While spring is still several weeks away this is the time of year we begin planning for spring...We begin figuring out our gardens like what we want to plant where and how much of each item we want to plant etc...Gardening this year will done differently to make it easier for us to manage...I'm excited to begin building the beds, but that will still be a couple weeks away....
We are thinking we may be having piglets soon, like next month, but not sure...its not easy to know if pigs are bred like it is goats, dogs etc..There are some tell tale signs and we think we are seeing them...you can look at their "backside" and tell according to old time farmers...I can't say for sure how accurate this as we have not done this long enough, but according to old time farmers if you look at your females private parts... in an unbred pig the "point" will point downward or outward where as a bred pigs "point" will point upward...it begins to point upward as the uterus grows and puts pressure on the female parts...Makes sense to me....I know they were talking about the big breed meat pigs not the smaller breed of pigs so not real sure if that is the case with all breeds of pigs..I haven't been out to look at our pigs lately, but need to go do that(make note to self)...
I have began saving eggs for my first and hopefully only hatch this season...I am hopeful for a big and sucessful hatch so I only have to raise chicks once this year....About the time the chicks are ready to go out to the chicken yard, the turkeys should be mating and laying eggs and I can do one big hatch of those...thats the plan anyway...we all know how the best laid plans can go awry...
We sold a few rabbits a couple weeks ago...our freezer is full and we had to many...I still have upwards of 15...I will begin breeding next week, maybe...I am also contemplating on selling out...Time will tell....
It's been a wonderful winter overall here in our neck of the woods...we have had a few bitterly cold spells, but overall its been tolerable...Very little snow this year...YAY! We had a 'dusting' a couple of times but was gone within hours...I am not a snow person at all...can totally live without the stuff..LOL..I am hopeful for the trend to continue...but I also know Feb. and March can bring some of our worst winter weather, but I can still hope, right?
Still not much going on here...but soon that will change...We will be busy will all kinds of activities and new life springing forth on the homestead....Spring is my most favorite time of year!
Keep Calm and Homestead On!
The Homestead Lady
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Pratical Preparedness & Pantry
I don't post about preparedness often....I really figure most have more to offer than myself, but this has been on my mind lately so I thought I would do a post about it...its been awile since I posted anything on preparedness...I hope you can glean something from this....This is certainly in no way everything a person would need, but I hope my common sense approach helps someone...
First I want to say I am not an advocate for spending 100's or 1000's of dollars on long term food storage buckets from fear mongering companies....What we do here at Rocky Oak is simple, practical, reasonable amount of money spent and we know we will eat it.....so thats what I will share with you...Oh! and always, always look for the best deals and sales!
First if you wont eat it, or don't like it don't buy it...An example...I do not use or even like whole wheat so it would be irresponisble of me to spend money on a product we would not ever use...that money could be used elsewhere on items we we benefit from...We do use white flour...so I sit down and calculated approx. how much I use in a year...I kept in mind if for some reason I was unable to purchase flour products like bread, cookies, etc from the grocery store I would need more flour to make up the difference...
We are a family of 3 So if you used 5lbs of flour a month for 12 months that would be 60 lbs of flour a year...Now, keep in mind in a situation where you couldn't buy flour products you would need to make them so add say another 60 lbs..that would be 120lbs of flour for a year....is your family bigger? Smaller? are you going to shelter others? All of these things need to be taken into consideration...I like to over figure and have more than I think I really need...so if I figure I need 200 lbs of flour for a year I would personally double that...flour will last a very long time in a freezer! You can also store it in mylar bag in a 5 gallon bucket or just in a 5 gallon bucket...its whatever works for you in the space you have...flour is cheap!
I use the same calculation for sugar(which we use more of) cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, yeast, etc...figure what you use a month, times by 12 that will give you a good solid starting place for a goal for a years supply....Use the same calcualtion for things like rice and beans...always add more than you think you will need...better safe than sorry!
So many people are down on processed foods...so am I in a normal daily situation...but in a crisis, those foods very well could mean the difference in life and death...so lets think about something...while my preference is home made rice products...the truth is you an purchase pre-pkged rice sides for pennies...A brand I get alot is knorr...they are cheap, decent in flavor and last forever....for a family of 3 you could have a rice side once a week using 1 pkg. thats 4.00 a month give or take a few cents...thats only 50.00 a year...you can open them add them to a mylar bag put in an oxygen absorber and you have something that will last along time! You have saved money on other products it takes to make the same thing from scratch and saved valuable storage space...Some don't like commercially canned soups...I get it...really I do...however, life or death situation, I will take the canned soup...you can pick up canned soups at Aldis for around 60 cents a can...a case/flat for less than 8.00...for 100.00 I can have a variety of soups for a year! Most have BB dates out for 2 years....
I am huge advocate of home grown fresh veggies and home canned foods...but what if you garden failed for 2 years in a row? What then? What if you just cant garden big enough where you are? Sure, fresh is the best if the local grocery store is open, but what if they weren't? I say canned veggies...again at Aldis, I can buy a flat/case of 12 cans for less than 6.00...If we ate 1 can of veggies a day every day for a year for a family of 3 (1 can feeds us) I would need 365 cans..thats around 30 flats/cases.....so 30.00 x 6 is 180.00 give or take a few dollars...Canned speciality beans same way...if you prefer canned over dried go for it! I actually do both...
Water at Aldi's you can buy bottled water at time for 1.99 for 24 bottles....or if you are so inclined you can save your gallon milk jugs and fill them with water for storage...I prefer to buy mine...Our well water has a chlorinater on it...I cook with our well water, bathe and do laundry but we dont consume it...so bottled is our choice..for us depending on the time of year our average consumption 36 bottles of water a week...again 36x12=432 bottles....divide that by 24 and we would need 18 cases of water add more just in case...the cost of 18 cases would be approx. 36.00 again give or take depending on brand you use or prefer...
Meat....So while it is best and the cheaper to raise your own that is not always practical...So, I suggest looking for the best deals...For instance....we have several outlets here called "Chicken Depot"....while not organic, free ranged yadda, yadda, yadda...it is food and you can get good deals...for instance...I bought a 5lb bag of boneless, skinless breast for 3.99...a 5 lb bag of pure meat, breaded chicken patties and a 5lb bag of chicken strips for 7.99...I bring them home, re-package them to last longer and not freezer burn and toss them in the freezer or you could always can the boneless, skinless breast....I have also been able to to get whole 6 lbs chickens for 4.99 when they have a meat sale...once in a while one of our local grocery stores will offer a 25 lb meat sale for beef....you go in and they have paper bags of meat for 25.00 all different cuts...you take whats in it for 25.00 ...we also have a section of 5 for 25 meats...meaning you get 5 pkgs of meat(beef or pork mix and match) for 25.00....I usually save 10.00 or so that way....bring it home, can it or re-pkag for longer storage...
I cant possible touch on everything you would need....but use common sense...toilet paper for instance I shop around...Typically we like charmin, we are spoiled that way...LOL...however I found a place that I can get 24 rolls of TP for 4.99...its 2 ply, while definitly not charmin its not bad either...it does the job quite well! Each time I go to that store I buy a couple packs of it...bring it home and throw it in the closet...
Medical supplies...look at garage sales for things like stethoscpes, crutches, walkers etc....I have found awesome stuff for pennies....Bandaids, iodine, rubbing alchohol, peroxide etc...all cheap!
Cleaning supplies...I am a bleach-a-holic...I am never with out bleach...it kills everything...LOL...its cheap, readily available and for around 40.00 you could easily have a years supply on hand...I only use clorox but cheaper is available...
My goal is to help folks understand being prepared doesn't have to be expensive and you don't have to spend your life savngs to do it...it can be done on a budget...its common sense....buy what you eat, eat what you buy! Don't listen to all the ads for food products that last 25 years...why be stuck with something you may not like or never need?
Dont go out and try to do it all at once...if you have the means to buy a years worth of canned items, go for it...once you have them you simply rotate and keep your stock at a steady supply...
The Homestead Lady
First I want to say I am not an advocate for spending 100's or 1000's of dollars on long term food storage buckets from fear mongering companies....What we do here at Rocky Oak is simple, practical, reasonable amount of money spent and we know we will eat it.....so thats what I will share with you...Oh! and always, always look for the best deals and sales!
First if you wont eat it, or don't like it don't buy it...An example...I do not use or even like whole wheat so it would be irresponisble of me to spend money on a product we would not ever use...that money could be used elsewhere on items we we benefit from...We do use white flour...so I sit down and calculated approx. how much I use in a year...I kept in mind if for some reason I was unable to purchase flour products like bread, cookies, etc from the grocery store I would need more flour to make up the difference...
We are a family of 3 So if you used 5lbs of flour a month for 12 months that would be 60 lbs of flour a year...Now, keep in mind in a situation where you couldn't buy flour products you would need to make them so add say another 60 lbs..that would be 120lbs of flour for a year....is your family bigger? Smaller? are you going to shelter others? All of these things need to be taken into consideration...I like to over figure and have more than I think I really need...so if I figure I need 200 lbs of flour for a year I would personally double that...flour will last a very long time in a freezer! You can also store it in mylar bag in a 5 gallon bucket or just in a 5 gallon bucket...its whatever works for you in the space you have...flour is cheap!
I use the same calculation for sugar(which we use more of) cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, yeast, etc...figure what you use a month, times by 12 that will give you a good solid starting place for a goal for a years supply....Use the same calcualtion for things like rice and beans...always add more than you think you will need...better safe than sorry!
So many people are down on processed foods...so am I in a normal daily situation...but in a crisis, those foods very well could mean the difference in life and death...so lets think about something...while my preference is home made rice products...the truth is you an purchase pre-pkged rice sides for pennies...A brand I get alot is knorr...they are cheap, decent in flavor and last forever....for a family of 3 you could have a rice side once a week using 1 pkg. thats 4.00 a month give or take a few cents...thats only 50.00 a year...you can open them add them to a mylar bag put in an oxygen absorber and you have something that will last along time! You have saved money on other products it takes to make the same thing from scratch and saved valuable storage space...Some don't like commercially canned soups...I get it...really I do...however, life or death situation, I will take the canned soup...you can pick up canned soups at Aldis for around 60 cents a can...a case/flat for less than 8.00...for 100.00 I can have a variety of soups for a year! Most have BB dates out for 2 years....
I am huge advocate of home grown fresh veggies and home canned foods...but what if you garden failed for 2 years in a row? What then? What if you just cant garden big enough where you are? Sure, fresh is the best if the local grocery store is open, but what if they weren't? I say canned veggies...again at Aldis, I can buy a flat/case of 12 cans for less than 6.00...If we ate 1 can of veggies a day every day for a year for a family of 3 (1 can feeds us) I would need 365 cans..thats around 30 flats/cases.....so 30.00 x 6 is 180.00 give or take a few dollars...Canned speciality beans same way...if you prefer canned over dried go for it! I actually do both...
Water at Aldi's you can buy bottled water at time for 1.99 for 24 bottles....or if you are so inclined you can save your gallon milk jugs and fill them with water for storage...I prefer to buy mine...Our well water has a chlorinater on it...I cook with our well water, bathe and do laundry but we dont consume it...so bottled is our choice..for us depending on the time of year our average consumption 36 bottles of water a week...again 36x12=432 bottles....divide that by 24 and we would need 18 cases of water add more just in case...the cost of 18 cases would be approx. 36.00 again give or take depending on brand you use or prefer...
Meat....So while it is best and the cheaper to raise your own that is not always practical...So, I suggest looking for the best deals...For instance....we have several outlets here called "Chicken Depot"....while not organic, free ranged yadda, yadda, yadda...it is food and you can get good deals...for instance...I bought a 5lb bag of boneless, skinless breast for 3.99...a 5 lb bag of pure meat, breaded chicken patties and a 5lb bag of chicken strips for 7.99...I bring them home, re-package them to last longer and not freezer burn and toss them in the freezer or you could always can the boneless, skinless breast....I have also been able to to get whole 6 lbs chickens for 4.99 when they have a meat sale...once in a while one of our local grocery stores will offer a 25 lb meat sale for beef....you go in and they have paper bags of meat for 25.00 all different cuts...you take whats in it for 25.00 ...we also have a section of 5 for 25 meats...meaning you get 5 pkgs of meat(beef or pork mix and match) for 25.00....I usually save 10.00 or so that way....bring it home, can it or re-pkag for longer storage...
I cant possible touch on everything you would need....but use common sense...toilet paper for instance I shop around...Typically we like charmin, we are spoiled that way...LOL...however I found a place that I can get 24 rolls of TP for 4.99...its 2 ply, while definitly not charmin its not bad either...it does the job quite well! Each time I go to that store I buy a couple packs of it...bring it home and throw it in the closet...
Medical supplies...look at garage sales for things like stethoscpes, crutches, walkers etc....I have found awesome stuff for pennies....Bandaids, iodine, rubbing alchohol, peroxide etc...all cheap!
Cleaning supplies...I am a bleach-a-holic...I am never with out bleach...it kills everything...LOL...its cheap, readily available and for around 40.00 you could easily have a years supply on hand...I only use clorox but cheaper is available...
My goal is to help folks understand being prepared doesn't have to be expensive and you don't have to spend your life savngs to do it...it can be done on a budget...its common sense....buy what you eat, eat what you buy! Don't listen to all the ads for food products that last 25 years...why be stuck with something you may not like or never need?
Dont go out and try to do it all at once...if you have the means to buy a years worth of canned items, go for it...once you have them you simply rotate and keep your stock at a steady supply...
The Homestead Lady
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