Prepping

[dmccarty]

I want to grow peanuts since I eat them every day. The problem is shelling the danged things. There are plans for a home built sheller but there are problems with it like concrete dust in the shelled peanuts. I think that could be "fixed" by using metal sheet. My wifey's family used to grow hundreds of acres of peanuts and her grandfather showed me a sheller he made. I don't remember much of the sheller because it was in bad shape and I saw it years ago. Just another question I would ask Grandpa if he was still around...

Anyway, peanuts are supposed to be easy to grow and are VERY energy dense. Since peanuts are high in fat and protein they are a very valuable energy source. If you can squeeze oil out of the peanuts you have yet another valuable resource. Some heritage breeds of pigs had been created to "make" fat or meat. Fat is very important and valuable.

Later,
Dan

 

[woodlandfarms]

So mt wife bought this book on a lark. I read it after she raved about it and was quite impressed. This guy who wrote this seems to actually be sane, realistic, and covers a massive amount of info. Not only what to expect but reasonable ways to deal with situations.

How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times: James Wesley Rawles: 9780452295834: Amazon.com: Books

 

[Jstpssng]

I try to go into winter with about 3 months of nonperishables... this dates back to when I was just starting out and made good money in the summer, but only minimum wages in the winter. There's something about seeing a big pile of food in the cupboard which (to me) looks even better than a jar ful of money.

A few more ideas... food in the freezer has been mentioned... this would require frequent use of your generator. One way to reduce this is to put the sensor of an indoor/outdoor thermometer in the freezer; you can tell at a glance that your food is at a safe level. (I do this in case my freezer should fail.) Dry beans and peas store well in airtight containers, and are great sources of protein. Just remember that they require a lot of water.

Unless your genny runs on propane or diesel, pour any stored gas into your auto at the end of each month and refill with fresh, treated fuel. this may be overkill, but when the gas station is down the last thing you want is to discover your fuel is bad.

Some of us have briefly touched base on the benefits of community... in a total collapse, those with the strongest alliance will be the ones who live the longest.

 

[Danno1]

Trick is that nobody sees or hears that you have food, fuel or anything else. When desperate their lives will be worth more than yours.

So no visible lights, no generator sounds and no aroma of cooking food.

This ^

Some of us have briefly touched base on the benefits of community... in a total collapse, those with the strongest alliance will be the ones who live the longest.

and this^



.

 

[TnAndy]

A few more ideas... food in the freezer has been mentioned... this would require frequent use of your generator.

OR.......

Some of us have briefly touched base on the benefits of community... in a total collapse, those with the strongest alliance will be the ones who live the longest.

Yes, I'd agree with that.

 

[dmccarty]

I was looking at BJs web site yesterday to see if it is worth buying a membership. Still not sure but while I was looking an advertisement was shown for emergency food sold by BJs. I was surprised that BJs was selling stuff for prepping. They had two packages that I saw. One was for around 2,000 calories per person per day for 30 days and the other was something like 1,850 per day. The the larger calorie package was in a box and the smaller calorie was in a bucket. Both seemed to have packaged up freeze dried foods and the 2,000 calorie package seemed to have more veggies. The prices were around $100-130 for the 30 day supply. I think I saw other packages for more people and longer times but I did not click on them to see.

What was interesting, besides that BJ's was selling this stuff, was the much of the freeze dried foods were milk and potatoes which I think are available at many grocery stores. They also had freeze dried eggs and cheese. Not sure those are easily found though.

Later,
Dan

 

[charlz]

Here Costco occasionally has 'emergency' food items for sale in the store and I think always on their website.At least one of the local Walmarts has a 'storage food' section. We also have stores that specialize in long term storage foods. We have a large Mormon population (one of the tenets of the religion is to have food on hand for you and yours for up to a year) but preppers also utilize the stores and their products.

 

[charlz]

Food. Pre-cooked, canned food, dried or freeze-dried lasts longest. You need extra water for the freeze dried stuff though. Fresh veggies and fruits will only last a week at most. Fresh meat, only a couple days at most, unless the temps are below freezing. Cooked meat, add a day. Unless you have a generator with several days of fuel, don't bother stocking up on frozen foods during the summer.

Yes and no. Beef is regularly aged to 18 days or even longer. Deer is good with a few days of aging on it but I have had some that was aged as long as 7 days and it was still fine. This is where something like a root cellar is handy as it is a good place to age meat. Obviously it varies with time of year and ground/root cellar temperatures.

 

[peavey]

I started minor prepping a few years ago with the intention of being able to provide a safe healthy enviorment for my family in case the worst happened. I purchased a cheap solar charging system from harbor freight for about $130 and a deep cycle battery from wal mart for about $100. Since I already had several inverters I saved a few bucks there. I mounted the solar panels on my porch and they keep the battery charged extremly well. I have since added an identical system to a out building that gives me an additional charged battery. These system came in real handy when we lost power due to a summer storm for two weeks. One is hard wired into my living room where I can have electricity with a flick of a switch. I have sinced educated myself on cheaper and more powerful systems and have built a 300 watt system for my cabin in the woods.
Ah, my cabin. I purchased 5 acres of mountain property and built a 16' x 16' cabin with a half loft, plumbed it, installed a propane hot water heater (on demand type), 12 volt water pump, picked up a 250gal plastic water tank from craigslist for $50, propane logs (already had), wal mart emergency food 5 gal. buckets, ceramic water filter from CTD for $30, have extra wood stove and pipe for extended survival needs. There are plenty of extras that I have not mentioned that I consider everyday items. Anyway, I believe I have a plan for the 3 month survival scenerio, but I'm in no way confident that I have every situation covered. Additionally I have prepared bug out bags for all family members who keep them in their vehicles with instructions on how to use specific items and where to meet in case the worst happens.
Do I think we will ever have to utilize all the gear and equipment in a long term situation? NO, at least I hope not. Am I better prepared than some? I think so. I am not a end of world prepper. I just want to make sure I can keep my family alive in a bad situation.

 

[charlz]

I was vaguely aware that the LDS Church had a cannery here in Boise mainly because they sometimes would let the local foodbank process food there and the foodbank would be looking for volunteers. Couple days ago there was a local news story about a guy doing maintenance getting hurt in the local one which brought it back to mind. I did a bit of searching and it turns out you can buy food from the LDS 'Home Storage Centers' which are scattered around the country.

Here is their page on food storage: Food Storage


Here is their online store where you can buy long-term packaged foods:
Self-Reliance - store.lds.org


Or if there is one nearby you should be able to purchase locally without shipping:
Home Storage Center Locations Map



Not sure how the prices are versus other companies and options out there but if you are looking for long-storage staples this might be a good option.

 

[joeyd]

One thing to remember once you start building up reserves for whatever reason is DON"T BROADCAST IT!! The "have not's" will be all over the "haves" if they know about it. If your family was starving how far would you go to get them food? That is my point. How far are you willing to go to protect your supplies and family?

 

[Larry Caldwell]

Yes and no. Beef is regularly aged to 18 days or even longer. Deer is good with a few days of aging on it but I have had some that was aged as long as 7 days and it was still fine. This is where something like a root cellar is handy as it is a good place to age meat. Obviously it varies with time of year and ground/root cellar temperatures.

There's a lot of discussion about ageing meat. My take is that you hang it in a cool place (~50 degrees) until the rigor mortis goes out of the meat. If you freeze it while the joints are still stiff, it will be as tough as shoe leather. You don't want to get in a hurry, though, because if you refrigerate the meat before full rigor, about 24 hours, you will get cold shortening of the muscle fibers. Ideally, you keep the meat at about 65 degrees for the first 24 hours, then cool it to 50 to hang for about 5 days before cutting and wrapping.