Food Prep and storage. This is where I love to invest my time and resources for the future. I started with buying bulk bags from our
local coop. If you purchase in bulk there is a substantial discount. You can purchase a year or two supply of bulk foods you will never have to grow in a field. It is already done for you and readily available. I have purchased and experimented with different storage techniques and it is amazing how long you can store grains beyond the suggested expiration date. I also created an
underground storage tank to hermetically seal large quantities of grain for the future. I am thinking 25-50 years, and if not for myself, then for those in the future who may be in need to start a new beginning. So, thinking beyond your limited one lifetime parameters really opens the mind to its potentials.
THE TANK: 8x20 stainless steel milk tank buried in the ground with a Bayer Marine flush deck hatch for the opening. First I cut a hole in the side to be able to load 50 gallon drums full of grains and other essential for the future. I painted the inside with a blue primer/paint that was very expensive to buy. I can't remember the name, but it is a rust proof sealant that looks really good in blue too. I loaded 16 50 drums with bulk grains and rechecked them 10 years later. The sealed containers had fresh and beautiful grains as if they were new. So, I have things in 50 gallon drums and in 5 gallon buckets. The drums of food are for 30 years future forward. The
bucket of food are for 5-10 years forward.
THE GRAINS: I purchased one Ton Hard Red Winter Wheat Organic, non-hybred, non-GMO from Montana. Wheat will last forever. It has been found in Egypt and still was able to be sprout. With living wheat, you can do many things for a long time to come. It will sustain you when your garden fails during a catastrophic disaster. It was the first thing I purchased when learning about food storage. No special treatment but to put it in sealed containers to keep the mold and bugs out. It is the easiest and most economic thing to do. The next thing I purchased was 300 lbs different kinds of Rice, 500 bls of different kinds of beans and lintels. They are very cheap and all you have to do is put it in the bucket or bin. It never goes bad. You do not have to use oxygen packets to remover the air. I have sprouted beans that were 10 years old to convert the carbs in to sugar before cooking. They are just fine. Again, I will never eat them all, but I was thinking more of feeding the community a natural disaster. I then stared experimenting with specialty grains like quinoa and amaranth and other ancient grains. Some I have sealed in "seal a meal" for 10 years and counting. They never go bad. I have hard oats, barley and that is about it for the grain. I never have to think about running to the store and I never have to worry that I will not have anything to eat. I can also supply neighbors if the Earth goes Off GRID.
Sustainability is my Key to the future. So now that I have all the grains secured is like having LIFE INSURANCE for you, your family and the future. The act makes you preservable in and of itself.
CANNING: Now, I have also become a great canning advocate putting up 99 quarts of fruit, veggies and soups this fall. I canned from August to October sometimes gleaning from local farms. You can also purchase 1 extra can of food at the marked to put away. Now, sometime you may not have a lot of cash. So, I have gone to food banks and collected cans they give away there. Sometimes people don't want the cans they recieve, I take them and put them in a box and store it away. My goal is to start with 6 months supply of food, extend that to 1 years, until I have 2 years of food stored and put away. Now, I don't eat a lot of canned food, so I have had to recycle those cans and get some more when I have had them a while. Because you don't want to eat bad food if you had nothing else to eat, right?
Freeze Dry: For a time I was a freeze dry food consultant selling THRIVE foods. I was able to obtain and store 50 cases of freeze dried food in my "Tank" I also gave away about the same amount to people who did not have any way to purchase them. Part of my commission was free food, so I kept it all and gave it away.
FROZEN: I have always had a freezer full of meat, but when the power goes out, what will you do? If you have a propane stove, you can start canning! I like to store things I can eat like, chicken, turkey and beef. I live in the Pacific Northwest and we have fresh salmon in season. But for the freezer, its beef and elk if I can get some. I am really shying away from freezing a lot of meat, simply because of the power outages and I would would like be able to sustain OFF GRID. so this year I am not freezing a lot of meat. Just enough to get through the winter. My back up is also having enough empty jars in case I need to can the meat. I just don't want to be dependent on a mechanical freezer for my life.
I have done all of this with out the introduction my own garden. Also, purchase 50 lbs of your favorite salt and other essentials "just in case"
So, now I am just about to purchase a 6 acre piece of property where I can create a sustainable garden that will produce food all year longs. The property was not for sale, but I knew it was what I was looking for and I approached the owners and they agreed!
I have one more thing to share at the moment. That after my last remaining parent passed away, I move to a valley (where I am buying the
land) and rented a place that is on a
dairy. So each week, I have fresh
raw milk and cream. I also drive Wednesday to pick up bread for the local coop, so I can get some fresh bread and milk each week. I would count myself very fortunate!
I am of European stock and love my wheat, milk and meat. I don't mind cutting out meat in the summer if I am on retreat and someone else is cooking microbiotically balanced meals. But in the winter, I am a true nomad consuming healthy hearty foods we were designed to eat. What will I do with all those beans and rice? Well, I suppose I would let someone else have them, but the whole point of the exercise was to become sovereign and sustainable while having enough to give to others.
Now, on to "SHAMBHALIN GARDENS 2021" for my
Permaculture Food Forest Botanical Park
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