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I hate canned food and can't bring myself to stock very much of it. I suppose I'd develop a taste for it if it was the only option.
That's fair and common among people. Many don't like the taste, texture, smell or look of canned products. The thing you have to consider is there are thousands of products that comes in cans. Some can be eaten as a meal on their own, while some are mixed with other ingredients to make a meal. Many items you eat at restaurant probably started out in the back room from a can.
If you want to get a sense of your tolerance, have someone you know do a taste test. Pick a some food items that are available in cans but also in other forms. Have them cook them up and flavor to taste. Often times a blind test will surprise a person. I know people who may be able to tell right away what is canned mixed vegetables and frozen but can;t tel the difference when its just corn or peas. Try them out, keep what you think is acceptable and forget about the items you can;t stand.
As I mentioned before, don't forget that something like canned tomato sauce, canned condensed milk, canned beans, canned sardines and other similar canned items, may be horrible right out of the can, but is tasty and nutritious when made and mixed with other items. Canned items don't always have to be Pork & Beans or Beef-A-Ron; they can just be part of the supporting cast.
Remember, it's best to learn your tolerance before you need to consume, not to mention it helps you know what to stock up on
Got enough for 2 to 3 months, but I'm more interested in the livestock, poultry living in my area....
You can only harvest tomatoes basically once a year [though harvesting season may last for 2 months]. At the end of tomato harvest say you can 3 months worth of tomatoes. That would still leave you 7 months of every year without access to tomatoes.
I just picked tomatoes as an easy example, pick any fruit / vegetable / grain.
3 months worth of food, regardless of what it is, is not enough to get you from one harvest to the next harvest.
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Originally Posted by knowin
almost none. Canned food too bulky, heavy, expensive and short term. Almost all of my food cache is in mylar bags, in drums.
Cereal grains are really cheap and easy to do in bulk. We store corn, barley and oats in 55-gallon drums with desiccant.
I am not a "prepper," but I was reading this thread and I realized something; people talk about the food, water, fuel, weapons, and ammo that they have stocked, but no one has ever mentioned seeds. Does anyone stock up on seeds to grow gardens in case TSHTF? If so, how many years worth of seeds would you stock? What about fertilizer?
I am not a "prepper," but I was reading this thread and I realized something; people talk about the food, water, fuel, weapons, and ammo that they have stocked, but no one has ever mentioned seeds. Does anyone stock up on seeds to grow gardens in case TSHTF? If so, how many years worth of seeds would you stock? What about fertilizer?
Just wondering.
Plant heritage seeds, and you can grow your own indefinitely. Fertilizer is easy to make from composting or from manure, (whatever the source), so with a minimum of expense, you can have a self perpetuating food source that can provide good food for you ad-infinitum.
However, you would need to can or dry your produce for storage, and know how to preserve your see harvest for next year.
I am not a "prepper," but I was reading this thread and I realized something; people talk about the food, water, fuel, weapons, and ammo that they have stocked, but no one has ever mentioned seeds. Does anyone stock up on seeds to grow gardens in case TSHTF? If so, how many years worth of seeds would you stock? What about fertilizer?
Just wondering.
The majority of today's commercially packaged seeds are designed for the producing product not the continued propagation. They are mainly designed for universal annual use. So, as MTSilvertip said, you need heirloom/heritage seeds for the area your living as they can continue providing seeds for the next generation. You may also want to study which plants are perennial producers.
Although seeds are (or should be) part of everyone's long-term survival plan, due to the time issue, they are usually discussed in context of "down the road" and not so much in the "day after" scenario which is the more popular and glamorous discussions.
Now, if a person's long tern survival plan is a fixed location, gardens are probably a must until some reasonable resemblance of trade comes about. With proper plant selection and practicing continued crop/seed management, you really don't need to stockpile years of seeds as you should be recollecting what was successful. So, a few years worth is enough, although since they take up so little space, as much as you feel comfortable.
As far as fertilizer is concerned, you can make your own as also previously mentioned. In addition, I recommend a person learn the natural natural (organic) alternatives to commercial products. Remember all commercial garden products are not new things but just easier or simpler to produce and use. Instead of manure compost you made, wood ash, grounding up dried fish, you use some ready made, in a handy bag with built in handle and chart manufactured at a lower cost.
You can only harvest tomatoes basically once a year [though harvesting season may last for 2 months]. At the end of tomato harvest say you can 3 months worth of tomatoes. That would still leave you 7 months of every year without access to tomatoes.
Of course, around here your season for things is much longer. My tomatoes started producing in May and produced through the summer and are still producing. I am wondering why yours are not doing the same in the banana belt of Maine...
But yes, generally you are right.
Someone mentioned seeds and heirlooms - my experience with the heirlooms has been pretty rough - there is a reason why hybrids exist and why all the "engineering" has happened over the years - higher yields, faster ripening, larger fruits etc. I grow heirlooms too and boy, some of them do not even have the time to barely set one set of fruits, some of them are also not as resilient to disease, temperature swings, so on and so on. There is always a trade off, I suppose.
Many are of the impression that using manure alone, or with "compost", no matter what it's made from, are "organic" and therefore best, and complete. Our experience is quite different. Our soil amendments are also 100% organic, and include both compost and manures, but also contain elements that plants need to thrive. We use dolomitic lime (calcium and magnesium), gypsum, rock phosphate, kelp meal, alfalfa meal, and blood meal. Fish emulsion in particular, gets seedlings off to a vigorous start. Unless you are sure what went into the compost, or what was fed to the animals who produced the manure you use, your fertilizer regimen may not be complete. Just because it's "organic" does not mean it's the only thing you should add.
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