What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

The shut down is now confirmed 9am till 2.30 pm .....a case of me not listening to what i'm told !

[Pete Grey]

(1 September 2018, 21:47)Straight Shooter Wrote: The shut down is now confirmed 9am till 2.30 pm .....a case of me not listening to what i'm told !

Hope new genny works well, we have not got one so would just turn up freezer and keep it shut.

By the way you must be the biggest buyer of mason jars in the valleys, keep up the good work.

[Straight Shooter]

I bought 48 mason jars this year Pete.....also gallon wide neck glass jars with plastic screw lids (excellent product ) from WHAT £6.99 i have 12 of these Kilner wire clamp jars of all sizes and loads of other jars and bottles......i know this may seem a lot ....but.....we would all NEED to preserve foods wtshtf and need the knowledge of how to and all the tools to get the job done.

In my case....its a tradition ....from my grandmother's kitchen to our kitchen ....i spent many hours learning the do's and don'ts and it just stuck in the very make up of me .....wild child has the same outlook and the same (near enough) upbringing .....and we are both encouraging our grandchildren in "the old ways" and give instruction whenever a spark of interest shows itself from a game counsel or mobile phone.

How to grow food , and preserve it ,is the most important part of survival ....quantities of food, what types,when to sow,how to look after crop....what tools are required, how long do things take to grow
50 years ago ....anyone you passed in the street would have had some hands on knowledge about food production and how to prepare for the (winter) but sadly its mostly all gone now except for a few ,of which i am one , so when you read my constant goings on in my brew and preserving shed and the quantities that's being turned out....i am not bragging or trying to impress you all .....these types of activities and quantities were quite NORMAL not so long ago .....and a good reminder of effort , planning , and recognition of four seasons .....the favourite excuse i here a lot (within my family) ....."i simply have no time dad" my standard answer is always the same "well bloody well make some then!" .

Just to update and piss you off even further...........We peeled the bag of cooking apples John gave us yesterday and into the freezer they went five bags of 2lbs , we picked 14lbs of elderberries ....and had a game of kiss chase around the lawn (i have a sneaky feeling that Wild child falls over quite deliberately) 22 times she fell "oh i slipped !" .....yeah right !

[MaryN]

Honestly, SS, you are a little tinker!

[Mortblanc]

You've more energy than I have SS.

It does not take much to outrun me any more.

A couple of laps around the mailbox and I would be headed for the cardiac unit.

[Straight Shooter]

I don't know about that MB .....i am defiantly slowing down mate...that's for sure ....although i enjoyed the land drain contract the past weeks i was glad to bring the job to conclusion with the same enthusiasm i had at the starting of it.

Making jams,jellies and pickling this and that is a breeze but you can get a lot of satisfaction from such activities , today i made five 1lbs jars of runner bean and carrot chutney ......it will be green tomato chutney tomorrow (loads of tomato's ) my cheery tomatoes are about gone ....every time i go past them i end up popping one or six in my gob ....out comes my hidden salt seller.... strategically placed about my body ...just in case i get surprise frisking down by wild child....she has the ability to see through concrete ! and hear what i am Thinking up to a range of five miles away......off to market Tuesday for onions.....small ones ....they try to sell the big pickling onions first ....no bloody good for man nor beast ! ...small and sweet bursting with flavour and full of crunch! .......that's what we want ! nothing less will do for these two rocker's .

[Straight Shooter]

Knocked out the green tomato chutney first thing Monday morning four 1 lbs jars....then off to a local village to collect uniform for one of the grandsons ....as we pulled up to the store ...wild child "oh look pickling onions...and small ones" ..where?.."over there !" ....classic SS ....right in front of me and at eye level ....off i go and buy the two sacks....we head off home and i do the one sack peeled and ready ....brine up ....today i fill ten 1.5 lbs jars and finish ready to store ....onwards....did the other sack ....and the other sack of shallots and brine up for finishing tomorrow......total pickling onions (including my home grown) 26 lbs....total shallots (including my home grown) 22 lbs ....some have already gone for export ....daughters ,mum and John the farm ....all done for another year....No Pete did not use any mason jars for this lot...did use two 1 gallon jars and four Kilner jars Quarts along with bog standard pickling jars ....finished at 5.30 pm ....easy hour in the morning to finish off.....some wine next .....blackberry and elderberry.

[Pete Grey]

We never get rid of any glass jars which are used for pickling, but we use Kilmer jars (all sizes) for preserving, so easy to use and with the advantage you can see what’s inside, better than canning. They last for years as you can always get new seals, we don’t do to bad, but we can’t compete with the SS production line.

[Straight Shooter]

This year i have indeed increased quantities a lot more than i normally would have , this lines up with what i am perceiving of increased threat levels (just my view) and not a view you will get from the MM , but there are plenty of other alternative news outlets that can be used....not that all should be listened to ,but it is possible to sift a way through and join some dots......the fact is there's lots going on prepps wise, that is not up for open discussion at least at this stage.....we all hold a hand of cards.....play it as you see it....there is no need or point to act on anything anyone says especially if what is being said makes no sense to you at all ! but if you do have doubts on certain subjects ...or even gut feelings ....then....do what YOU think is right for you to mitigate the problem (even if its in your head) and not in the heads of others....but what ever shape or actions you decide upon .....remove Fear out of the equation....fear will distort thinking....base your thinking on as many facts as is possible .....will you make the best informed decisions ? who knows ? but your decisions are no better or worse than anyone else's ....if you get things wrong you will die.....if you get things right......you will still die but with the added bonus and comforts provided by your forethought of all the food prepps, water, and shelter you set aside and to top it all off ....the knowledge you lasted longer than most others ........except me.....i will be eating pickled onions,shallots, chutney, jams and jellies and anything else that walks or hops or moves or even farts in my direction .....for years.....fuck i even have wine and beer......and i am not even going to monitor my bloods !.

[MaryN]

I have never pickled onions. Is it easy?