected wounds, soothes all kinds of rashes, treats sour stomach, cleans teeth and skin, cleans dishes, gets nasty smells out of clothes, works as an anti-fungal on plants, is a fire extinguisher for grease fires and a whole host of other things.

1,292 posted on 02/05/2020 10:53:52 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (A hero is a hero no matter what medal they give him. Likewise a schmuck is still a schmuck.)
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To: metmom
I use Natural Calm for magnesium. For some reason it is a mineral I am chronically short on so I have been taking it for ages.
1,293 posted on 02/05/2020 10:57:58 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear (A hero is a hero no matter what medal they give him. Likewise a schmuck is still a schmuck.)
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To: CottonBall

That’s great! I’ve never made it sweetened for him. Haven’t tried it on the cats. Every cat we’ve ever had loves spaghetti sauce. Weird. But probably don’t feed it to yours with digestive problems.

Did you hear this? Oh my. https://metro.co.uk/2020/02/03/animal-rights-activists-want-ban-term-pets-cats-dogs-equals-12172551/


1,294 posted on 02/06/2020 6:29:46 AM PST by bgill
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To: metmom

“By the time they are done with a patch of ground, it’s free of everything and well fertilized and garden ready.”

That would be great! Looks like I might need to fence them in the garden for a while. It’s wonderful how God provides everything in nature that works so well together.


1,295 posted on 02/06/2020 7:23:01 AM PST by CottonBall (This space for rent.)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear; metmom

All of my recipes for cleaning products seem to use baking soda. Except my laundry soap recipe but that uses Washing Soda, which can be made from baking soda.

And it has an infinite shelf life. Not too many things have that. Sugar, salt, baking soda, honey, I’m sure I’m leaving something out. Maybe cream of tartar. I’ve stored a bit of that so I can make baking powder out of the baking soda. .


1,296 posted on 02/06/2020 7:27:45 AM PST by CottonBall (This space for rent.)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Sounds like I better store a bit more. Now that I’m finally in my permanent home, I can buy more without having to worry about lugging it around.

50 lb a year? Is that per person? Sounds like it will be great to use in bartering, IF I ever have extra. That’s not likely.


1,297 posted on 02/06/2020 7:29:56 AM PST by CottonBall (This space for rent.)
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To: bgill

Cotton Does love lasagna, maybe it is the tomato sauce. I let her have the cheese and the sauce and take out the noodles.


1,298 posted on 02/06/2020 7:31:44 AM PST by CottonBall (This space for rent.)
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To: bgill

Wow, That’s nuts to declassify them as pets. And my animals are definitely my furkids, super spoiled, very loved.

But I still know that they are my pets. You know this just opens the door for marriages between animals and people.


1,299 posted on 02/06/2020 7:33:18 AM PST by CottonBall (This space for rent.)
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To: CottonBall

Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are both high in protein. And there’s a surprising amount of protein is some leafy greens, as well. If there are bugs, they’ll eat them. They actually wiped out the Japanese Beetle population in my backyard by eating all the grubs before they could mature. They’ll also eat small critters like mice, and the more aggressive ones might even go after small snakes.

The problem I keep running into in my charts is actually too much protein. If they get too much it causes health problems. But by the time I get enough of the other macro and micro nutrients, the protein level is way too high.

The suggestions I gave will get you close to a balanced diet. But like I said, I’m still working on a better one.


1,300 posted on 02/06/2020 8:11:47 AM PST by Ellendra (A single lie on our side does more damage than a thousand lies on their side.)
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