What have done towards your prep?

[Straight Shooter]

The poly tunnel is now completed and ready to use.......I am now on with some more hive frames and two new hives , checking all my preps food and gear going through to lot ! .

Solar array and setup this coming week ..

I am not going to continue to post to this thread much anymore there appears not to be much interest these days , which is alright ,I can understand that my ramblings of what I get up to could well piss you off and be a bit repetitive but that’s what I get up to ...so that’s what I talk about .......rock on boys n girls .

[Pete Grey]

While we are in this new lockdown with little gardening work to do and time on our hands I’m reviewing our prepping strategy.

With our preps i think we’re pretty well where we need to be considering our circumstances, age, health etc, and our SHTF plans.

So at the moment it’s checking lists and use by dates, general maintenance, and keeping things up and scratch.

[Pete Grey]

SS looking forward to reading about your solar setup , will you be using the rigid aluminium panels or lighter flexible and less expensive panels ?. I need to update our solar generation plans.

[Pete Grey]

Had to have a little job doing on the car, our get home vehicle, so an opportunity to empty everything out and repack and check everything (see The Car, Vehicles, Utility), tidying up has made more space.

Not much happening around the house other than keeping gutters and drains free of moss (off the roof), fences are checked regularly and the garden keeps tidy. SS what should we be planting ?.

[Straight Shooter]

Pete the solar panels are the rigid type ....100 watt , as regards to what to plant .....try byther farm just google and take a look at liz .....she is a great down to earth gardener , try her method of wine making ! .

[Straight Shooter]

Pete, I have been side tracked for the past few weeks with regards to my solar setup and installation .......sorting the needs of others.

I will give you a full breakdown of the setup , and installation and how it runs as time go’s by .........get your tomato seeds into some three inch pots and set them on the window cill ............haul arse Pete ! Lol

[Straight Shooter]

Between the snow , cold ,high winds and now rain I have been confined to indoors ,just getting out when I can which has pissed me off big time ! But there is now heat in the one poly tunnel, holding steady at 15 C so those tomato plants have come off the window cill and moved into the tunnel along with 50 sugar snap peas in 2” pots .

Sown some cucumbers , cabbage and lettuce ( on the window cill ) the chilli , peppers take a bit longer so they remain on the cill also.

The growing poly tunnel , all the tubs are there in situ ready to except guests ( so long as they have and hold a covid passport ) .

Ordered £142.00 worth of seeds including wild thangs stuff .....the order is on its way and most of the raised beds are ready for spuds , the other beds will not be long to get ready , the onions sets I put in last November are doing just fine ( covered with a hooped frame and polythene ) .....most beds are covered with black poly or old carpet .

I will now get on with the hydroponics set up and start some trials , small scale at first .....pumped , air and the kratky method ....the latter may well be good for those with limited space inside or outside take a look on YT Pete !

I am on with the exterior of our old house .....fixing 100 mm insulation sheets , the front and two half’s of the side elevations are done and 50% is now rendered including all the mesh , because of home working my daughter says it’s now 8 degrees warmer ....the latex finishing coat is not done that will be summertime job ......so the gable end and side left and rear return is left to insulate and finish , so the scaffolding needs to be sorted first....charge on !

[Straight Shooter]

The solar set up , three 100 watt polycrystalline photovoltaic solar panels ( Eco-Worthy ) ......three deep cell 115 Ah ccs 700 a battery’s ( super batt ) ......one charge controller cmg 20 amp 12 volt auto switch lcd overload protection temperature compensation ......one inverter 1500 watt ...surge rate 3000 watt two mains 220 volt ,two cigar 12 volt outlets , four usb outlets , two 12 volt jack outlets ........12. Volt ....bits .....led strip lights (8), circulation pumps (2) fans (2) electric kettle (1) Emerson heater (1) air bubblers (2) adapted 12 volt battery drill ......Plus various trip fuses and fittings (loads) spare inverter (1) .

[Lightspeed]

(20 February 2021, 17:48)Straight Shooter Wrote: The solar set up , three 100 watt polycrystalline photovoltaic solar panels ( Eco-Worthy ) ......three deep cell 115 Ah ccs 700 a battery’s ( super batt ) ......one charge controller cmg 20 amp 12 volt auto switch lcd overload protection temperature compensation ......one inverter 1500 watt ...surge rate 3000 watt two mains 220 volt ,two cigar 12 volt outlets , four usb outlets , two 12 volt jack outlets ........12. Volt ....bits .....led strip lights (8), circulation pumps (2) fans (2) electric kettle (1) Emerson heater (1) air bubblers (2) adapted 12 volt battery drill ......Plus various trip fuses and fittings (loads) spare inverter (1) .

Nice solar set up there SS. That should work out well for you.

[Lightspeed]

Yesterday received delivery of 3Tons of coal for heating furnace.

This tops of our reserve and used for heating will see us through to Christmas.

As a stand-by for subsistence living its sufficient for 2 to 3 years basic heating and cooking.