To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
Last weekend, I helped one of our adult sons and his bride move from a condo into their first house. As “the guy with the big horse trailer”, I often get calls for help from relatives who are moving. I’m happy to oblige. I just don’t know how many years my back will be able to handle doing this. Perhaps by the mid-2030s, I’ll still be “the guy with the big horse trailer”, but just as a driver, not as a stevadore.
Even though we are still enjoying a bit of Indian Summer, I busied myself this week with some pre-winter preparations. I drained and used a compressor walk-around tank to blow out the water line to our orchard. Then I drained, coiled, and stowed most of our garden hoses. And I moved our yard furniture indoors, for winter storage. And, with our hay and firewood stacked, I’m now feeling ready for winter.
Now, Lily’s report…
Avalanche Lily Reports:
Dear Readers,
We had a lovely Fall week with high temperatures ranging in the high sixties and low seventies with mostly clear sunny skies. We had three more nights of frost.
Before the frosts, I wrapped up more of the garden. I pulled up the cucumber vines and found a half gallon’s worth of cucumbers that were immediately made into fermented pickles. By the way, of the four and half- gallons of Pickles, I made last week, I had covered them with cheesecloth instead of with a burpy cap which allowed oxygen into the gallon containers. Three of them grew black mold on the surface. So I had to throw them out. Lesson learned: Use smaller jars, and use burpy caps to block free airflow. I have seen others use crocks with weights and lids and theirs were fine. But I don’t own a large crock, so I thought just using a follower and cheese cloth might work, but it did not. I was sad about losing so many cucumbers. In the future, since I do not own a fermenting crock, but I do have lots of half-gallon jars and burpy caps, I will use those. It’s better to make small batches anyway, just in case some go bad, you are not losing them all at once.
I pulled the carrots, washed them, and put them in the refrigerator. I grew about thirty pounds.
I harvested Parsnips. I only got about ten of them. They did poorly this year. There probably wasn’t enough compost in that section of the garden.
I pulled the beets. I blanched them, peeled them, cut them up, and froze them. They were about a gallon’s worth.
I harvested two and a half-gallon’s worth of Brussels sprouts. Those were also blanched and frozen.
I harvested mint, sage, yarrow leaves, and mullein leaves and dehydrated them in our dehydrator.
I harvested the last of the Zucchini. Those were washed, chopped, and frozen.
I harvested Broccoli. They were washed blanched and frozen.
I harvested the last of the cabbage. I haven’t done anything with them yet.
I pulled all of the squash and cucumber vines and most of the rest of the vegetation in the garden and composted it. Next, I will slowly be turning over the soil, pulling out weed roots, and spreading compost for next summer’s garden.
I cleaned out the hen house twice this week. I cleaned out the sheep shed and the cow stalls. I milked twice this week.
May You All Remain Safe, Blessed, and Hidden in Christ Jesus,
– Avalanche Lily, Rawles
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As always, please share and send e-mails of your own successes and hard-earned wisdom and we will post them in the “Snippets” column this coming week. We want to hear from you.