Forget canned foods - Buy the staples - Flour, sugar etc.

In the world wars, people in the city planted victory gardens. The area where I am moving to, the lots are often turn of the century homes and quite a few of them still have their Victory Gardens in them.


en.wikipedia.org...
www.livinghistoryfarm.org...
www.cityfarmer.org...

The trick of it is to know what grows where you are. I suggest finding this community in your city - the one where there are old people in old houses, and the area isn't a nasty community. Walk the back alley in the summer and look at what they've planted. Ask them what they are planting, many of them will be glad to talk to you about it.

People would tear up their whole lawn, and plant garden. With the right plants, you can get a LOT of food. Canning is time consuming more than anything.

In just about any climate in the summer you can plant spinach, and swiss chard and kale. You can start harvesting it and canning it in a month. It will produce even after the first couple of frosts often, if the area is somewhat protected. I had a swiss chard plant in my front garden still green in November - and I live in Alberta.

There are things you can plant that even an idiot can grow. Plants you can put in that will produce without your help season after season.

You'd be amazed what you can get out of even a small garden. I literally had a small 5' x 2' box in my last place, and I had TONS of spinach and pumpkin.

Figure out how to put a root cellar if you can. Your storage of carrots and potatoes etc. will last MUCH longer in one. They aren't that difficult. The earth probably absorbs the ethylene coming of the vegetable to help keep them fresh.

www.earth-house.com...

[edit on 2009/1/15 by Aeons]

[edit on 2009/1/15 by Aeons]

Is there a place in your nearby community, like a park? A well in your backyard might not be the best for the stability of your house.

Well. Look up the hydrogeological map of your area. See how far down the ground water (aquifer) is for where you are. You can your community could possibly put in a well. Get your strong back out, and start digging.

This sort of planning MUST be a community effort, because you will probably need to locate it in a park.

ga.water.usgs.gov...
hubpages.com...


Keep it away from where you deal with your waste.

Love this guy - another community based effort.

www.jenkinspublishing.com...

Originally posted by Make Speed Limit 45
Al walmart, flour and sugar are both 50 cents a pound. Rice and rolled oats 75 cents. And each of these staples are concentrated food with 1500 calories per pound. OTOH, a can of chili costs $1.25 and only has 500 calories. When you buy canned, you're buying (and storing) WATER!!!

There are several flaws in this plan.

1. You will need water to make the above palatable.
2. Its boring.
3. you need water, so you will actually get some of your daily requirement from canned goods.
4. The above listed is not very portable in large quantities.
5. The above can spoil quite easily.

I am not saying that you should not store the above, but by adding canned and packet foods to your store, you are:-

A. Making it more interesting .... variety is the spice of life.
B. It makes spoiling your foodstore much less likely.
C. Some of the foodstore becomes far more portable.

Some people go on about MRE's. Seriously, would you want to survive long term on these, I in hell dont. Why do you think the British Army use iron rations? Why does the US Army absolutely love to get hold of them if they can?

Give me Iron rations over MRE's anyday of the week.

Originally posted by Wotan

Some people go on about MRE's. Seriously, would you want to survive long term on these, I in hell dont.

MRE represent one aspect of food needs during survival type situations. I have the obligatory rice and beans etc. but also keep a decent supply of MRE's

Why?

1) They are cheap
2) They are wet packed and can be eaten cold
3) As above can be consumed without needing water
4) Portable
5) add to that the entrees are small making them ideal as part of a car emergency kit
5) Ridiculously long shelf life if stored properly (I rotate mine out after 4 years and the local food bank loves to get them)

WOuld I want to live off of a 100% MRE diet? NO! But they are good addition to any survival food pantry

Originally posted by FredT

WOuld I want to live off of a 100% MRE diet? NO! But they are good addition to any survival food pantry

And that is my point ....... VARIETY.

have a selection of different types of food and its various storage methods. You wouldnt go out in the wilds with just a box of matches and no other forms of fire lighting ....... the same should be said for food and its storage methods.

For all you hunters out there that plan to live off the land. What are you going to do when its 95 dreg. in Aug. with a deer you jest killed. You say your going to make jerky. Are you going to eat jerky with fly eggs and mold all over it! How are you going to kept your meat good for any amount of time.One way is to smoke it. The problem with this is you can see smoke for miles. It takes about two weeks to smoke a ham! You need to stock up on SALT! Salt cured meat will last forever! You can use any kind of salt, but the best is good old rock salt. Make sure you buy the pure rock salt. Good luck to all when the SHTF! I,ll be in South west Indiana if any one needs help, but you will have to find me. If you see smoke thats where I,m not at.

Have you eaten salted pork.

UHG. yes, it'll work. In necessity, I'd do it.

But still. Uhg.

There isn't enough wildlife in North America, particularly big game, to feed all the people who plan on becoming survivalist hunters.

If you sat on a bank of a river in North America for a couple of months you MIGHT see as many animals as you'd see on a river bank in an HOUR in Africa.

We've displaced most of the wild animal population in favour of farm and ranch lands.

Unless you plan on taking up hunting cattle.

[edit on 2009/1/15 by Aeons]

The very problem is we do not have a set time in the future when something may be needed. If I knew this next year I would be in a survival situation then I could easily prepare for it. But the problem is it could be next week, next year, 10 years or never, and this adds much complexity to the problem when you are also trying to maintain a normal life, raising a family with the hopes of an easy retirement with no issues too.

reply to post by Xtrozero


You just keep stores the way your ancestors did before they had that fancy vehicle that no longer needed a horse to get around. There are some simple basics about keeping stores. First any meal or grain products must be kept in air tight containers in a cool dry space. It is inevitable that you are going to have some critters in your grain and meal products they actually already come sealed up in the box before purchase but will multiply like crazy under the right conditions. Don’t get upset about having a little added protein in your product, it is actually good for you. Keep the tops on all of your jellies, jams, syrups, honey, etc tight and wipe off the side of the top of the jar before recapping and the side of the jar just in case. Unlike weevils ants can be a much bigger nuisance because they like to move far a field of the pantry and many of them bite. Date everything you put in your storage space and always put the newest addition in the back. Use the items as the routine of your kitchen warrants. A well stocked storage space does not mean that you can not use the items. In fact it is wise to use the items, just replace them as soon as possible. Buying in bulk can be a time and money saver. Calculate the savings in the reduced trips to the market along with the savings for buying in larger quantities. Try co-op shopping. If those huge bags of rice or other products are more then you can manage then split the item and the cost with a neighbor, relative or friends.

Originally posted by Aeons
Unless you plan on taking up hunting cattle.

yes sir, yes i do, almost immediately, and pigs, sheep, goats, dogs, cats, rats, camels, hamsters, rabbits, chickens, turkeys geese, ducks, swans, crows, pigeons (lots of stupid tame pigeons), deer, hogs, elephants, polar bears and just about anything else i can catch, trap or shoot.

probably not horses, they're pretty useful, but it depends largely on the circumstance and my level of hunger.


EDIT: oh yeah, i meant to say, honey is a great addition to your store if you are storing all those dry goods. it can be added to the stuff for preservation and portability reasons. also potatos are full of starchy goodness and ridiculously easy to grow, you just cut them up and plant them. they stay good for a long time if you keep them cool, dry and dark.

[edit on 15/1/09 by pieman]

Don't ya think that the farmers and ranchers might have a couple of guns laying around too?

I am not quite sure what the difference between iron rations and MREs is but the ones I am talking about have been taken from the British military cos to be honest the American rations are rubbish. They are a huge pack that gives you one meal whereas the British ones are smaller and gives you a days worth. Plus if you are staying in a shelter and not burning much energy you can make them last longer.

Also Wotan is it better to be able to live for a long time with little variety or a short time with lots of variety. Besides the food in the rations aren't bad tasting and there are lots of different ones.

reply to post by Cauch1


I think anyone that is hungry enough is just going to be grateful that they have something to put in their stomach. It is a blessing that we can’t even think about hunger in a realistic way. You are right. Variety is not an issue when it comes to survival. The importance is to have enough rations for everyone to sustain life. This could vary for different individuals in the group and may cause mutiny. The providers will need more rations if they are expected to hunt down additional rations and supplies. The caregivers and protectors will receive their share and the children and will get the next share. The non-contributors divide what is left. I know it sounds harsh but if survival is the key then there will many times that tough calls will have to be made.

Does anyone know where on the net you can obtain British MRE's or these iron rations you speak of? All that I can find are American MRE's. As far as iron rations go, I've only found one seller on e-bay. He is selling individual WWII replica iron rations. They are pricey and he doesn't say anything about how long they'd last or anything like that.

Thanks in advance for the help!

I just wanted to say that if possible, you should cover all the bases. Have staples, canned food, MREs, be prepared to hunt and have instructions for preparing game and salting pork... If you're going to have stock, there's no reason not to have a variety of foods and information.

reply to post by Cauch1


I am not talking about surviving a given length of time on MRE's v Iron rations v Mixed Foodstuffs. The point I was trying to make is to vary the supply you have stored. This variety includes the types of packaging, the types of shape or form it comes in and have as wide a variety of foodstuffs that you can possibly store.

Things to consider:-
1. Does it need water to reconstitute it or does it already contain water.
2. Can it be eaten straight from the packet.
3. Can it be eaten hot or cold.
4. Is it lightweight enough to carry a reasonable distance.
5. What is its shelf-life.
6. Can it be preserved in some way.
7. Can it be re-packaged in to smaller storage containers.
8. How much space does it take up to store it.
9. How many calories does it contain.
10. Does it contain vitamins, nutrients, fats etc.

Above ALL else - Do you like the taste of it?

The Iron Rations I am reffering to are the classic British Army Ration Packs. They are available from most decent Army Surplus Stores. They have an indefinate shelf-life as most ex-British Forces here can testify to. TIP: If you can find any of the various Rat Pack menus, you could easily make one up yourself from scratch, though ''cheese possessed'' might be hard to find.

reply to post by Wotan


Maybe I am wrong but I would think that the lesser palatable items would be better. At least that way you don't eat up all of your supplies just because they taste good.

reply to post by pieman


Do you know the proper ratio for mixing the honey with flour and rice to preserve and transport?

I think this is a grand idea if you have to bug out you don't have to worry about carrying a huge bag of rice or flour. You can just make little cakes that you can reconstitute for use at another time, but it push comes to shove you can eat it as is.

As someone already said,store enough just to keep you going while in the meantime grow your own veggies,herbs there are also alot of medicinal herbs you can grow,that can treat all sorts of things from boosting immune system,rashes,treat severe pain..never ending supply and it doesnt cost much to get started.Of course flour is essential and you probably wont have enough space to grow grains so stock up on that,sugar can be left out and grow a stevia plant instead.

[edit on 16-1-2009 by Solomons]