Preserving Foods After SHTF

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QuietH3art

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I'm in "put yourself there" mode lately. Right now, I have my organic garden with plenty of mason jars, seals and lids to store my veggies when the time comes. But what happens after? Assuming I can continue to grow my own vegetables, what happens when you can't buy seals for your mason jars anymore? And there's no electricity so no pressure canning or freezing. Can you dehydrate things like tomatoes and squash and reconstitute them later, retaining most of their nutritional value? If so, wouldn't that be smarter than canning now, as well? No jars to break, lighter-weight, easier to store and carry, etc.? Of course, we'll eventually run out of Ziploc bags for storing that, too. I want to try now, all of the things I may have to do "then."
 
yeah i hear that you can do that with veggies as well..i need to look into reusable lids for canning jars..
 
You can always use tattler lids when canning. They say these can be used indefinitely. I have not used them, but curious about them. I heard from another member that does that loves them. I have read up on some of the reviews and apparently they are kind of tricky to use unless you view the youtube video on "How to use Tattler Lids".
http://www.amazon.com/Tattler-Reusable-Regular-Canning-Dishwasher/product-reviews/B0051PDXCQ
Another method of preserving your veggies in a SHTF situation would be either root cellar or dehydrating.
 
You can always use tattler lids when canning. They say these can be used indefinitely. I have not used them, but curious about them. I heard from another member that does that loves them. I have read up on some of the reviews and apparently they are kind of tricky to use unless you view the youtube video on "How to use Tattler Lids".
http://www.amazon.com/Tattler-Reusable-Regular-Canning-Dishwasher/product-reviews/B0051PDXCQ
Another method of preserving your veggies in a SHTF situation would be either root cellar or dehydrating.
Now those look interesting. I'll have to watch the youtube video on them. Still not real sure what to do with the squash though. I've never frozen or canned it before, just had it fresh.
 
Now those look interesting. I'll have to watch the youtube video on them. Still not real sure what to do with the squash though. I've never frozen or canned it before, just had it fresh.
I just picked a ton of it tonight (yellow that is)! We eat it fresh and in casseroles. I have tried canning it and also freezing, but just have not been happy with the outcome. Maybe someone else has a suggestion on the squash thing.
 
My Great Uncle and Auint would dry Apples and Peaches on sheets of tin on saw horses in the mid Summer sun . I am going to set up somthing like this this year . You would not beleive how good her fried turn overs were . They had electricity ,tv and modern stuff but they liked to live like they grew up . Some other old timers would talk about digging a dug out into the side of a dirt bank and in the fall fill it with layers of cabbage and other vegtables and layers of straw then cover the top with dirt during the winter you would dig out what you need . In the late winter you would fill it with layers of snow and straw and use it for a cooler in the summer . I have never seen this done but knew some of the old folks that used them . I need to build a good root cellar . I helped build one years ago that was a salt house for curing Hams and bacon on top over a root cellar we dug about 4 ft deep .
 
I`m learning fermentation it has shelf life of 25 years and very healthy for you and you can use canning jars for fermentation but have found that a person can get most of supplies at a brewery supply store but can get the lid that fits canning jars online
 
We can't have root cellars here on the coast; the water table is too high. So that's frustrating. I'm very limited. I guess I should only plant the things that I know I can easily store in a SHTF situation. So I won't be saving those squash seeds. Okay, yes I will, but only plant a little for seasonal food or trades. Beans and peas are easily dried. Tomatoes can be canned fairly simply with those Tattler lids; just have to keep feeding wood into the fire to keep that pot boiling. Throw in some peppers, onions and spices for salsa and sauces. Cucumbers can be made into pickles but do pickles have any nutritional value? I don't have room to grow or store wheat. Now I'm moving into true ignorance territory for me. What do you do with things that are supposed to be pressure canned? Just put more wood on the fire and hope it gets hot enough? In a real SHTF situation, unless we've been nuked, I think we'd all be okay with a year of stored food and plenty of seeds. I downloaded an excellent e-book on how to grow sprouts quickly in the house for fresh, nutritional greens. They don't make more seeds but if you had enough seeds stored you could eat sprouts through the winter, then plant in the spring and save seeds from that for the next year. I've also been reading up on aquaponics and that looks like it would be enjoyable as well as a nutritious source of protein and vegetables. I'm almost a vegetarian, so a few fish, maybe some chickens for their eggs and the veggies and I'd be a happy camper. Uh oh, I forgot about fruits. I love fruit, better put in some grapevines. It really isn't a matter of "the more you grow, the less you need to store," because with grapes, strawberries, raspberries, any of the fruits that are fairly easy and quick to grow, you still have to have canning supplies and sugar. I think sugar is going to become an extremely precious commodity. There must be a fairly easy to get substitute and honey isn't it since Monsanto has killed off all the honeybees with their GMOs.
 
with that rootcellar,it mustn't be all the way in the ground,ok you are letf with a big bump to look at,but with enough thick walls and roof(why not plant grass on top of it) it should keep its cool for weggies and if you whitewash your walls it actually looks quite nice inside aswell.
for squash when got some frommy garden,we usually made a pure' of that not eaten and in the freezer it went, later it was soup,quite nice when out on a cold cold winter day and you come in and have warm soup
 
I've seen Squash soup and canning soup is simple enough . I plant Dixie Hybrid it puts on lots of squash all summer , so much we give relatives and friends squash until they say stop . In a SHTF situation you could live on it most of the summer and unless you plant somthing close to it that cross poullenates you can keep the seeds going for years . You could use a pressure canner on a wood stove or over a fire that has burnt down to coals it would take some practice and care . I have heard folks say that live on the coast that the ocean brings your meals to you twice a day .You just have to go pick it up . Most tourist attraction places have a crew to clear the beaches before daylight every dat so no one sees this now days .
 
You can always use tattler lids when canning. They say these can be used indefinitely. I have not used them, but curious about them. I heard from another member that does that loves them. I have read up on some of the reviews and apparently they are kind of tricky to use unless you view the youtube video on "How to use Tattler Lids".
http://www.amazon.com/Tattler-Reusable-Regular-Canning-Dishwasher/product-reviews/B0051PDXCQ
Another method of preserving your veggies in a SHTF situation would be either root cellar or dehydrating.

i just looked at them.and saved the link in my canning folder in my fav's
 
The curing house / root cellar I helped a neighbor build was nice we picked a flat part of his back yard dug slightly over 8x8 4ft deep cellar then put in 4 pressure treated corner post and used presure treated wood sideing from the bottom of the cellar to the top of the house . The cellar was over sized so we could reach around the corner post and nail the sideing to them until we got above the surface . we painted it barn red and used tin roofing and built salt tabels inside the house part and used 2x6's for floor joist and toung and grove flooring . If I build one I'm using aluminium sideing and 3/4 " treated plywood for the floor . His little building is still in good shape thats been 35 years ago .
 
Hmm, maybe this will make it more clear on the root cellar deal here. I am about an hour from the ocean, only 1 foot above water, though. When I dug 1 foot deep holes to put in my Concord Grape vines, I hit water. As for building above ground and covering it with dirt, maybe. But we have extremely high humidity here year round. And lots of rain, so the ground stays wet a lot. It's kind of like living in a tropical rain forest a lot of the time. I think I would have to run an ac unit in that kind of storage to keep it cool and dry.
 
that is a problem,big one,with that much water both above and beneth,hmm don't know if it helps if you build a system of underground drainage,must admit that we don't have that problem here in Finland,we do have water but not that feeling of "tropic"
 
just remembered one other preserving method;vinegar and I just checked that you can ferment basically everything you grow in your garden,they have a blend of fermented veggie stuff in romania called mura tura,you should be able to get the "recipe" on-line,if not let me know and I will try to translate it :)
 
Now those look interesting. I'll have to watch the youtube video on them. Still not real sure what to do with the squash though. I've never frozen or canned it before, just had it fresh.
I ended up chopping up my zucchini (about 14 cups) and threw in some yellow squash (about 4 cups) that I had removed the seeds from, 4 cups white onions and 10 jalapenos . Tomorrow, I will be making some Zesty Zucchini Relish. Trying to find ways to use up all that squash I am getting. I am thinking I will also try making some squash bread. . . figured that zucchini taste really good in it, so why not.
 
Not sure that fermenting would really work in the southern US with all the heat and humidity. I made sauerkraut a few years ago that I had to throw out. . . it is basically fermented cabbage. I have done some reading up on it though and you are right about how everything in the garden can be saved in crocks that way. . . Just make sure to weigh down and stays down underneath the brine.
 
true,where you preserve and how you do it depends pretty much where you live,I would love to try smoking but but...live in town and do it you only get the fire dept coming to you...have a new batch of jerky soon,meat's in the fridge marinateing
 

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