how long and how much

[onix]

So after reading a few peoples blogs and seeing what they had to say I'm just wondering how much food everyone has and how long they will think it will last (you don't have to answer that). Because the more I read the more people I see talking about a month or two supply, and don't get me wrong that's great but when it happens when its gone? Because most everything that you get that has a long shelf life can only be eaten once and when its gone its gone. So how are you going to eat after all your stuff is gone, trade ammo, trade supplies, take what you want or kill for it. But what if you grew it, I have been reading and planing on starting a garden, and I know that there are people on here who say that they have seeds but if your not starting now its to late because its more then just putting seeds in the ground and then there's food. Different types of plants grow better then others depending on where you are located at, what type of weather you have, and what type of plants you have. Also you have to think are you going to plant it all at once cause its all going to come at once if you do, so you need to plant things spread apart. But you also have to think about how much you are going to need for food, and how much you need to have to produce seeds for next year. Also what about meat, vegies are great but that's not all there is, and you can only freeze meat for so long. Just trying to get people thinking, and I'm sorry about the bad spelling I'm doing this from my droid.

[tony]

Learn to preserve meat without refrigeration and store veggies in a root cellar. How did people live before there was electricity in every house? Before there were mega grocery stores?

[slowz1k]

Onix,
You make some good points.
I'm in my second year of gardening now, and your absolutely right. If I had been dependent on my first "harvest" I would've been in a really bad situation. This year is going much better, but I'm still learning lessons that only experience can teach. I'm already looking forward to next spring and the changes I plan to make.

As for how much....
Worst case scenario:
I am prepping for what I believe will be a transition period. That is the time it takes for society to collapse, die off by attrition, and start to rebuild itself in what will probably be a primitive form of smaller communities.
Trade, Bartering, Farming, and good old fashioned homesteading should win out when and if this happens.
I think it could be pretty ugly for the first few months, It could take months or even a few years, but hopefully, enough good people will pull through, squelch the violence, and start to rebuild.


Bottom line for me and my family is to try to make it to the other side of any situation.

Otherwise: I'm just ready for the next ice storm, power outage, or unemployment

Tony is right. We can learn a lot from the past.

[onix]

You dead on, and I agree that the transition period will be the worst. I just hope the small town I live in can pull through it when it happens if not I'm fully perpared to deffend what's mine.

[prkchp76]

here's the deal no matter how much we ttry to prepare #1 we don't have a clue what we're preppin for we just doit .seed's great get this months copy of backwoodsman make some of those little cheap green houses they are easy to keep up and cheap next if the shit hits the fan you can't use a frezer so u need to learn to smoke meat learn your enemies now friends well they are expendable too but you may need them you say you live in nc so the mtn's aint to far away and i'm sure there is a river nearby that all for now

[Oscar Wilde]

.... month or two supply, and don't get me wrong that's great but when it happens when its gone? .... Just trying to get people thinking

Folks here been thinking .... your late to the party. I recommend supplies to get through two growing seasons .... your first gardening attempt may not fare well but with effort it won't be a total loss and will be a learning experience .... you'll be able to eat well while planning next year's garden and reflecting on this recent failure.

O.W.

[hminus]

I'm with prkchp on this one. We can't prepare to 100% certainty for an event of unknown consequence. All we can do is strategize scenarios and make decisions based on your evaluations. Slowz may have a plan that centers around staying close to home and stocking up on food, fuel, water and anything else his plan of action calls for. Mine is to be lighter and more mobile, but to develop a plan that should provide me and my wife with the ability to keep us alive and removed from populated areas. I have little faith in human natures good side during difficult times. The truth is neither my plan of action or Slowz or even prkchps is the right plan or the wrong plan.... It is a plan and that puts each of us a few steps ahead of the rest.

Because you are networked with another member here, in some respects you are in a better position than many of us. Two heads (families) are better than one.

[cbprice797]

OK Onix, here is the single most important thing you will need to know about planting your own garden plot(if you already know this tidbit then I apologize for preaching to the choir.) Make sure that your seeds are ALL HEIRLOOM seeds. If you plant hybrids they will only produce reproding seeds at the most 10% of the time. And if they do manage to produce enough seeds to use the following year some will be lost to spoilage. Then the ones that do come up the next year will not produce the same thing that they produced the previous year, what they will produce is one of the parent plant types. So to summarize buy Heirloom seeds for your recovery garden.

[plowboy65]

hey do anyone know about the vacum sealer can you vacum flower or corn meal?
i was raised by my grandparents which until 1980 did not have running water and cooked on a wood cookstove and i split the wood that went in it. granny even canned on it now that is a hot job in the middle of august . she use to buy flower by the 25lb bags and put it in a tin lard can and she would have it for a long time bowevels ever once in a while would get in it and thats how she got the nickname grippy granny lol. i thought about puting it in vacum sealed bags and drywall buckets its just an idea

[slowz1k]

Plowboy,
You made with laugh with the "Grippy Granny" story.:D
As for storing flour. I've heard that it's possible to do this with a food saver, but difficult to keep the flour from getting sucked into the vacuum, which can trash the food saver.
I store most of my flour in #10 cans with an oxygen absorber. This was made really easy when I would go to the Mormon cannery that had all of the equipment and supplies. I have now started storing dry goods (flour, sugar, beans, etc....) in mylar bags and buckets, with oxygen absorbers.
This is far easier and cheaper than I ever thought possible. I buy mylar bags, and oxygen absorbers from variuos internet sources. Bags are usually .80 to $1.00 depending on the size, and the absorbers average .15 cents each when bought in bulk. The buckets and lids I get for free from the bakery at my local grocery store. (Food Lion) The only other tools needed are a smooth wooden board and an old electric clothes iron. It's as simple as washing the bucket well... inserting the bag... filling it with flour, beans, rice, whatever... throw in an oxygen absorber or two (You can't have too many).... lay the smooth board over half the bucket so you you can fold the bag over it and iron it closed. Within an hour or so, the mylar bag will be solid as a rock.
I know this isn't really what you asked about, but it will keep the bugs out and last for many many years.
It's just another option...:cool:

Be careful with the cornmeal.... I've read that it can go rancid over long term due to the oils.... I also read that a better bet is to store dried corn since the oils are contained in the kernels, and to invest in a grain mill so you can grind as you need it. Someone else here may have more experience with this.

[paintball]

My thought is this... It would be impossible to store enough supply to last you and your family for the rest of your life. But what you can do is store enough to get you by till you can settle in and start being depending on only you... have seeds and means to hunt. In example: its December and the balloon goes up and get your stuff together and go to the predesignated BOL and set up... you have enough to last the winter and on into the spring but you have to get the garden going for veggies and start hunting and preserving meats to last...

[cbprice797]

I have close to 75lbs each of flour and cornmeal vaccuum bagged in 1.5 to 2 pound bags. Then bags are put in other containers that are sturdier. I also have 100lbs stored in 6 gallon buckets inside mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. Then I chose amaranth for my flour production seed.

With just enough seed to plant 1/4acre you can make 50lbs of flour for use. You can plant an acre and have lots of amaranth for making flour. Then you can also take the whole amaranth seed and use it as an oatmeal like cereal. Plus you will still have some left to replant the following year. Amaranth is also better and easier to plant than wheat since it needslots less fertilizer if any.

Plus as with wheat stalks you can use them as a source for feed over the winter months. So yes use your vaccuum sealer for storage of small amounts, just leave a longer end than normal to avoid having the flour or meal sucked into the sealer. FOr a more longterm solution plant amaranth.

[Skyowl's Wife]

I have flour that we bought in 25 or 50 lb bags and repackaged into 5 lb vacuum bags. Not a lot, maybe 150 lbs. Bought mostly wheat that will keep for 20 years. Wheat is in 5 gal buckets sealed in mylar with O2 absorbers. Have enough wheat to last us (assuming six ppl) about 2 years.

Did Masa and Rice in vacuum bags, too.

If you are asking how much food to store, I started with the Mormon food calculator here: http://lds.about.com/library/bl/faq/blcalculator.htm and altered it slightly, i.e., I won't use corn syrup and SkyOwl won't eat split peas, so substituted more sugar and other types of beans for those. Then I started adding meat that I've canned, bacon, pork loin, corned beef, etc. Then added Spam and tuna. Then added toilet paper, wipes, and other toiletries. I have a couple other ideas if you need, it can be overwhelming.

[Skyowl's Wife]

Also what about meat, vegies are great but that's not all there is, and you can only freeze meat for so long.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you shouldn't count on any frozen meat. Power goes out, everything is chaos, and you either have to dry or can (or lose) everything in the freezer. Not a great scenario. I'd suggest from the outset to either dry or can whatever meat you have.

[plowboy65]

thanks alot fellers