Overcoming Inflation In The Fourth Turning

Canned 5 Jars Of Frying Okra Today

I canned Five jars of frying okra today. Just drain the okra in a colander and fry it in peanut oil. Cover okra with corn meal of course. Delicious!

4 Likes

Sorry, I meant which model of freeze drier, and how many folk would it provide for. Thanks

? Sorry, Robie
It’s a medium size Harvest Right. The size refers more to how much food you plan to be freeze drying, not so much to the number of people it would provide for. We consist of 2 people here on our homestead.
Maybe if we were just planning on freeze drying a little food here and there, the small size might have been fine, but we want to preserve food from the garden, plus want to store some. The large was slightly tempting, but just seems like too much on many levels.
The medium will freeze dry 7-10 lbs. of fresh food (1.5-2.5 gallons of freeze dried food) per batch.

1 Like

That’s the unit I settled on and it’s perfect for our purposes. When we are cooking up a pot of soup or any other meal, we’ll just double the recipe and load up the freeze drier trays. Depending on the water content of the food, along with the temperature and humidity of the room, the freeze drying process will take one to two days to complete. I use the food for backpacking, travel, long term storage, and for quick meals when time is too short to cook. I found it worth the investment.

1 Like

I Find Helpful

Just received my Harvest Right freeze drier. Next purchase is a steam canner, and I’ll have all the preservation tools. Also, getting a Samovar wood/coal stove to go with my Ecozoom wood stove as I’m setting up a small outdoor “kitchen” in my garden.
Backwoods Home magazine is my favorite! Very practical information. Also can’t stop watching this channel! https://youtube.com/channel/UCIix6MklfJFywa_36iDj8Sw
Best of luck to everyone!

2 Likes

How About A Link…

A great many of us wrote lengthy comments the last time Samantha Biggers wrote about food preservation…couldn’t articles like this one have some links at the end that reference those articles and comments?
I see so many questions and comments by those newer to food growing and preservation that have already been discussed and question that have been answered–it would be great if they could easily access those comments rather than relying on those of us who have already put the time in answering to repost.
Just a thought.

1 Like

Do you have a Versa model EcoZoom? If so, how do you like it?

Good to hear that you’ve found it worth the investment! This has been pretty much what I’ve heard people say about it which is affirming. Can’t wait to get ours!

Great ideas! I have considered a dehydrator but it would sit so much in between use. Renting it out makes so much sense if you can trust the people to take care of it while they use it.

I am sure the starving folk with rifles have less experience than the farmer who is armed as well.
Our community has five head of cattle for each citizen. The county is largely related and has joint concern for each families herd and flocks wellbeing. Rustlers will likely suffer unseemly ends.
A long protracted collapse where the gov. maintains a modicum of favor and control causes me more anxiety. I fully expect the gov. to indenture my family and I to our land to provide for the quelling masses. This extortion is difficult to defend against. Where the enemy is obvious to the community, not so much.

To follow up, we just got ourselves an EcoZoom Versa. Haven’t tried it out yet.

Investing In Income Reduction Seems Logical To Me.

I have for years been investing in things that will reduce the amount of income I will need to live later. So far this has outpaced any increase I might have made had I focused on increasing cash principle or stock investments and increasing income.
Me rental house for example has increased in value 3 times while bringing in 8-10 times as much income as the investment in a CD would have brought and at the same time provides clean affordable home at half the rent the market demands for same structure. WIN WIN WIN
Me chicken coop provides eggs for my household and those that I supply to very much better gardeners than myself all year and I get bumper crop veggies all summer and fall in return in addition to the occasional bag of feed being dropped off.
Behives in the past have brought in enough cash to pay my property taxes. I have downsized for now but can scale up as needed.
This year I bought a hightunnel I hope will reduce my most expensive grocery expenditure, Fresh greens, onions, cabbages, carrots, onions and herbs. With smaller catapillar tunnels in the tunnel I will be able to have year round harvests in my zone. extra can be sold for cash. Reduction of income needed and increase in income, win win. Having a solar heated winter nap spot in the garden will save on electricity.
Fruit trees.
Berry Bushes and canes
traded a semi gas hog for a New 42mpg SUV and bought a '99 F250 4x4 long bed farm truck with 25K orig miles for 2500.00 reduced my insurance costs, fuel costs and increased versatility and financial security as I can make money with the truck if needed. Also increased transportation security if parts for one or the other are scarse.
Small tractor, adds financial security as money maker, saves my health and body, increases food security and reduces income out go for various homesteading and farm work projects and maintanance. Builds community as neighbors benefit and return favors.
Insulation projects to reduce utilities.

1 Like

Love The Comments, But

Only talking about gardening is a luxury. If the SHTF happens. Meat and fat is how you will stay alive…period!
Learn how to snare and trap.
Learn how to hunt —really hunt!
Learn to can
Learn woodsman ship and practice those skills.
Can you cook with out a stove!
Can you build a fire
Practice being uncomfortable…
Learn hygiene techniques in a grid down event…how do you shit and pee! what do you do with it!
much much more

2 Likes

Hi Spiritual Warrior:
I make granola with my grandaughter and we’ve experimented with a lot of different additions, including freeze dried and dehydrated fruit. If the granola lasts more than a day or two, any dehydrated or freeze dried fruit starts absorbing moisture unless the bag or container is tightly sealed. Of course, I live in coastal Georgia which is one big swamp, and the humidity is always high. Going outside this time of year is like walking through warm whipped cream. Maybe you’ll have better luck where you are, but just giving you a heads up so you can experiment with your product.

1 Like

Here in Wales, there’s very little to hunt, and being on a keto diet, this is something I thought about a long time ago. I don’t have a huge amount of space, but I’m raising ducks (protein and fat, all in one go!), and it’s not difficult to cook on a wood burning stove (something I successfully tried, after having one installed last year). Growing veg is great (as I’m also doing), but a zero/v.low fat diet will have very negative health consequences.

2 Likes

Good on you, coconut oil has a very long shelf life.

We Can Rant, Rave, Cry, Or Laugh–or We Can Plant A Tree…

https://www.agweb.com/news/crops/crop-production/spaghetti-farming-hoax-ranks-prank-ages?mkt_tok=ODQzLVlHQi03OTMAAAGGUakOqTo2Rf3vgv6TzpLIBWqP2p_R975gdXcthIfJy5WK2_3zPGvLY-lWwp9hnKmHqec3MQboi5gt9wkW15i2AKMMyoACabqzstpVhNfkIEpMPp-lz-8

Completely agree. Cost of anything spent to catch a fish or hunt game is close to nothing compared to what you get in exchange! Also as usual, Skill>gear. I bet there are plenty of skilled people out there who can catch something to eat with 2 sticks and a piece of rope! And if you’re not one of them - maybe you should learn how to. Thankfully, there are way more data and guides now compared to early 00s on how to do it - from which hunting supplies that you should get to what game is catch and how to. So don’t be lazy, go find stuff and learn some skills!