2022 Self-Reliance Goals

[Benjamin Müller]

This is something on my to do list this winter.

I canned butter before and it works wonderful. There are other Youtube videos out there but this was the one that I watched. I still have jars sealed from 2016. Also if you do can butter and if any seals pop, don't throw the butter away! You can still use it as a lubricant or a fire starter.

 

[bekkilyn]

I put in another order for more cans of vegetables and baking soda and other miscellaneous things that I want to get stocked up. Eventually I'd like to learn to garden and can on my own, but it's just not going to happen this year but we can always do *something*.

 

[tturt]

learned there's food grade diatomaceous earth.

 

[mama2one]

.

 

[mama2one]

we do plant cherry & grape tomato plants every year

we forgot to get plants in 2020 with pandemic

yet God provided as that is the first and only year tomato plants just up & grew from the ground! we had as many plants come up as we usually plant

 

[bekkilyn]

I grew up eating soggy canned veggies

we buy frozen veggies which taste much fresher to me than canned ones...broccoli, brussels sprouts, skinny green beans

we also buy fresh veggies like romaine lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn, peppers, and lots of onions...I eat tomatoes & onions daily

Well these canned items aren't for every day, but for emergency prep. I hear you on the fresh and/or frozen stuff which I generally use as well.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

The little bugs in dry food are called weevils. Freezing kills the eggs. Or you can use diatomaceous earth. The latter is a popular remedy for bed bugs and ants.

We got some flour and barley in the freezer right now. We will take it out in a few days and pop it into some jars with an oxygen absorber. Keeper for decades.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

February was pretty productive and went by fast. Restocking is nearly complete. The dry and frozen items are done. I picked up poultry and bison at a discount and a table for the freeze dryer.

March is around the corner and that’s the last hurrah for canning before the gardening season begins. Bone broths and shelf stable items are the priority. And a sourdough starter.

Garden wise, we’re focusing on medicinal herbs. Including edible flowers for tea. Making our own blends is a growing interest.

We live in the deep south so our gardening has already started Bella. We have 6 inch tomato plants in pots. I have 50 or so potatoes that are chitting and will go in the ground this week. I have some onions coming up. The wife has planted another round of Kale in. Our asparagus is about a foot tall. I am going to try some grow bags again this year. We have not had a lot of success in the past, but try try again.

 

[mama2one]

with price of frts/veggies rising, husband said he'd like to try to grow more than tomatoes

problem is only good spot is front yard
we plant the tomato plants in front of our porch

would be weird to have a garden patch in front yard

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Did a "big shop" at ALDIs. Spent a couple hundred bucks. Lots of our regular items were out. Did get a good deal on hamburger and chicken. Stocked up on essentials. I suspect prices are going even higher in the future.
The Lord is good and His loyal love endures forever.

 

[mama2one]

opened little garage freezer to see about 8 pizzas, lol

must have been on sale this wk cause husband won't buy them otherwise

these will last a while cause we only eat pizza about once every 2 or 3 wks

 

[SavedByGrace3]

We received our grain mill today. Barb wants to pull out some stored grain and play with it.

 

[tturt]

How did this mill work out? Which brand did you select?

Anyone have experience with a manual grain mill ? Any recommendations?

 

[SavedByGrace3]

How did this mill work out? Which brand did you select?

Anyone have experience with a manual grain mill ? Any recommendations?

It works great. We do not use it often. I went on keto, so we do not eat much high-carb food. But we have used it to grind corn into corn flour and wheat into wheat flour a few times.
We have a standard manual grinder as well. That is work. I would suggest a more expensive hand mill because the cheap ones are very difficult to work, and you run the material through the grinder several times to get a good consistency.

 

[tturt]

Appreciate your input!

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Appreciate your input!

If you do get a hand grinder, take care it is not cast aluminum. If the grinder plates hit each other, you may have metal flakes in the food.
This one is cast iron.

https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Commercial-Manual-Grinder-Hopper/dp/B00JZZKLHI

 

[tturt]

Thanks because that's the type I've been researching.