Author Topic: Preppers (Read 10625 times)

Polyanya · « **Reply #30 on:** April 10, 2020, 07:53:21 pm »

It all sounds quite doomsday but when I stop and remember that nearly 1000 people died in the past 24hrs - it puts things into perspective for me

Do you have peaty soil Fleecwife? I do, so I can easily use it as seed compost. I can just add some chicken manure pellets for growing plants on.
We're trying to keep as many of our own seeds Macgro - its difficult as its much colder up here but doable = we've saved dill, parsley, rocket (self sows), black beans, runner beans, french beans, peas and kale and Shetland cabbage. Never tried saving root crops as I believe one has to let so many flower for pollination.

macgro7 · « **Reply #31 on:** April 10, 2020, 09:04:34 pm »

I wanted to ask you actually, what is your experience of loving in Shetland? I was considering moving (or at least visiting) to Shetland or Orkney as it's so beautiful and much much cheaper. E.g. you can buy an entire island for the price of a house over here! And we are in an area where houses are at least 1/3 of prices of London!
My concern is the lack of proper summer! I love when its warm - today was such a beautiful day - 22C. No wind. Just sunshine.

Polyanya · « **Reply #32 on:** April 13, 2020, 07:52:42 pm »

Loving in Shetland I should imagine is pretty much the same as any other part of the country

Sorry Macgro I couldn't resist your typo

I've lived here 15 years and do find the winters difficult, its not that they're especially cold but longer than the mainland, we're about 1 month behind everyone and it does get pretty windy although this past winter has been much windier in england and scotland so it is variable. There is a huge amount of space here and the roads are wonderful to drive on - you can drive 30 odd miles or so without seeing another car, but I miss trees and woodland birds. Leaving the island can be a major expedition especially if you keep livestock, so we don't go very often. Summers are hit and miss some good some bad but we usually manage to grow lots of good organic veg and rear healthy tasty lamb and keep chickens and goats which I probably wouldn't be able to do south. So some gains and some losses really.

macgro7 · « **Reply #33 on:** April 13, 2020, 08:39:38 pm »

Oh sorry lol
Haven't noticed that

cloddopper · « **Reply #34 on:** April 17, 2020, 12:42:41 pm »

I'm square wheeled for the duration .

I'm so glad we've kept a stock of pressure canned foods as well as bulk buying rice in 10 kg sacks etc. & having plenty of deep frozen meat as well as quite a few a few 750 ml ( pint) jars of pressure canned chicken or beef stock .

For the first week either side of the first day of the lock down ( LD) we lived on what we've put by realising that mayhem would ensue .
2nd week after LD towards the end on the Thursday Alison came home with a six litre pack of UHT milk & some butter in great distress. Saying the locals were like pigs at feeding time . She abandoned the experience quite shocked at how thin the veneer of civilisation is & how stupid some folk are .

Next time she went out was on Wednesday 8 April 14.00 hrs & got everything on the shopping list , came home & said the place she shopped in was deserted .
Instead of shopping in the 24 hr Tesco in town like before she shopped in a super Lidl that's well away from town and only reachable to most shoppers with a vehicle .

She went shopping again yesterday at the same place everything we needed save for the four small sliced milk loaves we normally get . She had to buy four loaves of 50/50 instead which is not any sort of problem by any stretch of the imagination .

Meanwhile I've been clearing out my square foot veg beds 7&preparing them for this years crops . Lifted the remaining carrots from the carrot bed that has been giving us six or seven carrots a week since the end of September . I still am astounded I found enough carrots to puta couple of pounds aside for the house and pressure can 16 pints for the carrot gap period , canned free from all manner of chemicals save a decent pinch of sea salt per pint .

We've still got plenty of leeks , PSB and perennial kale in the beds . The asparagus bed is now in it's sixth year and has started profusely producing five or six tender spear 3/4 " thick each day . Were they're a lot more I think I'd can a few half pints
The rhubarb has gone bonkers , we got plenty of strong thumb thick 15 inch long sticks some of which are going to get stewed , sweetened & canned for rhubarb crumbles over the next year .

Polyanya · « **Reply #35 on:** April 19, 2020, 07:10:11 am »

Sounding very productive Cloddopper

I hear what you said re your wife's experiences - aren't we (as a society) only lacking two meals away from anarchy? Makes you think doesn't it $:-\$

You seem to do a lot of canning, I've never tried that, we freeze everything but it makes more sense to can if the power goes off. I'm a bit scared of exploding jars I think

We have a similar set up with stocked freezers and available veg, still picking carrots and kale and the salad leaf is almost ready to pick. I wish we could grow our own grain, I'd love to mill our own flour - my husband's previous generations grew and milled their own, we still have the stones, but sadly not the horse and plough they used.

Womble · « **Reply #36 on:** April 19, 2020, 08:40:13 am »

You still have the husband, right Polyana? Where there's a will, there's a way!

macgro7 · « **Reply #37 on:** April 19, 2020, 12:50:26 pm »

Quote from: Polyanya on April 19, 2020, 07:10:11 am

I wish we could grow our own grain, I'd love to mill our own flour - my husband's previous generations grew and milled their own, we still have the stones, but sadly not the horse and plough they used.

I'd love to do that! Living in Shetland you can grow the orkney variety of Barley. Just plow the field with rottotiller! You dont need acres of it just for the family!
My great grandfather used to grow his own grain with horses but then used to take it to the mill for grinding.

Justin · « **Reply #38 on:** April 19, 2020, 06:42:29 pm »

Took delivery last week of a pressure canner from the US. Not the All American as that's now silly money to import but a 23l Presto which will work on our induction hob, cost about £150 all in. Now to start buying Weck jars

Finished putting up the polytunnel a couple of weeks ago which should improve the fruit and veg production this year. Have a freezer for the dog food and 3 freezers for the pigs/sheep that go in each year. We get occasional power cuts but only for 12 hours at most so they're fine. Looking to can things rather than putting everything in the freezer.

Being on solid clay with a high water table, a dug root cellar wasn't going to work so I made a pantry in the barn from stud wall insulated with 4" of celotex left over from a built project. That's now full of shelving and while it's not as temperature stable as a proper root cellar, it's better than anything else we've got and gives space for lots of canned goods and things bought in bulk like flour etc and for the all important home brew

Polyanya · « **Reply #39 on:** April 20, 2020, 08:27:27 pm »

I do indeed Womble, but he's always busy doing something else $:-\$

Macgro - never say Orkney barley to a Shetlander

(I am by marriage) - we have Bere in Shetland which is an ancient 6 row barley probably brought over by the Vikings and although not grown commercially here it is used a lot. I'm ok with it but I am gluten intolerant so don't want to risk it. I make sourdough which I find I can eat with very little ill effect. But yes we have toyed with the idea of growing it and times like this I wish we were.

Justin your canner sounds the business, I hope you let us know how you get on with it - Its definitely the right way to preserve - the jars cost a fortune too!