What's your August prep goal?..

[Noahs ARK]

I'm continuing with my water & liquids this month.

Will be ordering a Berkey filter, too.

Our Food Lion is having a sale on canned fruit this week, so I'm going to grab a case or two.

I also need to start reading the scriptures - I can't remember HALF of what I used to know. Time for a refresher course!

[mirkwood]

Buy about six more starter kits from the cannery and some more Mountain House meal cans.

[hiccups]

Organization. I'll have to think a bit for other ideas.

[Noahs ARK]

Organization.

I have to do some of that organizing, too. Hubby's been back in the hospital twice since June, so I haven't had a chance to organize my water storage. I'm just filling empty jugs and putting them in the crawlspace, along with the distilled water & juices I've been buying.

Figured I'd get it organized when I have more time, but it's driving me nutz.

Still don't have my rain barrels hooked up, so I need to get moving on that, too. If worse comes to worse, I'll just fill them with the hose until I can get the rain diverter hooked up to the downspout.

[4evermama]

Speaking of Rain Harvesting:
http://rainharvester.blogspot.com/

I read the info from the other thread on collection restrictions and my blood has been boiling ever since.
My 12 year old boy read the articles and he looked at me and said "wow, I always thought that rain came from God...not the government."

August preps:

Increasing distilled water amounts.

Canning...Canning...Cannning!

And of course, more organizing.

[Noahs ARK]

Last night I did manage to get some of my bins set up in the crawlspace. Each bin holds 4 of those huge kitty litter containers, which I clean out and then fill with water & a touch of bleach. Got 3 bins filled and it made me feel better.

The bins are only 4" tall - kinda like the under-the-bed storage bins, but I like them for holding water in case of a leak. Don't want water all over my crawlspace (even tho I have a sump pump down there).

I have 20 empty bleach containers filled with water that I want to get into bins tomorrow.

I've got to get organized this month - my poor basement isn't big at all & it's a mess. :nonod: OTOH - that "mess" down there is food & water, so I'm thankful for that.

[signseeker]

Organize and de-clutter main floor from the summer madness. Go through kids' clothes before school starts. Keep up with the weeding.

Does that even count as a prep goal? :blink:

[Earthling]

Prep goal is to keep yard & garden weeded and produce picked & USED. Broccoli was gorgeous last week, went to Yellowstone, came home and what I didn't pick is going yellow. sigh . . . Weeded the garden this morning. Raspberries are on so I made a White Chocolate Raspberry Cake yesterday to die for . . . if anyone is in Ogden area drop by for a piece! yum . ..

[Harm]

Pay all my bills... :frown5: Its financially hard having the family gone, as we have then twice the food/gas/utilities/needs budget that we normally would.

[phylm]

Prep goal is to keep yard & garden weeded and produce picked & USED. Broccoli was gorgeous last week, went to Yellowstone, came home and what I didn't pick is going yellow. sigh . . . Weeded the garden this morning. Raspberries are on so I made a White Chocolate Raspberry Cake yesterday to die for . . . if anyone is in Ogden area drop by for a piece! yum . ..

I think that if you cut off the yellowed heads, you'd get quite a good crop of side shoots. I always figure to get about double the production from the side shoots.

[Earthling]

Thanks Phylm - appreciate the advice!

[Noahs ARK]

I think that if you cut off the yellowed heads, you'd get quite a good crop of side shoots. I always figure to get about double the production from the side shoots.

I love the side shoots - they're so tender & sweet.

[signseeker]

Yay! South end of garden weeded! I can see all my pepper plants again! :001_sdrool: (Hurry and enjoy it for a couple hours!)

[Noahs ARK]

How large is your garden, Sign?

[signseeker]

Well, the first part is - sheesh, I don't know. I'll have to measure it. We tilled up a good section of yard and planted that around July 7th - late - but the squash are coming up great and the rows of beans are already to my knee. I'll let you know...

[hiccups]

Did I mention organization? Because Saturday I visited the home of a hoarder who had passed away a few months ago... Eesh. Must organize.

[Noahs ARK]

I'm continuing with my water & liquids this month.

Will be ordering a Berkey filter, too.

Our Food Lion is having a sale on canned fruit this week, so I'm going to grab a case or two.

I also need to start reading the scriptures - I can't remember HALF of what I used to know. Time for a refresher course!

Had to come back to review my Aug goals. I only accomplished 2 of my goals - water/liquids & canned goods.

Got 10 cases of canned fruit & veggies that were on sale - mostly fruit. Got half of it stacked & "hidden" under a round table top with a tablecloth over it. The other half still sits in front of my fireplace.:eek (2):

Still haven't ordered the Berkey filter. I've called them 3x and nobody has called me back. I'm trying to find the right size so I can put it on my old Hinckley & Schmidt wood stand.

Haven't even started reading my scriptures. Ach. I dragged them back & forth with me when I was visiting my hubby in the hospital and never even opened them. Was too busy taking naps in his bedside recliner instead.:angry:

*sigh* Maybe I'll finish all this up in Sept.

[signseeker]

The new part of the garden is about 55-60 feet long and around 10' wide on one end and 25-30' wide on the other end. That's a guess. Based on the RRties.

I can't remember what my goals were... :d0 (50):

[Noahs ARK]

Organize and de-clutter main floor from the summer madness. Go through kids' clothes before school starts. Keep up with the weeding.

Does that even count as a prep goal? :blink:


The new part of the garden is about 55-60 feet long and around 10' wide on one end and 25-30' wide on the other end. That's a guess. Based on the RRties.

I can't remember what my goals were... :d0 (50):

That's a good-sized garden you've got - does everyone in your family enjoy gardening?

Your goals are listed above in case you want to review them....:l0 (20):

[4evermama]

Sounds like a nice size garden, Sign. Let us know how it all turns out.

In early spring, we had a heat wave that sent my fruit trees into an early wake up. Then, high winds and endless rains wiped out all of the blossoms on my pears, apples, blueberries, peas and green beans. We only ended up with a couple of handfuls of cherries. Lettuces and spinach did great. Raspberries managed okay. The tomatoes are finally turning red, but I planted those REALLY late, so we should get something there. Some of my late strawberries are producing but only enough to pick and eat (the early ones rotted in the rain.)
All in all it's been a rough growing season.

Fortunately, I hooked up with a group that bulk orders produce from growers across into eastern Wash. state. Canning goals are being met, but only because of the good fortune of our neighbors.

Even with everything in place....priorities, work ethic, timing, seeds....it's amazing how fast crops evaporate. A couple of big storms and whoosh! Gone! My appreciation for successful crops is exponential this year.

My grandma used to try to put up tons extra each summer for exactly this reason. She was always so protective over the food...literally, under lock and key. If the next summer didn't produce, then at least she would have a fair amount to go into an extra winter.

I worry for our brothers and sisters who aren't learning these hard lessons when there is still opportunity to recover. Despair can set in all too easily.
The learning curve seems so overwhelming at times. I am grateful for God's grace.

[Noahs ARK]

All in all it's been a rough growing season.

My grandma used to try to put up tons extra each summer for exactly this reason. She was always so protective over the food...literally, under lock and key. If the next summer didn't produce, then at least she would have a fair amount to go into an extra winter.

I think it's been a rough growing season everywhere. My mom has been gardening for 50+ years and she's disgusted with her garden this year.

I don't have a garden (yet), but most of our fruit trees & bushes were awful this year. Lost all my plums during a bad storm - they were still little babies and all fell to the ground. My berry bushes & grapes barely produced. My rhubarb didn't even come up - it probably rotted out from all the rain.

Both my sour & sweet cherry trees did great. So did my blueberries. But still not enough for canning - only enough to eat.

My grandma had a lock on her cellar door, too. That thing was huge & spooky, but had shelves filled with her home canned goods. Then she had her 'regular' food storage in the old coal storage closet, which was 50-ft long. She had the spookiest basement - we loved it. :o11:

She told me to never rely on our trees, bushes & garden to keep us alive because the weather was so unpredictable. Never fully appreciated her wisdom until I started growing my own things.

I just put in another order with our Farmer's Market for pickled asparagus, pickled green tomatoes and corn relish. They sell all sorts of goodies. Figured if I can't do my own canning, I'll just buy it from them. Their prices are reasonable.

[4evermama]

Noah, if prices are reasonable, I sure can't slight you for buying it. It's really time consuming. You've been busy for sure. Time much better spent with your dear husband.

My Grandma had a cellar as well. The only times that she ever let us in were when the tornado sirens blared throughout the city. Heck, by then we were so scared out of our wits, nobody thought to eat anything. Crafty lady.

I also remember her growing a lot of root vegitables and being REALLY protective of us not compacting the dirt while we played. In the mornings during the winter, she would go outside to the cellar and bring up potatoes to fry up for Grandpa's breakfast. I was so young and I remember thinking..."where the heck did she get those? There's 2 feet of snow on the ground?" Funny, the images we keep.

Last week my oldest girl helped me with canning. She made the corn relish almost by herself. Next time I sneak a late night spoonful, I'll think of you.

[signseeker]

Well, I am keeping up with the weeding. That chore is so much more fun than sorting through kids' clothes or de-cluttering. :l0 (44): Plus my sis from Sweden is coming this week for a month - the chores are going out the window. I haven't seen her for 3 years. We're gonna' to geneology, talk preps and last days and overall just catch up. It'll be awesome. :D

It certainly is a wake-up call to begin gardening... the skills, the work, the weather, all the factors you didn't factor in... but I'm loving every bit of it and so grateful we still have this time.

My zucchini are coming on. I have quite a few green tomatoes developing (am I behind everyone? apparently, so). The new part of the garden was only planted after July 4th, so I don't expect much there... the beans are looking good (no actual beans yet) and several squash varieties are really growing well (we'll have to see what kind of squash they are...these were mystery seeds my mom got at the Seniors' Center) Not sure if the heirloom corn will have time to mature. And the watermelon and cantalope (which sucked last year big-time) are going the slowest. I have one big broccoli plant that I can't find anything on that even resembles broccoli. I'm going to direct-seed broccoli and cabbage next year instead of starting indoors. I need to update the garden journal.

I think I'll pick some apricots today and dry them outside. It'll be dry and in the mid or upper 90s. I don't care for apricots all that much, but dried might be alright to keep for snacks, lunches, whatever...

Do you peel apricots like you do peaches? Just boil them for a bit and the skins slip right off? (In case I do a little jam with them.)

[4evermama]

I've never peeled apricots. Just wash, pit and process. We just put up 210 lbs. into quarts and jam...no dehydrating though. Maybe it depends on the variety. We used Tilton so the skins were pretty thin.

Have fun with your sis, Sign. Sounds like good times. :party:

[Noahs ARK]

Noah, if prices are reasonable, I sure can't slight you for buying it. It's really time consuming. You've been busy for sure. Time much better spent with your dear husband.

*snip*

Last week my oldest girl helped me with canning. She made the corn relish almost by herself. Next time I sneak a late night spoonful, I'll think of you.

Dontcha just love corn relish! My aunt used to make it every year during corn season.

The man that owns the Farmer's Market gives me $1 off each quart jar IF I buy a case. That's a pretty good deal. He'll even deliver those 3 cases I just ordered to my house. How can I lose on a deal like that?

I used to do canning, dehydrating, juicing and loved it, but just can't seem to find the time these days. Yesterday I had about 10 "must do" things on my "to do" list, but then hubby got sick and that wiped out my good intentions for the rest of the day.

I figured I can afford to buy 1-2 cases a month from him, so that'll be a nice addition to my food storage, esp with the juice in the jars.

[Noahs ARK]

Do you peel apricots like you do peaches?

I sure miss my garden and love being able to read about what everyone else is doing in their garden.

Have you tried putting hay down between rows to help with the weeds? Or are you doing the square-foot gardening?

Oooooh - apricot jam! I make apricot-pineapple jam, too. No, I never peel apricots. I like to put small dehydrated pieces of apricot in my oatmeal.

[Noahs ARK]

We just put up 210 lbs. into quarts and jam....

210 lbs? :svengo:

[4evermama]

210 lbs? :svengo:

You have to understand my family. My husband is a preservative phobe (not a bad thing). When I was pregnant, he'd make homemade bread and jam for me to snack on just to make sure the babies wouldn't come out with 5 arms. Over the years, he has mellowed somewhat, but still gives me a nod of disapproval if I sneak a box of Little Debbie's into the grocery cart. Don't get me wrong, we buy our share of canned goods, but if he had his druthers, little to none would come from the market.

We eat our home canned food almost as fast as we put it up. Fortunately, they are always willing to put the work into it. I supervise, primarily, and then help with the actual processing.

You'd be amazed. Once I give instruction, they are like locust. The five of them jarred 120 quarts of cukes in about an hour. :eek6:

I am blessed to have a crew that understands. If I were expected to do this on my own, we'd all starve to death.

[Noahs ARK]

I think that's so cool! I love how everyone works together towards a common goal.

[Noahs ARK]

Yay - tomorrow my rain barrels get hooked up. My neighbor is going to help me build a little area next to my deck - they'll be protected from the weather, nobody will see them and they'll be up off the ground.

The guy from the Farmer's Market delivered 3 cases of quarts today - pickled asparagus, pickled baby beets & applesauce. Got the pickled green tomatoes & corn relish - just 6 pints of each, tho.

I suspect some of my August goals will soon become my September goals.

[4evermama]

I suspect some of my August goals will soon become my September goals.

A goal is a goal no matter which month it gets checked off. You have acheived a great deal this month.
I never feel as though I accomplish anything, so my sweet daughter snuck behind me last week writing things down. At the end of the week, she brought the list to my attention and I almost cried.
Even the smallest of accomplishments really do add up. All of your hard work is blessing someone you love. Even if you don't see it quite so clearly, others do.

Congrats on the rain barrels and the canned goods.
Yay! to the Farmer's market guy. Sounds like you've got a great deal going there if he delivers it too.

How are you and DH holding up?

[Noahs ARK]

You're right..I did manage to accomplish quite a bit, even tho it wasn't everything on my list. Sometimes I feel like a hamster on a wheel - spinning, spinning, spinning.

What a nice thing for your daughter to do! My mom keeps her daily "To Do" lists, so when she feels like she hasn't accomplished anything she can review it.

We're doing okay - thanks for asking. Hubby has a VA appt tomorrow for an angiogram. He didn't do so well on his Nuclear Stress Test, so he has to see the Cardiologist for "possible" surgery for a blockage. Once this is done & he recuperates, he goes in for surgery to remove the bladder & kidney stones.

I'm going to have a short September goal list, methinks. :crazy:

[4evermama]

My prayers are with you still. Keep us up to date.