tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 4, 2022 21:26:12 GMT 10
I asked if we could do that, but as it is we were doing what the council told us we had to do and we couldn’t vary from that without further permission. Swales would have been much more sensible regarding water run off for Neighbours as well as our own benefits, but it wasn’t allowed. It’s a long,expensive and frustrating story.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Aug 4, 2022 14:08:08 GMT 10
We have a sloped area of land - maybe 1/3 acre - with scattered gums. The soil has recently been dug over so to prevent it all washing away the obvious thing to do is plant grass seed.
Is there an alternative?
I’d love to fill the space with fruit trees and mulch but with the gums, the fruit trees won’t be happy. And we need ground cover.
Any ideas?
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jul 29, 2022 18:59:15 GMT 10
Hi Members,
I just wanted to touch on something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Water.
We all have it and will all need it. If the time comes, we all want to make the most, and get the most from our supplies of it.
Ive been trying different things, adding to our bottled water to make it more beneficial and was wondering if anyone had found anything better?
I like lemon and lime, but both only add minimal extra value outside of actual taste. Grapefruit I've read holds the largest increase in nutritional (?) value to the water, but frankly, i think it tastes horrible! All thesw will be limited at some point should shtf.
Has anyone found anything else that they can suggest? Ideally, something in powder form (not tang) would be excellent as an additive as it could be kept and transported much easier than fruit, not to mention shelf life.
This is particularly aimed towards the health and well being of my girls, during and post shtf.
Thanks everyone!
You could dehydrate orange, lemon and lime slices. Do them until they’re pretty close to crunchy then vac pack them in bags. I would keep them in the back of a spare freezer so they keep for years, but if you were travelling they would be fine out of the frig - even for a few months. The other thing I would consider having on hand to add to water is protein powder. This is prob not the sort of thing you were thinking of. You can get single serve sachets that could be a meal replacement if you had to be on the move. Obviously a large tin of protein powder is cheaper per serve - just less transportable. You just need to watch the date on them and use them up before they go out of date - maybe use it in an annual batch of cacao-nut-date protein balls or add it to smoothies.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jul 13, 2022 0:17:45 GMT 10
I’ve searched for frozen hash browns that are just shredded potato here and I can’t find anything like it. Our frozen hash browns are completely different. I’d love to be able to get frozen shredded potato. I find it fascinating the different foods available in different countries. … Do they have root cellars in Australia or is that just an American thing? Root cellars are not at all common. I don’t know anyone that has one. (Basements and attics are also less common.) I’ve seen many US cooking videos that use frozen shredded potato. I had to just use fresh potatoes but frozen would be very convenient sometimes, especially as it seems you can get them with nothing added!! I wonder if the lack of root cellars and less of a culture of preserving is because over most of Aus you can grow useful food pretty much all year so long term storage wasn’t as necessary.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jul 12, 2022 0:58:37 GMT 10
Tim if you are contemplating canning potatoes my …. You can always grab some frozen hash browns (shredded potatoes) and run them through the dehydrators to hedge your bets if you can find them. Maybe experiment with a few jars canned to sample how they taste. For me personally my carb of choice is rice anyway. I’ve searched for frozen hash browns that are just shredded potato here and I can’t find anything like it. Our frozen hash browns are completely different. I’d love to be able to get frozen shredded potato.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jul 11, 2022 8:16:20 GMT 10
And the rest here probably don't care. I get where your coming from d but you have the wrong demographic for that question here. Career progression & networking within the current mainstream system? On a prepping site? "I would of thought it was self evident" One of the things many people prep for is difficult economic times, which could be as bad as an economic depression. So it does make sense to think about your work networks and versatility in employment to increase the likelihood that you will have income if times get hard. Actually, the possibility of deciding to leave employment because of conditions or duties of employment changing and your decision to take a stand and not go along with your changed work requirements is increasing greatly. Good to have a backup plan incase you decide you need to leave your current employment. It’s definitely been something I’ve been thinking about lately.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jun 25, 2022 11:23:01 GMT 10
Avocados is my plan for growing in the dappled shade between my iron barks. Did you actually try this yet? I’m looking for a place to put some avo trees.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Jun 6, 2022 14:38:50 GMT 10
Give Audible a try Stealth... I did try that. You know what I found? THEY READ TOO SLOW!!! 🤣 I decided to try it out when we were on a return trip from a family holiday. I think the mistake I made was using a book that I've read previously so I knew what was coming up and got annoyed that I couldn't spead-read (listen?) the boring parts to get to the interesting bits haha. I did try with another book later down the track and found it wasn't too bad, that was a non-fiction book that I hadn't read before. But I think I'm one of those weirdo "I need to hold the book" types. I find fiction and non-fiction equally valuable. But if I'm reading for entertainment I tend to lean towards fiction. Non-fiction is reality, and reality can be entertaining just as much as fiction so I'd never say that I think either one doesn't have it's place. It's just that if I have the time and energy to dedicated to reading for several hours I'll tend to go for something that lets me totally remove myself from reality for a while. I think it's a bit of a brain space thing for me. I have to make time and energy to read non-fiction because I'm generally reading that specifically to learn. That means I need to focus closely enough to retain the information. Whereas fiction, it really doesn't matter whether or not I remember individual specific facts. Then again occasionally you'll find me reading about the Great Emu Wars or Ferret Legging purely out of curiosity. You can always set the speed just a little fast. I watch all YouTube videos at 1.15 speed - you can’t really tell and they’re much less frustrating to listen to. With Audible you can set it to 1.1 or 1.2 - for some readers you may want even faster. But if you don’t make it too fast it doesn’t sound sped up.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on May 24, 2022 0:11:10 GMT 10
Bamboo fiber clothing is supposed to be pretty great for all of those options. Seems to be pretty expensive, but the one pair of thick bamboo socks I have are enough to convince me that I should consider it more often. Anything bamboo that I have takes longer to dry than other similar cotton items. Other than that, it feels nice.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on May 5, 2022 15:31:22 GMT 10
Last winter, neighbor Shellie with cancer picked up her knitting skills as she regained strength.. She made Sweetie a scarf and me a toque for Christmas... As weather, strength and stamina provided Sweetie and Shellie went to a neighborhood knitting meetings.. I should learn to knit.. As it would be something to do in winter that helps keep me from stopping at the refrigerator every time I go through the house.. As a blanket, comforter type project.. I wondered if a whole bunch of shawl, scarf wide strips that are half a blanket wide then stitched together to make a king or queen size comforter.. It could be kind of a crazy quilt colors and if the cat cuts a strand only that one section un ravels, not the whole thing.. Is this crazy ?? Sounds like a good plan. Knitting or crocheting a blanket is a pleasant activity in winter, as it keeps you warmer as it grows. It also gives you a good reason to sit and watch a movie occasionally or to sit and chat in front of the fireplace. It’s nice to have an excuse to slow down. Mind you, I’d like to learn ham radio too.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on May 3, 2022 23:50:45 GMT 10
I am planning a few projects coming up - a blanket and some socks. Just considering how much I can justify spending! The colours of the 8 ply sock yarn look lovely, and if I get plenty for the blanket (as I have no idea yet how much I’ll need) I can use whatever is left for socks.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on May 3, 2022 14:40:55 GMT 10
Found the store - hobbi.com
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on May 3, 2022 12:00:36 GMT 10
I often buy wool from Bendigo Mills, but I’m after something a bit different this time.
Dirt diva - I remember you recommending an online supplier. I looked at the time and it looked good, but I can’t remember the name. Who is it you buy your yarn from?
Happy to hear recommendations from others too.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Apr 25, 2022 1:29:24 GMT 10
The blackberry syrup is a good idea.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Apr 23, 2022 17:02:07 GMT 10
Because of the out of date recipes and methods around and the risk of food poisoning, I generally like to follow a recipe or method provided by ball mason or Fowlers vacola, and that’s the system I then use to preserve. They’re quite different.
I love vacola because it is so simple - put the fruit and liquid (uncooked) in clean jars, add the lid and clip, put in the preserver covered in water and switch it on for 1 hour for most size jars. (You can just use a big pot like the ball mason water bath one and watch the temp, so you aren’t relying on the electric preserver, but it is super convenient while available.) Vacola is what I’d use for preserving the berries.
I use ball mason for jams and anything where I want one of their specific recipes. I fine it a lot less convenient because you cook the food first and bottle it hot, then put it into the water bath hot. You cook it in the water bath for a much shorter time but I find it needs my attention for longer due to cooking first. But I love the convenience of the jars.
Interestingly, the reusable mason jar lids remind me a little of vacola lids. Vacola lids are one piece and reusable but have a rubber gasket like the reusable mason ones. You are supposed to use a new rubber gasket each time although many people reuse them I think. Vacola lids don’t screw on - they sit on and are held with a clip during processing and 24 hr after, so like mason you can easily tell if there’s a good seal. So with vacola, the only consumable part is the rubber gaskets/rings.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Apr 23, 2022 16:43:24 GMT 10
Blackberry grows wild on my retreat, so I've been looking at preserving recipes in a book I have from Ball. The recipe calls for a large amount of sugar, 4 cups per 2lbs of berries. This amount of sugar wouldn't be sustainable for me after a collapse. Whilst I have perhaps 80kg of sugar stored, I don't have the abi.ity to produce it. And it isn't grown anywhere near my retreat. Is the sugar necessary for preserving berries? You can preserve most fruit in water, weak sugar solution, fruit juice, etc. The most important thing is that it has acid or you add it. If you want jam, you will need lots of sugar though.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Apr 22, 2022 17:29:48 GMT 10
I’ve looked at a couple of websites that tell you how much you should store, and they end up at a number something like 1008kg grains in total for 6 adults for a year (based on 14kg/adult/month). There are amounts for other foods, but just looking at this one as an example.
When I write out a weekly menu that I feel is somewhat generous, the grains include 1 large loaf bread/day, 5 meals with rice (2 are breakfast), 2 porridge for breakfast, 3 pancakes breakfast, 1 pasta meal, burgers (so extra bread and oats) - I get to a total of about 585kg grains in a year.
Even if I add an extra kg or 2 of flour/wheat each week for snacks I only get to about 685kg.
There are similar differences in my estimates of legumes and other food types compared to online recommendations.
What do you think of the suggestions of various websites for the amounts of food to store? Has anyone else made their own menus to compare?
I found similar numbers at a few different sites.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Apr 22, 2022 11:35:39 GMT 10
We too have several maca trees about 30 years old, u need at least 2 of them so they cross pollinate. Also we have pecans, 300 olives that are 30 years old, and some carob trees as well, all about 20 years old and bearing well. You know you own an old tractor when.....You try to schedule your vacations around tractor shows without making it obvious to the family. Do you know how much you get from the macadamia trees?
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Post by tomatoes on Apr 22, 2022 11:33:57 GMT 10
Yields this year. 400kgs of pumpkin (1kg = 1000 kjs) = 400 x 1000 = 400,000 KJ 200kgs of potato (1kg = 3000kj) = 200 x 3000 = 600,000KJ 150kgs of applies (1kg = 2000kj) = 150 x 2000 = 300,000kj 1,300,000kjs 8000 Kj day = 1 person per day = 160 days 5 people in family = 32 day food !! Assuming zero wastage. It looks like a truck load of food but just on a month if relying solely on it ! We aren't trying to be self sufficient and we have previously gone for months only buying milk and meat but nice to get a feel for it. We also have chickens and eggs and bees and honey and grow lots of other fruit and veggies and if I did a more comprehensive calculation including more food clearly it would be longer, but it is a bit disconcerting to see how short a period of time, such a huge apparent amount of food lasts for. We preserve olives and cabbage but not 100s of kg - but that's still only a few hundred thousands Kjs We have 10 x 20 in wheat - so if I get a good yield off that - will know soon !! - that's probably another 1,500,000 KJ + a similar amount from corn - that should add another 2 months, but that's only 3 months. This is hard work !! :-) I’ll be very interested to hear what your yield is from the wheat and how you go processing it.
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tomatoes
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Post by tomatoes on Apr 22, 2022 11:30:44 GMT 10
Please someone correct these numbers with your own experience - I’m trying to estimate how much space you’d need to grow a useful amount of dry beans.
6 m row of beans might yield 1 kg dry beans.
Borlotti beans - on the dry packet says 1220kJ per 100g - I’m assuming that’s 100g dried but it doesn’t say. So 12200kJ for 1 kg.
Soy beans - 28800kJ for 1 kg
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