• Post Reply Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic
permaculture forums growies critters building homesteading energy monies kitchen purity ungarbage community wilderness fiber arts art permaculture artisans regional education skip experiences global resources cider press projects digital market permies.com pie forums private forums all forums
this forum made possible by our volunteer staff, including ...
master stewards:
  • Carla Burke
  • Nancy Reading
  • r ranson
  • John F Dean
  • Timothy Norton
  • paul wheaton
  • Jay Angler
stewards:
  • Pearl Sutton
  • Anne Miller
  • Tereza Okava
master gardeners:
  • Christopher Weeks
gardeners:
  • M Ljin
  • Matt McSpadden
  • Megan Palmer

Preserve 1 million calories at the Harmon house

 
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
4.5 pints of cherry jelly. 800 calories each makes 3,600 cal
20250804_140719.jpg
Cherry jelly
Cherry jelly
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Earlier this year, during cherry season, I canned a lot of syrup. Here are 7 pictured quarts. Plus 2 quarts of pie filling. Google estimates each at 2,240 calories. 20,160 cal

More cherry jelly, 5 pints, 5,000 cal.

And 5 pints of apricot jelly, 770 cal. Each
3,850 cal

29,010 cal this post
20250715_160446.jpg
7 quarts of jelly, 2 quart pie filling
7 quarts of jelly, 2 quart pie filling
20250711_085346.jpg
Cherry jelly
Cherry jelly
20250803_095204.jpg
Apricot jelly
Apricot jelly
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Likes 3
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
And that means!!! I rolled over halfway a million calories! 🤩 total currently is 517,26 calories.
 
pollinator
Posts: 859
Location: Appalachian Foothills-Zone 7
216
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Incredible work!  What percentage of your food do you think you grow/hunt?
 
pioneer
Posts: 261
53
cat trees urban
  • Likes 2
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Rebekah Harmon wrote:And that means!!! I rolled over halfway a million calories! 🤩 total currently is 517,260 calories.



Is this for one or two years? Very impressive!
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Gray Henon wrote:Incredible work!  What percentage of your food do you think you grow/hunt?



What percentage of these meals I show here? Or over all? And would you count food I harvest from neighbors? I often get potatoes or lettuce or apples from people in my small town. They dont count as foraging for the permies SKiP foraging badge.

My family's food overall includes more purchased food. But I grow food amd forage 3 seasons of the year. I'd say a fourth of my plate is usually a local fruit and or vegetable. I eat more foraged greens and stuff that I don't serve my whole family. More than half of the meat we eat is raised or hunted. So maybe another fourth. In the fall, the percentage is probably higher, since I'm harvesting a lot more local food. Last September, I ate only local food, and I showed that on youtube.

For the sake of this bb, I show off 90% local foods, but that's not every meal I serve. I'm not showing the Costco chicken or pizza every Friday. It would be an interresting project to count each plate!🤣😂
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Likes 4
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator

Ac Baker wrote:

Is this for one or two years? Very impressive!



It's taken me a season and a half, so far, to count up the calories in this thread. Hopefully, I finish one million calories by the end of this year, which would make 2 years.  🤩

It's a BIG goal! I dont think anyone calculated, but this 1,000,000 calories, divideded into one year is 2,000 calories a day! Or 20,000 a week. Most people haven't preserved that much.
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
9 pints of peach jam, at 2,000 calories per pint, is 18000 calories
20250910_205818.jpg
Jam
Jam
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
It takes about 3 lbs. Of apricots to fit on one freeze dryer tray. These have been frozen and waiting to be dried when I took the time. 9lbs. Apricots, 5lbs cherries, before pitting.
About 2,000 cal for the aprocots,
And 1700cal for the cherries
20250911_080812.jpg
Loaded freeze dryer
Loaded freeze dryer
20250911_081609.jpg
Stored in mylar bags
Stored in mylar bags
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I noticed the last of the grapes ripened up. Enough for 9 cups of juice, which made 3 pints of low sweetener jelly. 600cal each, that's 1800cal
20250912_154301.jpg
Grape jam
Grape jam
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Likes 1
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
540670 cal right now
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Elderberry season! Got another batch of syrup processed. 500cal per pint is 4,000cal
20250915_191533.jpg
Elderberries from one bush, blue and black
Elderberries from one bush, blue and black
20250924_083027.jpg
8 pints of elderberry syrup
8 pints of elderberry syrup
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
The last 5 pints of jam. The last of the peaches. 800cal per pint is 4,000.
20250916_150409.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20250916_150409.jpg]
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
7 quarts of common native plum syrup, also known as potawatame plum, which one of my kids nick-named hippo syrup.

Google estimates 2500 to 2900 per quart. Since I boiled mine down before sweetening this time, I'm going with the higher count. 20,300 cal.
20250926_083000.jpg
Hippo syrup
Hippo syrup
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Iwas out of honey to finish more canning for the season. So I bought more, 12 gallons! This is local honey, purchased at a farmers market.

I used the honey to finish 3.3 gallons of fire cider I had been brewing. The herbs are all local, including homegrown or foraged:
Horseradish,
Garlic,
Seaberries,
Rosemary,
Sage,
Bee balm,
Cayenne pepper,
Onion
Thats 52.8 cups, times 450cal per cup. 23,760 cal.
20250922_115731.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20250922_115731.jpg]
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
Over 600,000 calories now!!

Recalculating through to check for math errors. Plus, I counted more than 100,000cal for frozen foods. Without them, I'm only at 584,666cal actually. Until I decide what else to do with the turkeys.
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I processed 2 gallons of little barley for another bb. The calorie count for it is 4,632 calories, since each cup is estimated at 193cal.
20250914_161850.jpg
[Thumbnail for 20250914_161850.jpg]
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I used the same plums to make jelly with my new honey! Im totally out of jars now, using weird reused ones, including a pickle jar! 44 cups here. Thats 23,760cal! 😯
IMG_20250928_074035.jpg
44 cups of plum jelly
44 cups of plum jelly
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
It's the end of spud season near me. Im putting all the spuds to bed. These, like last year, came from a local organic spud farm. I was given 200 pounds of gleaned potatoes again.

I keep 50 or so pounds in the house at a time. My family can go through this many in a month or two! These 70 lbs. Have been sorted and are big enough and unspoiled so that they will perform well in long term storage.

I store them in sprinkler boxes, separated by layers of fresh straw, and covered in straw bales on top. They last 6 months this way before getting gangly.

I packed 63,000 cal of taters last year. This year, 50#, or 18,000 cal have already been stored. This is 70#, more than enough to make it the 19,000 calories I have left of calories I can put towards my 100,000cal max of one type of food.

19,000cal
20250929_163140.jpg
32 lbs
32 lbs
20250929_163247.jpg
41 pbs
41 pbs
20250929_164929.jpg
Spuds, being packed away
Spuds, being packed away
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I got feedback from my kids that I  need to sweetening the fruit leather a bit more. So 1/4c sweetener per tray now adds a few calories.
This batch is flavored with garden huckleberries, or American nightshade.
9 trays times 650cal is 5,850cal
20251002_180435.jpg
9 more trays of fruit leather
9 more trays of fruit leather
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I looked back through my totals and noticed I already had 100,000 cal counted towards my freezer allotment before I froze the turkeys. So I subtracted their 30,000cal from my total for now. Until I do something different with them. Canning them?

Anyways, my total currently is 637,908. 😁
 
Rebekah Harmon
Apprentice Rocket Scientist
Posts: 1110
Location: 4a, high mountain dessert
528
4
kids foraging rabbit fiber arts medical herbs bee
  • Mark post as helpful
  • send pies
    Number of slices to send:
    Optional 'thank-you' note:
  • Quote
  • Report post to moderator
I uploaded Jerusalem artichokes into the underground storage today, too. 59.7 lbs. In these pictures is about 20,000cal.
20251003_120241.jpg
One load of sunchokes
One load of sunchokes
20251003_120358.jpg
Second load
Second load
20251003_180300.jpg
Tucking the tubers away in the straw. Look how full my little storage unit is now!
Tucking the tubers away in the straw. Look how full my little storage unit is now!
 
When people don't understand what you are doing they call you crazy. But this tiny ad just doesn't care:
permaculture bootcamp - gardening gardeners; grow the food you eat and build your own home
https://permies.com/wiki/bootcamp
reply
    Bookmark Topic Watch Topic
  • New Topic