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Food storage
23 January 2018, 19:54,
#1
Food storage
Just a thought, in a deteriorating scenario would it be worth getting a couple of sacks of potatoes and some carrots or any root vegetables available at the time and “clamping” them in your garden?, You only need some straw a spade and for a little effort they should last for months, no one would know where and what to look for.
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24 January 2018, 19:28,
#2
RE: Food storage
Clamping also works with pumpkins and assorted winter squash.

The question here is not "is it a good idea?" or "will it work?", clamping is a preservation method that has been in use since humans stopped chasing woolly mammoths and started planting garden patches.

The real question is, if you are going to hide your stores in plain sight do you not need to make "plain sight" the normal condition?

No, this is not something I would consider as a "last minute prep". A fresh pile of dirt is a dead give-away. You buried something there, lets dig it up and see what it is!

Clamping is something I would consider as a part of long term prepping from year to year, starting the plans with lay out of the veggie patch and flower beds to conceal the produce, and planting something as a cover to the stores even if each crop fails and you turn to buying veggies to hide.

Make sure the neighbors look out the window and see the pile of dirt that is "always there", the flower beds covered with straw as the normal condition for wintering and your veggie patch always tilled up and looking ragged with bits of straw sticking up through the till.

Hide your stores in the dark of night and retrieve them in the dark of night.

Some of the old almanacs even have recommended times for burying clamps so that the produce will not sprout or spoil.
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Without it you can not tell who the idiots are.
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24 January 2018, 20:51,
#3
RE: Food storage
I'm going to agree with MB here, Pete, why not practice clamping and suchlike as part of your yearly food production routine. It will save you money - no trips to the supermarket - and good gardening practice these days is just good commonsense. You have to choose the site for your clamps, and bear in mind that even a slight gap in the covering can spoil the crops. A nice potting shed you can set up with sacks and covers works just as well in really cold weather.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
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24 January 2018, 20:56,
#4
RE: Food storage
Thanks MB , I just wondered wether clamping is still a viable and cheap way of storing vegetables for medium to long term without taking up valuable inside space, and it can also be a clandestine way of doing so.

Our garden is not overlooked but as you say conceal produce in the dark and make sure there are always patches of dirt showing.

So it’s good to know the old ways are often still worth while.
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25 January 2018, 17:29,
#5
RE: Food storage
Clamping? Never heard of that under that name but it sounds like a technique that is used with root vegetables like carrots.

Can somebody explain what clamping is?
Skean Dhude
-------------------------------
It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change. - Charles Darwin
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25 January 2018, 21:09,
#6
RE: Food storage
Clamping used to be the way most people with a large plot used to store potatoes, after digging them up they would take what they needed for immediate use, the rest they would bury in a clamp at the side of the plot as they could then plant a different crop keeping the ground working.

In a dryish spot dig a trench or hole about one spit deep, put in a layer of 6 to 8 inches of straw, put in the potatoes or other root vegetables and cover with another 6 to 8 inches of straw, cover the straw with 6 inches of soil from around the hole, some people leave a tuft of straw sticking out of the ground for ventilation, i don’t know if this is best.

Taking soil from around the hole gives better drainage, potatoes should keep for several months without rotting, if they do start to sprout rub the sprouts off. You can always dig up some of the potatoes and then reseal the clamp at any time.

As MB says you can always disguise your clamp with other plants or flowers. MaryN i’ve never thought of using sacking in a shed, good idea, thank you.
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26 January 2018, 00:56,
#7
RE: Food storage
Clamps were often huge affairs with pits 50 feet in diameter dug a couple of feet deep.

Native Americans used clamping extensively as well as air drying of foods. The early settlers referred to the huge clamps used to feed whole villages as Indian Barns.
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Every person should view freedom of speech as an essential right.
Without it you can not tell who the idiots are.
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5 November 2018, 12:08,
#8
RE: Food storage
Yes, that's a nice idea, if you've got a garden patch. Since I live in a flat, I usually plant just herbs like parsley, dill or basil. As to veggies, I buy them at farmer's market. Potatoes, beetroots and carrots are cheap there and I refrigerate beans, peas, mushrooms and broccoli in food packages and can use them later
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6 November 2018, 11:13,
#9
RE: Food storage
You can achieve similar results by burying 45gallon drums (plastic) insulation around the outside ((bottom and sides) the lid also...make some timber tier crates that can e lifted in and out ,you can pack ROOT veggies in dry sand ...to vent the drum cut in a sink waste fitting about100 mms up from the bottom connect your 40mms plastic waste pipe onto the fitting (outside of drum) this pipe must end up about 300 mms above ground level use two elbows to point the pipe to the ground ...using the same waste fitting cut this into the lid do the same with the elbows ...it's not that cheap but you are assurred of a excellent seal...read easy for me .....got me a digger lol how do I hide the vent pipes ? ...pots ornaments ....in plain sight ! .
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