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
Make your own Fridge (Zeer): It works using what's known as evaporative cooling. As the water evaporates due to the sun, the water takes heat from the inner pot and makes it cooler.
•To make your Zeer you need two clay pots. One needs to be able to fit into the other with a gap of about 2cm. Add a layer of sand to the bottom of the large pot. Place your smaller pot on top pf the sand. The tops of the two pots should be level. You may need to add or take away sand to get them flush
•Once that's done fill the sides right up to the top with sand. Now add water to the sand. Keep adding until it can't absorb any more
•Now add a damp cloth that covers only the small inner pot. It's important it doesn't cover the sand as this will stop the evaporation.
•Now just add foodstuff and place in the sun. You wll need to add water twice a day to prevent it from drying out and becoming hot rather than cold.
Two clay pots. One smaller than the other. Put sand (sand works better than dirt) nested between the two pots. Sand divider should be about 1” or so. Cover with lid or bottom drain saucer. Maybe put water in the bottom of pot (seal hole in bottom of flower pot. Set foodstuffs on top of a rack inside the pot but above the water. Cover with lid. Or cover with a wet towel. Sand needs to be watered twice a day or so to keep damp. Unglazed porous clay pots (needed for evaporative effect). If using sea water, inside of inner pot should be glazed.
It has been shown that increasing the radius of the outer pot from 10” to 18”, almost doubles the total cooling effect. The device is dependent solely on naturally occurring winds. To maximize air flow, it is recommended that Zeer refrigerator be placed as high above the ground as possible. This can be accomplished by building a simple frame to support the device, and placing them on high ground or on top of buildings.
A ZEER is constructed by placing a clay pot within a larger clay pot with wet sand in between the pots and a wet cloth on top. The device cools as the water evaporates, allowing food stored in the inner pot to be kept fresh for much longer in a hot, dry climate. It must be placed in a dry, ventilated space for the water to evaporate effectively towards the outside. Evaporative coolers tend to perform poorly or not at all in climates with high ambient humidity, since the water is not able to evaporate well under these conditions.
If there is an impermeable separation layer between the food and the porous pots, undrinkable water such as seawater can be used to drive the cooling process, without contaminating the food. This is useful in arid locations near the ocean where drinkable water is a limited commodity, and can be accomplished by using a pot that has waterproof glaze applied to the inner wall where the food is stored. Extended operation is possible if the pots are able to draw water from a storage container, such as an inverted airtight jar, or if the pots are placed in a shallow pool of water.
Food Unrefrigerated shelf life Shelf life with zeer
Carrots 4 days 20 days
Eggplant 1-2 days 21 days
Guava 2 days 20 days
Meat <1 day ~14 days
Okra 4 days 17 days
Greens 1 day 5 days
Tomatoes 2 days 20 days
In 2006 independently invented a similar device. The device can be made for commonly available material such as cardboard, sand and recycled metal. The device is composed of two cylinders. The inner metal cylinder is fitted inside the outer cylinder which can be made from whatever materials the manufacturer has access to, including wood or plastic. Space is left between the inner and outer chamber to be filled with organic material which can include sand, wool or soil that is then saturated with water. As heat from the sun evaporates the water, the inner chamber cools reducing and maintaining the temperature at 43 °F (6 °C). Cummins's device is used in areas of Africa where electricity is often not readily accessible to help preserve perishable foods such as meat and dairy products. It is not yet being used for vaccines.
Assembly and Operation:
Sand should be placed in the bottom of the large pot forming a layer of approximately 5cm in depth
Place the smaller pot on top of the sand and center it in the large pot (pots should now be level)
Fill the remaining space between the pots with sand
If possible place the assembled device on a stand to maximize air flow
The small pot should be covered with a lid (clay or cloth) to prevent hot air from entering the storage chamber
The pot-in-pot refrigerator operates passively as long as the sand remains moist
Check the sand twice a day and add water as needed.
Buried Clay Pot Irrigation:
The book Fan Sheng-chih Shu describes the use of buried clay pot irrigation in China more than 2,000 years ago (Sheng Han, 1974). Current practices remain much the same. Make 530 pits per hectare (210 pits per acre), each pit 70 cm (24 inches) across and 12 cm (5 inches) deep. To each pit add 18 kilograms (38 lbs) of manure. Mix the manure well with an equal amount of earth. Bury an earthen jar of 6 liters (1.5 gallons) capacity in the center of the pit. Let its mouth be level with the ground. Fill the jar with water. Plant 4 melon seeds around the jar. Cover the jar with a tile. Always fill jar to the brink if the water level falls. Buried clay pot irrigation uses a buried, unglazed clay pot filled with water to provide controlled irrigation to plants grown near it. A standard red clay pot with the hole plugged works fine. The seedling or seed should be placed in the area wetted by the pot. The water seeps out through the clay wall at a rate that is influenced by the plant's water use. This leads to very high efficiency--much better than drip irrigation and as much as ten times more efficient than conventional surface irrigation. Buried clay pot irrigation has been used to grow a wide range of annual and perennial plants in China, Pakistan, India, Iran, Mexico, and Brazil. In Mexico buried clay pot irrigation enabled two corn crops to be grown in a season with yield sufficient to feed a family from 400 square yards of garden. Buried clay pot irrigation is also useful for gardening, landscaping, and growing plants in containers -- on patios or porches, where the clay pot is buried in the planter box or a larger clay pot filled with soil. It is also excellent for rooting cuttings. Limiting water delivery to the area where the crop is grown dramatically reduces weed growth, a major constraint on production in many areas of the world. They also may be refilled every few days instead of requiring constant attention. In 1989 I grew Hopi corn using buried clay pots. The water use on a full field basis was 7.5 cm/ha [0.25 acre feet], one tenth the conventional water use for corn in California. The above ground plant yield per cubic meter of water was 6.3 kg, total plant yield was 12.6 kg per cu meter.
Irrigation System Efficiency - Productivity in kg plant per cubic meter of water:
wick >4
buried clay pot 2.5 to 6
porous capsule (no pressure) 2.5
deep pipe 2.4
porous capsule (pressure) 1.9
drip 1.4
sprinkler 0.9
closed furrow (basin) 0.7
Something similar used here in the south. It was called a water cooling unit. Placed in a window to help survive the very hot summers in Texas. Though it did help considerably, after using it for years, home owners would find their carpets destroyed by the mold and mildew. Homes built in the fifties had the water cooling towers built along the side of the house. Our warming has always been difficult in summer. However, winter isn’t so bad.
I want this "through the wall solar oven" but don't want to cut a hole in the house. Maybe a kitchen window? Barbara Kerr has had good success with this over in third world countries.
http://solarcooking.org/bkerr/DoItYouself.htm
http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_Wall_Oven
Showing DH this post. He’s in the irrigation business and feel this would be of interest to him.
Work with what you’ve got.
When a kid, we had one in the kitchen so it dripped onto the linoleum floor.
If we southerners can use water coolers in our windows, why not solar ovens as well?
Have you ever thought of building a brick rocket stove? It’s simple:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onMbSLuC7Oc
A simple solar oven made from a pizza box:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBmy-AeIzp0
For those looking for an afternoon of enjoyable exploration, you might be drawn to this site. The proprietor includes images, film clips, and stories of ‘everything’. Always find it interesting to gaze at the old postcards/matchbooks from years ago; and to mention anything about the golden age of movies is only a reminder of the true “MOVIE STARS” we once saw on the big screen. Hope you enjoy
http://www.lileks.com/#everything
Other sites which might be of interest in informing of the ‘days of old’
TOWNSENDS
http://www.townsends.us/
https://www.youtube.com/user/jastownsendandson/videos
The Art of Cookery
https://archive.org/details/artcookerymadep02glasgoog
Hello fellow preppers! Here is a ping to the revived granny survival thread.
Sorry I have been absent of late. I’ve been having a lot of problems with my arms, old repetitive stress injuries that I live with daily. I can usually keep it under control, but the last month has been pretty tough. I’m thinking I might have to forgo my garden this year. I’ve had to just sit quietly and watch the weeds take over :-( oh well, if I go out there and try to do too much I could do myself permanent harm, so not a good idea. I do have to get better for when TSHTF. At the moment this is my most worrisome issue.
Anyway my question/topic for today is – what sort of food storing medium do you prefer?
I got myself a food saver and I’m pretty obsessed with it. I have food saver it and froze some pesto, vacuum sealed some chocolate, and even sealed some extra eyeglass frames in mason jars. It is surprisingly fun and I’m thinking about doing crackers next.
On the other hand, I do love my mylar and oxygen absorbers as well. Those are like 100% thing, they will always work right and you don’t have to worry if you’re actually getting a good vacuum. Even easier is oxygen absorbers in Mason jars.
Although I did seal some baking chocolate in Mason jars with the food saver. I love that there is no additional cost after you buy the food saver, and I can open the jar, take out what I want, and seal it again – all for free.
Just wondering what others are using and what your experiences are.
Do check out V K Lee’s posts, she has put up a lot of interesting websites for our education and enjoyment. Thanks, as always, V K!
“Anyway my question/topic for today is – what sort of food storing medium do you prefer?“
We do a lot of old school canning in Mason jars. We have an old fridge we use to store it. It’s stuffed full of canned soups and stews. We put up 16 pints of navy bean soup with ham last weekend.
We also have a FoodSaver and an Excalibur dehydrator, both of which we use more often. We buy the cheapest cuts of beef we can find and turn it into jerky. That gets vacuum sealed with oxygen absorbers.
Chicken and pork are purchased in bulk on sale. We buy whole pork loins at under $2.00 a pound. That becomes pork chops about 1-1/2 inches thick which get vac sealed 2 per. We got 9 packages and 2 Loin Roasts out of it.
Last week we found chicken thighs for .79 a pound. Ten pounds is a lot of chicken thighs. Same deal. They get packaged 4 per.
It all goes in the chest freezer and the inventory is updated weekly.
Buy cheap.
Stack deep.
Best,
L
It depends on what I'm processing. I like mason jars for storing dried things/staples. Like corn meal, spices, dehydrated tomatoes.
I prefer to can green beans - mason jars, although I do steam for 3 min. and freeze in vacuum style zip bags-I have a rechargeable hand held device, so I don't have to get out the food saver. If I'm sealing up meat or meals, I use the food saver.
I freeze corn in the husks in vacuum zip bags. If I have too many tomatoes to process in the canner, I will dehydrate some and freeze some in the amount that I need for a recipe for sauce or chili.
I have some mylar bags and oxygen absorbers, but I like to be able to see the product, so if I'm sealing something like Pinto Beans dry, for long term storage, I'll use the Mylar and put them in a bucket after sealed.
Other wise I avoid bags-they don't sit well on the shelf. The mason jars look so pretty with stuff in them.
Salad Soup. All you do is boil a potato and leftover salad in beef or chicken broth. Add seasonings to taste. When potato is done, whirl in blender. Put into a bowl, and stick a pat of butter in the middle. Very tasty.
Buy cheap, stack deep – I love that!
Sounds like you got a great process going. The old refrigerator – I assume it’s not turned on since your canned foods are shelf stable? I never thought of using an old fridge for storage but that’s a great idea. Nice shelves, and they don’t get Dusty!
I need to learn more about cover crops. So they don’t deplete nutrients?
Do I so the seeds in the fall? And what kind of seeds do I get, can I use the same crop all over the gardens?
Sorry, I’m probably asking you a whole book full of questions! I can take this over to your thread if you like.
The fridge hasn’t worked in years. But it has nice shelves which are now filled with home canned soups, stews, stocks, jams, and jellies. The freezer section is where we store dried pasta and noodles in bulk.
Everything stays nice and clean.
I’m pretty sure we could go 6 weeks with just the contents of the fridge alone.
Good luck.
L
“Other wise I avoid bags-they don’t sit well on the shelf. The mason jars look so pretty with stuff in them.”
The jars do look pretty. And are reusable. However it seems that no matter how many I get i use them all up. I hate being in the middle of summer and having no jars empty. Last summer we were eating a lot of apple sauce and stuff like that from the previous year, so I can have more jars!
Whenever I put dried stuff in mylar, I do stick them in super pails. Otherwise they do look messy on the shelf and it’s really hard to find what you want. And they’re less likely to get punctured Or nibbled on.For instance the last thing I did was put a bunch of different types of beans in mylar. Then I put a bunch of the gallon bags in a superpail. They didn’t fit real neatly, so I didn’t get quite as much as if I just poured all the beans into one huge mylar bag. But I like having the variety of different types and only having to open 1 gallon at a time.
lol, Speaking of bags not sitting neatly – I had a whole bunch of pesto cubes – froze it in ice cube trays and put in Ziploc bags in the freezer. I decided to vacuum seal them. Originally all the Ziploc bags just sat neatly laid on top of each other. After vacuum sealing, the pesto was in all sorts of irregular shapes! They went to stack it all and took up a lot more room actually. I had to get a box and put that in the freezer so I can have all the pesto in one place. It didn’t work out quite as nice as I thought. but I’m sure they will last longer.
That was supposed to be sow!
Are the cover crops easy to pull out? Like some of the weeds that look huge but they have only one root but they spread. Versus all the little tiny individual plants. Would be great if they were easy to pull also. Or do you just leave them in and plant around then?
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