Barbara Manning

Rebecca!  What an incredible project!  I love what you're doing to renovate the home.  I hope you can install RMH technology into the home. I wish I could have done it with mine, but I was dealing with a  home that was only 50 years old.  Sigh.

Anne Miller wrote:

Barbara Manning wrote:Rice is a food that you can store at room temperature or a bit lower for years, as long as it does

Brown rice has oils that go rancid.

True dat.  Perhaps we were using the brown rice at a much faster rate than I knew about.  Thanks for the correction.

thanks for the votes of confidence!  I appreciate it.  But I forgot to ask a most important question.  How long will you be storing all that rice?

To specifically answer your questions:
1. Can I store different kinds of rice in the same container?
Sorry, at first I thought you meant to mix different types of rice together in the same container.  Still, I would recommend against this option, unless you are using smaller plastic or glass container with tight-fitting lids to separate the rice, then putting those containers in your larger container. I would not put rice in the kind of plastic or paper bags you get at the grocer or buy online, and then store them in the larger container. Those bags are meant to be sold immediately, or within a shorter period of time than you want to store the rice. I would think that it would invite moisture and/or mold into the container. Don't overcrowd the larger container -- the lid has to have room to go on and remain tight-fitting for the duration.

2: how many of those packets per container?
I would not use them, especially if you are considering placing them in the container with the rice.  Most of them are not food-grade and can degrade. Here's some info on silica gel packs. . Just make sure you're buying food-grade packs regardless of the active ingredients if you're going to use them.  

I worked in a  Japanese restaurant for 8 years (on the east end of Long Island -- where it's hot and damp for about half the year). We regularly bought, unpacked and stored 3 types of rice in 5 or 6 30-gallon food grade containers stored in the not climate controlled basement of a 100-year old building. We did not use the packets you are referring to at all, although we did go through that rice in about 4 months.

Take a hard look at where you're seeing those packets in food storage. Chances are, you're seeing them in commercially prepared and refrigerated foods -- i.e. in environments where it's cool and damp-- like a refrigerator.  It's been my experience that those little packets draw moisture to them, but they don't necessarily keep the moisture away from the food they are touching. Consider using them in the storage room where you'll keep the rice, or in the larger container where you're storing rice in smaller individual containers, but not directly on or touching the rice.  Ask about the capacity to wick moisture from the air from the mfg of the desiccant as they vary from size and active ingredient.

3 does the container have to be filled to the top?
No, I don't think so. It's probably more important that the container is clean, dry and in good shape and that the lid fits snugly. By that I mean that small critters -- ants and other bugs won't be able to find a break in the seal, and the rats won't be able to lift the lid, or chew through the container.

Regardless, inspect the containers at least every 6 months or even every 3 months if they are in long-term storage.  Check for loose fitting lids (does the lid jiggle when you shake it?) and move the containers out of the storage area to inspect the back and bottoms of them for ah, chewing animals.

Rice is a food that you can store at room temperature or a bit lower for years, as long as it does not get wet.  Most of the rice you buy in stores was harvested years ago.  In Japan, we can buy a product called "New Rice", sold in the fall of the year that it's harvested. All the other rice in the store was harvested at least 3 and up to 5 years ago - sometimes longer.  

So, you can safely store your rice at room temperature in a well-ventilated (moisture-free-ish), light-free place with minimal temperature variations, like a root cellar or basement, in a clean, dry plastic or glass container with a tight-fitting lid.  It'd be good if you could store it off the floor -- like on a skid or on shelving units. Larger commercial food storage containers are usually on wheels -- that's good too.

Don't mix different rice varieties. Long, medium, and short grain rice cooks for different lengths of time, and will often use different volumes of water. If you mix them, you'll end up with some mushy rice while you wait for the harder grains to cook, or eating some uncooked rice.

I don't know anyone in Japan who stores rice in a refrigerated unit of any size. It might get moldy or buggy if it's improperly stored -- like in a hot, damp environment, or in plastic or paper bags, but no one on this side of the planet is storing rice in the 'fridge.

I'm blessed to be able to buy short-grain Japanese brown rice straight from the rice farmer.  It's great for storing, but I bought a rice polisher so that I could have white rice too. I store my rice in restaurant food-grade Cambro Containers, but I'm not storing the volume that you are. I gave you the link for reference. Depending on where you live, if you're close to a city with restaurants, ask at the City Hall who you should speak with about any local restaurant(s) up for auction.  You might be able to pick up large food-safe containers quite inexpensively that way.  

You have raised beds, right? And the weeds are in the raised beds, correct?

Try skimming these sites for ideas you can use.  I like the "smothering concept.
https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2019/07/natural-weed-control.html

Also try mulching the edges of the property where the weeds come over.

Iowa State has a lot of good ideas for weeding in vegetable beds.  Like this one:
A tea kettle is often a good way to safely and precisely apply boiling water directly to the weed. Use plenty of water and plan to retreat 7-10 days later, as one application rarely kills the entire plant, especially deep-rooted weeds.

Good Luck!

I

I want to help out.  I'd like to follow along with the booties with a pledge of $50.00

Good for you to take up such a wonderful hobby! If you can create that depth of roundness in the vase already, you are much better at it than many, many people.

I have two resources for you.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards will give you the drawing techniques learned in art school, but with a methodology that provides that information faster, clearer and in layman's terms.  I was privileged to take the course with her protégé in Japan many years ago. It was marvelous. In two weekends of study I learn an incredible amount. You are inspiring me to drag out the book, paints and brushes!

A Google search how to use watercolors provides a wealth of information including the relative toxicity of the paints.

Best of luck with this, and please continue to post your creations.  If I can find them, I'll post my "before and after" attempts at a self portrait.

I use a seasoned cast iron skillet and pour the batter into it without additional oil or grease. The batter cooks and releases easily for me, although you may find that the first pancake is tough to turn. I also use melted unsalted butter in the batter if it calls for it. If the skillet is well seasoned, you shouldn't have any problem with pancakes.