TOTM June, 2015 - Mistakes made, lessons learned

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by ghrit, May 31, 2015.


  1. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    "chopped up beef jerky (I use a large guillotine paper cutter) ..." Uncle. This made me laugh and then I thought, 'why didn't I think of that' =)

    Gardening, i love it everything is an experiment. What you can grow together, what you cant. And how to do it better next time. its my idea of fun =)

    I was living in Washington state (Walla Walla) newly out of college and I was going to grow pumpkins... they would get big and pretty, blossom and i would trim all of the blossoms back on a couple so I could have a huge jack o lantern in the fall. (we did this when I was growing up my mom even let one grow outside the garden and greased it so the local thieves could try and steal it. So funny to watch them trying to pick up that greasy 100 lbs plus pumpkin on halloween and throw it in a car)

    back to Washington. the vines kept dying. finally i was talking to my neighbor across the street, little retired Italian farmer, he told me the soil had a virus and once the wasps stung the blossoms it was all over within a few weeks. I never could grow pumpkins or squash on that plot unless i put them in a bucket on the porch so that they didn't contact the soil.

    @ditch witch Love the new shoes!

    @Brokor nice list! I have not tried the butter but I ordered some and some of the meat. Not a spam fan and I hate canning meat if I dont have too. Thank you for those resources.

    Have you tried any thing else of Mountain House that you liked besides the chicken Alfredo? I'm a 'make from scratch' person but sometimes you just need easy =)
     
    Last edited: Jun 1, 2015
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  2. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    I love the spaghetti and meat sauce (also the cheapest MH offers), all of their beef dishes (beef stew is awesome) are great but more costly. Lasagna is great, chicken and rice is okay, and for the price you can't argue. Those are my favorites. :)

    By the way, the Red Feather butter is like ghee, it won't taste like typical fresh butter, but it is smooth and very good. I wish they came in slightly smaller tins, personally -but it does keep a while after you open it.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2015
  3. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    My mistake was oatmeal. I read the books and listened to experts and put away whole oats. It has higher nutrition. I now realize that we do not eat or use old fashion oats. I now have been rotating out the old fashion and storing quick oats. Quick oats are easier for oatmeal bread, cookies and cereal. Same with beans. Experts say to store whole beans. Due to my elevation cooking beans is an all day affair and many times still kind of crunchy. I know I can pressure cook them but if my stove goes out, I do not feel safe putting a pressure cooker on the grill or over an open fire. I would like to try beans in a dutch oven but till that time I haven't bought any more beans. I have been storing away Thrive Instant Refried Beans.
     
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  4. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    I'm ok with ghee. You can cook with it easily and was thinking of ordering Thrive dried butter as a friend of mine says it's better than most but this looks better
     
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  5. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Who is your vendor?

    Thanks

    HK
     
  6. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

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  7. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Got it thanks. Ordered and on the way.

    FWIW, we purchase our pinto beans from the growers in New Mexico and Colorado. Always good, always cook into a soft tasty plate full of nourishment.
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2015
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  8. Ganado

    Ganado Monkey+++

    Don't forget the green chili from Hatch, NM. Or Portales peanuts [emoji7]
     
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  9. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Until a few years ago peanuts were a major crop around here. A lot of land around here that had been islands some 800K years ago was perfect in sand content. Chili? Easy to grow here, braid, hang up to dry.
     
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  10. NotSoSneaky

    NotSoSneaky former supporter

    Been canning meats for a while now. Biggest mistake was attempting to home can ground beef.
    Wet pack resulted in "liquid meat". (Bleech)
    Raw pack also resulted in liquid meat. (Yuck)

    Beef roasts cut into big chunks and raw packed OK but tends to lose texture, good for soups / stews.
    Pork cans beautifully be it raw pack with onions (best)
    or canned leftovers in broth. (still good)
    Turkey thighs - two deboned and skinned thighs to a wide mouth pint jar. Very good.
    White meat; raw pack or leftovers in broth both very good.
    Turkey wings ? Throw 'em in the smoker and eat 'em up soon. Too boney / fatty to can.
    Chicken; debone then raw pack or cooked then canned in broth, very good.
    All the above poultry holds texture & flavor beautifully !
    We're currently eating poultry and pork canned 18 months ago. No spoilage at all.
    Believe me we check the cans before & after opening !

    We also can our own veggies as well.
     
  11. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    By the way, the Grabill meats have a unique Julian date code, I can share if anybody is interested. Also, I am still using meats that are 3+ years past date, and it's still awesome.

    The first letter is the type of product: 'H' for hamburger, 'C' for chicken.
    The 2nd, 3rd and 4th positions are the Julian day.
    The last (5th-6th) position(s) is the year.

    Example:
    H2549 = Hamburger. September 11th, 2009

    Julian Calendar:
    Julian Calendar.
     
  12. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Mistake made: Accepting a free freezer from someone who assured me that it worked. Free is good. I plug in and let it run. It is cold and it froze a bottle of water. So I take all meat products from kitchen freezer and move them into my new used free freezer. More freezer space is good.

    So today go to take meat from my new used free freezer. I approach, I can hear it running, I lift the lid and it is not cold, it is not pleasant.

    Lesson learned- sometimes free is not good. Still debating if I should load the thing up meat & all and abandon it in the person's driveway.
     
  13. Yard Dart

    Yard Dart Vigilant Monkey Moderator

    Sorry Moto....that is a tough one!!!

    Just throw all the spoiled meat on their front door...:(
     
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  14. Motomom34

    Motomom34 Monkey+++

    Well I threw it out there because when prepping sometimes budgets don't allow for new everything so when buying used or receiving free make sure things work correctly. I have a rule to never buy anything that takes batteries and the seller doesn't have batteries so you can test it. I have been burned buying broken flash lights and stuff.
     
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  15. KAS

    KAS Monkey+++

    buying things i think i need or looks like it could be handy but then wind up buying alot of them ...
    Like 25 lanters or 5 old coleman stoves or 15 axe heads ... and the list goe on and then realizing i dont wanna fix this thing or for the money it cost to replace the globe on this lantern i can just go buy a new one ....
     
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  16. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    My mistakes in long term storage may have been taking place slowly for years, but when they finally reached their peak I was happy I wasn't there. Almost 1000 pounds of lead wheel weights in five gallon buckets stacked three high will move a tractor sideways on a dirt floor when they fall over. I learned the same thing with brass in half full buckets. Stack full ones about 4 high on top of a half full bucket and they'll punch right through the lid of the lower one. Won't tip over, but makes it really hard to get them apart.

    The solution is simple enough. Add two pieces of 1x2 lumber across the tops of the buckets. This has kept my lead stack solidly in place against the barn wall for more than a decade. Deep storage brass gets the same treatment, although a lid
    failure on brass buckets has never been much of an event.

    The next lesson learned is that now I'm too old to go lifting all these heavy buckets. That's where strong children come to the rescue.

    HD
     
    Last edited: Jun 17, 2015
  17. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Or hook up a simple chainfall from harbor freight. They cost about $35.00 for a 1/2 ton version, and make all that stacking stuff easy, if a little slower.
     
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  18. vonslob

    vonslob Monkey++

    OH man I wish I did not learn that, I eat a lot of canned salmon. Oh well I guess it will become dog food now.

    Of my most recent mistakes and lessons learned, do not purchase dollar store band-aids, they suck. I bought a dozen or so and they are garbage. They stay on for about an hour, forget trying to use them when working, duct tape or gas pipe tape works much better.

    @Brokor I have been curious about the red feather butter, will give it a try. Have been buying canned cheese from a middle eastern deli/market that I really like, it melts and tastes like velveta.
     
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  19. DKR

    DKR Raconteur of the first stripe

    We started by storing the basics - wheat, dry milk, salt, honey, cornmeal and so on. We added dried veggies. Took some time but we had a real solid base.

    Then - I got orders to move to Alaska. I found how much it would cost to ship my storage food. Ouch. Didn;t lose a lot of money, did lose all the time spent. Lesson - When planning, give at least some consideration to the fact that non-SHTF circumstances can change/occur and you may have no choice it what you can take or keep with you.

    So now we only keep on hand about 90 days worth of chow and weeks worth of heating fuel. If that isn't enough, our plan is to pack what will fit in the van and leave for our property in the SW.

    What did Heinlein say? You really own only that which you can carry in yours hands - at a dead run.....
     
  20. john316

    john316 Monkey+++

    WHAT BRAND OF SALMON DO YOU CAN AND WHERE MAY I BUY IT
     
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