Got Food? For How Long?

If you don't know how to provide food for yourself and anyone else that is depending on you by now, it may be too late to learn. You may just starve. Cheery thought, isn't it?

What will millions of people do when the just-in-time deliveries of food stop? Stop as in never to be seen again? Seriously, what will happen? Right now there are so many trigger points leading to a collapse, the slightest wind could cause them to fall, and where they will land is anybody's guess. The destruction that will be left in the wake of that landing will change the face of the world, permanently.

Let's say you are preparing for disaster/collapse/anarchy/chaos and have a lot of food stored. That's great. What are you going to do when it's gone? We ask ourselves that. Regularly. So, what are you going to do when it's gone? Turn into one of those starving zombie people that will do anything to take the food that belongs to someone else? Go to any lengths to stay alive? Is that your plan? I truly hope not.

Do you have plans for replenishing your food supply as you eat it? How will you do that? What if the stores are all closed and there are no more seeds? What if the electricity is off forever? What if there is no gasoline or diesel for all of the gardening equipment you currently depend on? Do you have canning jars, lids, rings, canners and a way to use them minus electricity, propane or natural gas? Do you have a root cellar? A solar dehydrator? Think ways to produce and preserve food and add those to the list.

Now think of how many people you plan to feed. Can these people help with the work that will have to be done to replenish your food supply? Will they be productive members of the group? 

Do you have livestock or access to a meat supply? This is assuming you have been able to protect these animals from other folks that need food as well. Hunting by now will probably be out of the question. The sheer number of hungry people will have seen to that not long after the collapse. Remember, any food you cook, especially meat will draw people like flies if they are within smelling distance. Just how good did that Thanksgiving meal smell while it was cooking today? Makes your stomach growl, doesn't it? What if you and yours were starving and you smelled a meal cooking? The draw to that food would be irresistible, just like it would to others if you were the cook. Always remember that.

There will be many articles posted today about ways to use leftovers from Thanksgiving meals. Some of them will talk about making turkey broth from the carcass or other ways to extend the food supply from existing 'leftovers'. Read them, ponder them, then try to apply them to a collapse situation. How many more meals can you get from the things you cook besides the original? Now think about the ingredients. Do you have plenty? Can you replenish those ingredients? How? How long will it take to grow that stalk of celery you want to put in your turkey soup? You want carrots, too? Do you have a place to grow them in abundance? Can you store them, can them, dehydrate them or preserve them in a ready made soup? What else to you need to provide adequate nutrition to live and work in a collapsed society? 

Lately I have been pondering how to provide food for the men that will be out hunting or patrolling for protection and security. What is an efficient, reusable, durable means of sending food? What kind of food? How much? Who will provide it? What about water? We used to put maple syrup in our coffee. What does that have to do with this conversation? Well, I kept the little jugs the syrup came in because they are very sturdy. They are big enough to hold a small meal of soup or dehydrated food and water. These jugs would be relatively easy to transport, clean up and reuse. 

Where would the water come from? That's another thing to think about, a source of water that is easily accessible and potable. Are you going to need to filter your water? If so, can you for the long haul? 

I know that regardless of how much thought and preparation we put into being able to produce a food supply that is independently sustainable, there are things we will not be prepared for. There just will be. There will be times when we want to kick ourselves for not thinking of something that would make that work more manageable and productive. We have some friends that have had to face forced evacuation from wildfires and extended power outages this year. They took it in stride and learned from the experiences and the opportunity to practice and test their preparedness. It's a great time to learn when failure is still an option.

As we give thanks for our many blessings, we continue to study what is approaching over the horizon. We enjoy this time in the sunshine, but can see the approaching darkness, thick with evil intent. The difficulty is in not knowing what shape or form it will take when it arrives at our door. This evil is a changeling and will manifest itself differently at different locations, for what will work in the country will not work in the cities and suburbs, and vice versa. Study, ponder, pray and pay attention. Do everything you can to be ready, for keeper of the gate has welcomed the invasion of those that will help take your freedoms, which is another topic in itself.

Until next time - Fern

Making Simple Jerky

A couple of days after I butchered the goat last week, I made my first ever jerky. Chevron jerky. This wether was about two and a half years old, and should have been butchered a while back. The only meat I left whole were the two back legs. I baked one while I was grinding the rest, and it came out very tough. We chewed on some of it for a few meals, then I froze the rest. It can go into a jar the next time I can some stock or soup. From this same leg, before I cooked it, I cut out a big chunk of meat with the idea of trying some jerky. This is a task I have wanted to try for quite some time.

A while back, I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, someone out there told me in a comment that very simple jerky could be made with sliced meat, salt and pepper. That is exactly what I was looking for. I don't want to buy an extruder and have to grind the meat, mix it with whatever, then squirt it out on a sheet of something that won't let it fall through the cracks. I know some folks make excellent jerky this way, but I wanted something very simple. I stored the meat in the coldest part of the refrigerator until I was ready to make jerky. You know, that place on the top shelf that will make boiled eggs freeze solid? Right there. It was good and cold when I got it out and started slicing, which made it pretty easy.

I wasn't sure how much salt and pepper to use, so this time I only sprinkled it on one side, pressed it in and placed the meat on my standard dehydrator trays.

The directions in this book said to dry at about 180* for four hours, turn it over, then dry for another six to eight hours. The problem with that is that eight hours later was about 1:30 am, and I knew I wouldn't be up then, so I figured a little extra drying time wouldn't hurt. The baby chicks were in the room I normally use for dehydrating, so we moved next door into the pantry. There isn't room in the kitchen, so the dehydrator lives elsewhere in the house. Here is the jerky at four hours. It looked very good to me.

I turned off the dehydrator at 6:00 the next morning. Needless to say, the meat was dry, probably too dry. You can't bite off a piece, you kind of have to chew it off. The four tray Excalibur dehydrator we use is very simple, with a knob that controls the temperature. It doesn't have an on/off switch, so we plug it into a power strip that does.

What did we think? Frank's seal of approval is still out for deliberation. Me? I think it's great! I am very pleased with the process, the ingredients and the taste. Now I have to learn how to store it so it doesn't go rancid or mold or something. I know I can keep it in the freezer, but what if we don't have electricity one day?

One of the reasons I am interested in jerky to begin with, is that it is another way to store meat besides canning. Canned meat is very nutritious, but it is one of my least favorite ways to eat meat as far as flavor goes. Fresh cooked meat is great, but if you're in TEOTWAWKI stage of life, the day of butchering will be one of the only days that fresh meat will be available. Jerky is also a great way to store protein and salt in an easy to transport package. If times get really lean, it will also give your mouth something to do for a while in times of hunger. All of these things come to mind when I think of making jerky from our chevron, or goat meat. I'll try the same thing when we butcher our first pig. Meat from American Guinea Hogs is more of a red than pinkish white meat you see from many pigs.

The goal in learning simple, efficient ways to grow, cook and store food will hopefully make a difference when survival is the name of the game. Packing nutrition into every item in a meal, instead of empty calories void of nutrients, will be an absolute necessity if we're going to make it. The shear volume of work required to live in a collapse, grid down, do everything yourself or you won't make it situation, will require adequate nutrition, or will soon turn into an impossibility. Think about it. Seriously. Think long and hard, discuss it with your friends and family that are on board. Come up with solutions that will fit your situation and implement them. Now.

Until next time - Fern

Let the Canning Begin!

You know those horns that were blown when the king arrived in the arena for a jousting tournament? Picture that sound.

Let the canning begin! 

[I don't know why the spacing in the rest of this article is not single spaced and I can't figure out how to fix it. I'm sorry for the changing format.] I was excited this morning to know that today is the day that I started filling jars with food so I can fill my pantry shelves. As usual, I had so many things in mind that I wanted to accomplish today, that it is impossible to do in one day. Well, that's okay. I did get a lot done, just not as much as I would have liked. I always start off a canning session, and especially a new canning season by reviewing the manual that came with the canner. We have highlighted the most important information to make sure we are using it correctly.

When I first started canning, I was afraid of the canner, feeling like it might explode or something. Now, I am not afraid. I am very careful, make sure I follow the directions, use all standard safety precautions, and just good ole' common sense.

 

Our first harvest of Cushaw winter squash came to about 28 pounds from four squash. This is great! Not only is Cushaw a good keeper and nutritious, it tastes good. Since I have not included any winter squash in the articles on nutrition, I want to include it here.

1 cup winter squash, all varieties, cooked, baked, with salt has the following nutrients:

• calories 80 
• carbohydrates 17.9g
• protein 1.8g
• vitamin A  10,708 IU
• vitamin C 19.7mg
• vitamin K 9.0mcg
• folate 57.4mcg
• choline 21.7mg
• calcium 28.7mg
• magnesium 16.4mg
• phosphorus 41mg
• potassium 896mg

 

 

I wanted to start off my canning day by putting these four squash into quart jars. I quickly realized that it would take more than one batch to can this much Cushaw, so I decided to get out our second canner. We have had it for a while, but basically got it for a back up, just in case we ever needed to replace the one we usually use, or like today, that we had a lot to can. We use an All American canner that does not have a gasket, and have been very happy with it. Until today. Well, I'm still real happy with our older canner, but for 

some reason, the new one will not seal well enough to produce 10 pounds of pressure. We tried and tried and tried and tried, about seven times, to get it to work. The first four times were with my seven quarts of squash in it. By that time the old canner with it's seven quarts was finished and we moved the squash from the new canner into the old, and fired it up again. It worked like a charm.

If anyone knows what we might try with this new canner, please let us know. I recleaned and relubricated the sealing plate; re-read the manual for any indications of what to do; checked the pressure blow off valve, and checked the pressure gauge opening and they all appear to be functioning properly. The vent valve works great and allows a full spout of steam to escape during venting prior to adding the 10 pound pressure regulator weight. After the weight is put in place, the canner starts steaming around the lid instead of building up pressure. Frank finally got it to go up to five pounds of pressure the last time we tried it empty, but that is as far as it will go. I will try to call the company on Monday to see what their recommendations are.

 

I had planned to cook and peel the beets after the squash was finished in the canner, with plenty of time to can them with the few cowpeas I have. Both need to be pressure canned, the beets for 30 minutes and the cowpeas for 40 minutes. Since I don't have very many of either, I will can them at the same time. Tomorrow. I did get the beets peeled, so they are ready to be sliced and put in jars. I shelled the peas I picked this morning while the beets were cooking.

 

I didn't think I would get to everything, and I didn't. So, now I also have carrots and green beans to can tomorrow. I'll do the same thing with them since the carrots need 25 minutes and the green beans need 20 minutes. I finished snapping the green beans I picked this morning while the last batch of squash was in the canner.

Since there were about two quarts of squash left over after I filled the 14 quarts, and Frank was gone looking at some antenna towers a man had for sale, I baked the rest of the squash for lunch. And since the stove top was busy, I peeled a few of the small turnips I had harvested and baked them with some simple meatballs made from ground meat. That gave us a good meal without interrupting the canning process.

It has been a long busy day, but a very good one. I can see where we will have many more jars of squash on the shelf, both winter and yellow summer squash. They are both very nutritious and easy to use in many different dishes. We will keep some of the Cushaw to store fresh, but will wait and harvest the keepers later on in the season. For now, I will can as many as we harvest. 

Our beet harvest has been very small so far. I hope to be able to grow many, many more before winter sets in. I would like to have about 70-80 pints on the shelf. And the same with the carrots, and green beans, and...... Everything! I am glad the time has come to preserve the harvest. Like many folks around, I feel pressed to grow and store as much food as we can. The unprecedented rainy spring has delayed the harvest of many crops in our area. I sure hope we can make up for lost time. In the meantime, I am planning our fall crops and will continue to plant many more seeds before the year is out. And by the way, our greenhouse is about halfway finished, and it is beautiful. When I look at it, I don't really see a greenhouse, I see food. This will give us the potential of growing food year round. I will show you the finished greenhouse and explain our plans before long. 

Find your calling in the hard times that come. We all have talents and abilities that will be needed. Be ready to put yours to good use. Frank and I have found over the past few months that there are and will be things that we don't do together, which is different for us. We have always done things together. Building projects, homestead chores, washing dishes, everything. But now our roles are changing a little. Today while I harvested and preserved, Frank worked toward the communication abilities for our community network. Then this evening while I did the chores, he visited with a gentleman from his class, answering questions and discussing the capabilities of different kinds of radios and antennas. We talked about it after I came back in from the chores. You see, I feel like the time and effort he is putting into radio communication could very well save my life one day. Just as much as the squash I am putting in jars. Find your calling and increase your abilities as much as possible. It could save your life one day as well.

Until next time - Fern

Survival Gardening Scenario

I have a scenario for you. Somehow, it doesn't matter how, you have found conclusive evidence that there will be a catastrophic collapse of societies, governments and economies worldwide sometime between the end of October and the end of November this year. Remember, this is a fictional scenario I am giving you. There is already evidence of disruptions in the food supply for the coming months, along with sharply rising prices.The media dishes out a plethora of reasons for these problems that amount to nothing but more wasted oxygen by never ending talking heads. You have some things growing in your garden, enough that you can preserve some of it for winter. But now you realize that you need to grow food. A lot more food. As much as you possibly can, for the rest of the growing season in your area.

My questions are these. What will you grow? How will you preserve what you grow in the shadow of an impending collapse? Do you have the space, seeds, and supplies you need to do so? If not, are you still able to procure what you need?



I would really like to hear from as many people as possible. There is much we can teach each other, and I learn a lot from the differing perspectives, locations, and experience of the people that read here. So, please share your thoughts. An example. Our friend Grace down the road a ways, can grow things in her garden that we can't grow. We can grow things that she can't. I have bug problems she doesn't and she has some that I don't. It's important to know what grows well in your garden, and how to preserve the harvest of your labor. Remember, this is a collapse scenario, so you can't put it all in the freezer unless you have a reliable source of power.

The other day when I was out in the garden, I took stock of what is there. At the end of that exercise, I felt like there wasn't much in the way of food quantities. I still have places that need to be replanted and have plans for those areas. There are crops that will soon be harvested leaving more space for additional crops that will grow into the fall. And yet, even with all of that planning, I felt like there wasn't enough of a food supply to sustain Frank and I for the winter. 

When I posed this question to Frank he had a ready answer. Plant what grows here. Simple, direct and right on target. He said we know we can grow green beans. If we have enough green beans to eat everyday, great, that's what we'll eat. We also know we can grow squash, tomatoes, cowpeas, cucumbers, turnips, peppers, beets and carrots. Plant as many of all of these as you can. What we don't preserve we can give away, and many of these crops are also great for our animals.

I have written articles about the nutritional contents of some of the vegetables we grow. My purpose was to see if the things we can grow will provide the nutrition we need to remain healthy and active in a collapse situation. I have yet to go back and evaluate the information on these vegetables as a group to see if they would meet our needs or not. But in the long run, what we can grow will be what we eat.

There are many ideas and scenarios I ponder from time to time. Some realistic, some idealistic, and some just down right silly, but this one has stuck with me like it is something very important that I need to pay attention to. We have many things vying for our attention right now at our homestead and I am not spending near the time in the garden I should. It continues to beckon me with it's empty spaces. Spaces that need to be planted, for the time is near. There are many indicators that the fall of the year 2015 may be monumental in the history of our planet Earth. The world has become a much smaller place with the complexities of interwoven economies, food supplies and power struggles. The fall of the year may bring the fall of us all.

So, tell me. What would you grow and why?

Until next time - Fern

Women & Survival

I had a very interesting and inspiring conversation with a good friend of mine this afternoon that has lead to the topic of this post. I want to thank her for the conversation, ideas and willingness to listen to me ramble, as well as the opportunity to disagree on some topics. After we finished talking I really thought about the things we discussed and how it relates to our survival as women. Here is what I've come up with.

The most important thing a woman can acquire that will increase her chance of survivability in a disaster, economic collapse, societal collapse, martial law, or any other situation that would involve a question of survival, is a good man. A man that will not only protect and care for her, but a man that will teach her how to protect herself and her family. This may not be a very popular recommendation in some circles, but there is no substitute for having a man by your side when the chips are down.

Now, with that said, you also don't want to be a burden and always expect someone else to protect you or take the lids off of jars for you. Let's say there has been a collapse and it's every 'man' for himself. No more stores,

police protection, food, water, electricity, etc. What will you do if something happens to your husband and you are left to deal with everything on your own? Can you protect you and yours? Do you know how? Have you rehearsed many, many different scenarios over and over in your mind so that when you have to depend on yourself for your own protection that you will be able to pull the trigger and not cower in the corner and cry? You need to. And even if your husband is still alive and well, what if a group of people are trying to take what you have or kill you? Then what? Are you going to wait until they kill your husband before you try to help out with the defense of all you hold dear? 

I know that sounds really harsh, but when the SHTF and the world is no longer recognizable, your neighbors have left because they have no food, the scum down the road has started systematically performing home invasions at will, you need to be ready to do what is necessary. You need, as a woman, to be ready to protect yourself. I know that I do not want to be raped, tortured and killed by anyone, let alone a group of men enjoying

the anarchy and chaos of a collapse and a lack of law and order. My previous training as a reserve police officer helps me a great deal when I think of protecting myself. I am grateful I had the opportunity to be trained in firearms. Not only that, the training gave me a different mindset when it comes to taking any kind of trouble from what we called 'maggots'. Enough on protection. Just know that you need to be ready to protect yourself and anyone else in your family that may need it. Your husband is your best and first line of defense, but if you're out working in the garden and he is not around when a group of people come down the driveway planning on taking your food, or causing you harm, you need to be ready to handle it.

And speaking of food. Women are known for nurturing the family, with food and sustenance, right? We are the keepers of the home, the one that provides adequate nutrition made with loving hands. I mean that seriously. I take pride in putting a good meal in front of Frank. Now, what if you have fixed and served the last meal from the food you have stored away for just such a situation. Can you replace your stock with more food? How? Can you grow a garden, milk a cow or goat, butcher animals, and preserve food without electricity? Think real hard about what you need to learn or acquire to be able to do these things, or have access to someone that does, that you can work for or share with in some fashion, to get the nutrition your family will need. Your husband will be busy making sure everything is working, providing water, heat, a way to cook and protection. The food production, preservation and preparing will probably be left to you. 

There are so many skills that will come into play in a long-term collapse scenario. What can you do now? What will you need to

know how to do then? There is no way to really know the answer to that question, but think about it. Again, acquire what you think you may need. Can you sew? Do you have needles and thread? Ways to mend clothes to get the longest wear out of them you can? Do you have extra fabric and/or extra clothes that you can wear when yours have become tattered, torn and threadbare? How are you going to treat any medical conditions that arise? Do you have supplies and the knowledge you need?

Another thing I discussed with my friend today was the talent of drawing attention to yourself, or remaining somewhat unnoticeable, or anonymous.

Do you live in such a way that you draw attention to yourself? Do you dress in such a way that people will notice you? Especially men? There is nothing wrong with being all woman, feminine, beautiful, and dressed nicely. But don't kid yourself if you think having men oogle your chest with low cut shirts will not bring you unwanted attention if there is a collapse. If you have lived in such a way that men notice and will remember you because you want to dress in a sexy way to get attention, then you may get way more attention than you every bargained for when the chips are down and there is no one left to fight off the wolves. Something to prepare for way before it is a necessary part of survival.

For me the worst thing I can think of is having to leave my home. It almost literally makes me sick to my stomach. We have invested a lot of ourselves into our homestead. The garden soil has been enriched to a very productive state. Our animals are doing well at providing much of our nutrition. If a situation arose that caused us to have to abandon our home, I would be devastated. I can't deny that. But would I give up? I would like to definitively answer no, but honestly there is no way to know that until the time comes. I practice many, many different survival scenarios in my mind on a regular basis, but not this one. It's very difficult. But it is something we have started to discuss and talk about different possibilities and how we would handle them. So, I would encourage you to do the same, even though it may be the very last choice you may make, and then only under extreme circumstances.

There are many signs of impending changes, mighty changes about us. The whole world seems to get more complicated each and every day. Many, many economists are indicating just how fragile the entire global economy has become, and speak of major changes coming in the fall. World tensions between countries don't seem to be doing anything but getting worse. The government chips away at our freedoms and liberty more and more everyday. There are times it seems that before long I will not be allowed to write these words any longer. So, before that time comes, I need to share these thoughts with you.

As women, we have a vital role to play in the coming changes of our world. We can feed and cloth our families making it possible for them to carry out their duties. We can love and support our husbands, helping to carry the load of providing the necessities of life, as well as protection for our home. Surviving will be hard work, very hard work, not something we really care to do everyday if we have a choice. And for now we do have a choice, so we need to choose to prepare for the time when we don't. When choosing not to work very hard may be a choice to die.

If you are able, grow a garden this summer. A very serious, productive garden. Preserve as much of it as you can. Even if you don't have a garden, buy and preserve as much food as you can. Look at your shelves and do some serious evaluating of the items you need to fill them. Items that may make all the difference in the world for your family in a radically changed world. Know how to protect yourself and be comfortable with your weapon of choice. Train your mind to be aware and ready at a moments notice. 

There have always been women who were up to the challenges of survival in some very harsh circumstances. We have had it real easy in our day and time, but not so long ago, it was anything but real easy. Even though I really, really wish it wasn't so, the times are coming that we women will once again be faced with the challenges of survival in some very harsh circumstances. Prepare your mind first, then your home and family. Know the Lord and have Him on your side. Please be ready. The wolf is at the door.

Until next time - Fern

From Rooster to Chicken Stock

We kept two roosters for our 20 hens. We have had this ratio many times before when the roosters have been raised together. Usually there is a dominant rooster and a secondary and they get along most of the time. Not this time. There is just too much ruckus in the chicken house so one of them had to go. We really liked both of them, so we debated for a few days who got to stay and who would turn into chicken stock.

They are both big, strong, beautiful birds. The one on the left is a little taller, but the one on the right has a bigger fuller chest, thus more meat. We went back and forth for several weeks, trying to decide, then changing our minds again. The final kicker was when the one on the left decided to fly up on the fence of the chicken yard. Not a behavior we want to get started. So this one is destined for the pot.

I gathered the tools I would need for butchering and got everything ready. The only problem was, that rooster was not the least bit interested in being caught. So on to plan B, which involved a couple of 22 shells. Even after that he refused to die, so we ended up using the ax to chop of his head.

After I got him dressed and cleaned up, I cut up the carcass and started the broth.

I added a tablespoon of salt and a splash of cider vinegar to help tenderize the meat a little. We expect the meat to be tough since this bird is seven months old. 

We simmered the bird in the pot all afternoon - for about six or seven hours. Then we chilled everything, as is, overnight. The next morning, we put it back on to simmer for a while longer.  

While we were out doing chores and picking more pears (I know, more pears??), we turned it off to let it cool. Then I took the bones out and semi strained it.

Now it's ready to be pressure canned. So I heated it back up, set up the canner and started heating the water in it, started heating the water for the jars, rings and lids, then got out the usual equipment needed to pack jars - funnel, magnet stick for the jar lids, jar lifter, ladle and vinegar to wipe the jars with before we put on the lids. Since there is fat in the stock, I made sure to wipe the rims of the jars with vinegar so they will seal. Since I didn't filter out all of the last bits of chicken or chill the broth to remove the fat, I will can this stock the same way I would meat - 10 lbs. pressure for 90 minutes.

We ended up with 8 pints of great broth from this old rooster and a bowl full of rather tough meat. We will grind it up and try out a few different meals. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Keep cluckin' along. Learn something everyday. Laugh. Love your family. Enjoy the blessings God pours out upon you each and every day, for they are many.

Until next time - Fern