What Preps are you doing this week? Part 8.

[Mad Scientist]

Thanks for reminding me! Need to put blankets, spare food , clothes and drinks in. Pump tyres up and check oil. I want to get one of those little heating elements you plug into the lighter so I can have a nice hot drink if I’m stuck. Any recommendations?

[Yorkshire Andy]

Thanks for reminding me! Need to put blankets, spare food , clothes and drinks in. Pump tyres up and check oil. I want to get one of those little heating elements you plug into the lighter so I can have a nice hot drink if I’m stuck. Any recommendations?

Don't bother they are naff

Bought myself a travel kettle a few years ago took forever oh and you need tye engine running or you'll be looking for a jump start before it's boiled a cup of water ...


Be better getting a small camping stove and a metal cup

[ForgeCorvus]

Made sure everything that shuts is shut.
Picked up all the small light things
Tied down the large flappy things.
Checked the Blackout Box.

Now sitting listening to the rain & wind and thinking about 'testing' the rum.


Stay safe folks

[Yorkshire Andy]

Made sure everything that shuts is shut.
Picked up all the small light things
Tied down the large flappy things.
Checked the Blackout Box.

Now sitting listening to the rain & wind and thinking about 'testing' the rum.


Stay safe folks

Make sure you test the rum very thoroughly

Keeps trying to snow here but the bulk of it is passing to the east

[pseudonym]

Now sitting listening to the rain & wind and thinking about 'testing' the rum.

Make sure you test the rum very thoroughly

Release the Kraken

[jansman]

Today I have to make running repairs to next doors fencing ( he won’t do it, too lazy) after the wind.I have to think about our dogs . I shall have a good look at the roof and chimneys too with my binoculars,just to be sure.

Got to replace the roofing on the chicken run too,as we are now ( as usual) subject to Avian Flu bio security rules.They are under cover anyway,as a matter of course these days.Speaking of bio security,I shall make sure I have face coverings in my car for work.

We are continuing to vac pack white rice,pasta and tea bags too. We are putting in oxygen absorbers and silica gel packs too. I am fortunate to get 1 and 2 gallon lidded buckets from work,and these stack neatly in our store room. The rice is packed in 8 x 1 kg bags ( original packaging ,pierced, into a vac pouch with oxygen absorber and silica gel pack. 1 kg of rice equals 14 individual servings for us ,so each bucket holds 112 individual servings.In theory they will last for up to thirty years ( temperature plays a big part too,and that is covered). The same applies to the pasta.We are looking at three to five years initially,and will carry on from there. By what I can gather,the teabags can last in the same conditions ( quality and taste- wise ) for up to three years. After those items, we shall sock away some dehydrated mashed potatoes, and the various dried beans we like to eat too. We shall be looking at using the dehydrator more too ,and storing in the same way.

The tins and jars we shall continue to rotate as normal. The long - term storage is not something we have ever done, but * we* feel that food security ( might) become an issue in the coming years. What we store in this fashion is food we eat anyway , so this will be a win - win situation,as even with inflation,it is still relatively cheap right now.

[jennyjj01]

We are continuing to vac pack white rice,pasta and tea bags too. We are putting in oxygen absorbers and silica gel packs too. I am fortunate to get 1 and 2 gallon lidded buckets from work,and these stack neatly in our store room.

With such long life extension do you still bother to rotate the rice and pasta? I confess I don't particularly.

After those items, we shall sock away some dehydrated mashed potatoes, and the various dried beans we like to eat too. We shall be looking at using the dehydrator more too ,and storing in the same way.

Do you have a favourite dried mash? Have you found a supplier of good value bulk packs of dehydrated mash?
We currently buy and use lots of Morrisons own brand sachets. No particular repacking as I guess the sachets are nitrogen filled.
I have yet to master dehydrating my own potatoes. If you figure that out, please show and tell.

[diamond lil]

I'd like a good source of mash too.

[jennyjj01]

Gosh I am no expert, but seem to be able to grow beetroot in containers without any problems. They grow really quickly and you can harvest them as small or as big as you like within a few weeks.

It looks like 90 days or more from sowing to harvesting

You will find that your end result will be ‘baby’ beetroot now that daylight is getting shorter.

I just harvested the last of, and bulk of my beetroots and I'm pleased as punch!
They had 120 days since sowing and are sized between the size of a cherry tomato and the size of a tennis ball, with the average being the size of a salad tomato. With about 4 inch of stalks left on, I filled a carrier bag.
This is the biggest crop of anything I've ever grown. I know. Pathetic*, aren't I, but I feel like a proper gardener now.
Have carefully rinsed them and set aside in a basket to let them dry out.
*Took a photo, but posting it just feels too lame.

Recipe research time. Not going to preserve any. Beetroot Biryani is looking like recipe #1 then maybe some beetroot burgers.

[Trojanhorse]

Just topped up my masks and making the log pile more secure as the strings winds blew my tarp partly off.