Homesteading Questions and Tips

[trumpeting_angel]

An awesome review of materials one should have on hand in case of a disaster (like those hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, we read about almost daily, or massive grid failure or war or something). They tested everything and found the best price for their choices.

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/emergency-preparedness/#about-preassembled-kits

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Apple storage: dried apples! Delicious, you can make pie or whatnot with them, or eat as snacks. Ditto other fruit.

My long-term storage plans call for brown rice, which we eat a lot, flour, sugar (though we can make maple syrup), and dried beans. We are getting a freezer and a half hog, and I'll be freezing tomatoes, sauce, and herbs. I worry about losing power, and thus, my freezer, for an extended amount of time. Gas for the generator will only last so long.

I hope to plant something that will keep my chickens through the winter. I can grow corn, sunflower, and amaranth, the latter very high in protein. I don't know, though, how to grow enough for the "right" nutrients. It's a long winter here. If they get our scraps that could supplement whatever grains and seeds we could grow. I suppose a bag of feed in the freezer would not be a bad idea. In the winter an airtight storage container of feed could be in the garage.

Does anyone know what cooking oil can be stored a long time? I mainly use olive oil, and that definitely doesn't last all that long.

 

[hispoptart]

An awesome review of materials one should have on hand in case of a disaster (like those hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, floods, we read about almost daily, or massive grid failure or war or something). They tested everything and found the best price for their choices.

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/emergency-preparedness/#about-preassembled-kits

Don't forget about things like a loss of a job or injury that provents you from working.

 

[hispoptart]

Apple storage: dried apples! Delicious, you can make pie or whatnot with them, or eat as snacks. Ditto other fruit.

My long-term storage plans call for brown rice, which we eat a lot, flour, sugar (though we can make maple syrup), and dried beans. We are getting a freezer and a half hog, and I'll be freezing tomatoes, sauce, and herbs. I worry about losing power, and thus, my freezer, for an extended amount of time. Gas for the generator will only last so long.

I hope to plant something that will keep my chickens through the winter. I can grow corn, sunflower, and amaranth, the latter very high in protein. I don't know, though, how to grow enough for the "right" nutrients. It's a long winter here. If they get our scraps that could supplement whatever grains and seeds we could grow. I suppose a bag of feed in the freezer would not be a bad idea. In the winter an airtight storage container of feed could be in the garage.

Does anyone know what cooking oil can be stored a long time? I mainly use olive oil, and that definitely doesn't last all that long.

Cold pressed coconut oil can last up to 6-7 yrs if stored in a cool dark place. Don't get the refined as it goes rancid faster.

 

[hispoptart]

Even if you are not a Prepper, it doesn't hurt to stock up on food staples. Some things last "forever" almost: dry rice, sugar, honey, noodles, vinegar, maple syrup. Flour can last a long time if kept sealed.
Regarding canning tomatoes: it is the easiest thing to can, but seems to be a waste of time to me, too, since I am able to buy cans of organic tomato products pretty darn cheap.

Canning tomatoes takes a lot more time then just washing, coring and freezing them. Store canned ones do not have a great shelf life as the acids break down the can over time.

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Don't forget about things like a loss of a job or injury that provents you from working.

I must confess: I'm retired, as of 6/30, and loving it. Before everybody gets jealous, I worked all those years, saved, and got old!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I must confess: I'm retired, as of 6/30, and loving it. Before everybody gets jealous, I worked all those years, saved, and got old!

Congratulations!

 

[trumpeting_angel]

Congratulations!

Thank you! My chickens are my retirement project, along with a garden, pickling, and all the things I put off for the last 45 years that need to get done. I'm so busy I can't believe it. Everybody says they don't know how they ever had time to go to work; I feel the same!

But it's summer in Vermont, I love my garden and my chickens, and we are having warm days and cold nights. Paradise.

 

[BYC910]

Actual homesteading is when the pioneers ran off into the prairie and staked a claim and started from nothing. We are hobby farmers, nothing more lol

Refer to the home stead act of 1862 .What many today call homesteading is in fact self sufficient farming. Think about what it meant then and now . The teams got fed before the farmer \ settler. They ate every day. Tractors only eat when they work . But buying them is a major cost . Root cellars are a must have . Cool and dark stores many different vegetables and fruits. Canned goods keep much longer in root cellars . Freeze dried fruits and vegetables have incredible life spans . Freeze drying machines cost a lot of money . And fact is the Homesteaders of yesteryear had dickens of a time finding a plug Whatever you call it nowadays, anybody that can truly consider themselves self sufficient deserves respect. They work very hard to earn the tittle .

 

[DellaMyDarling]

I love how this thread is moving along!

Yep, definitely think I'll take advice of freezing tomatoes instead of canning!


So for a root cellar scenario, we once attempted to store canned produce in the basement.
Basement had water leaks, and although the goods were on shelving, everything got covered in thick mold.
*Barf*

I know the jars can be saved, but I wouldn't dare try to open jars and consume the foods due to mold spores going airborne in process.

We have sinced fixed that issue with basement, but with copper pipes the basement still remains a higher humidity place.
Thoughts, suggestions, considerations? It WOULD be a fantastic place to store barrels, buckets, and cans of goods if the humidity is fixed.