D Nikolls wrote:Thinking about food security related gear & projects...
A few fairly obvious projects jump out. If you have a bunch of them, are you happy with your prioritization?
THE LIST, in no particular order:
Greenhouse
Dehydrator, in my case solar
Root cellar
Butcher setup; workspace and coolroom for hanging meat
Intensive outdoor canning setup & supplies
Chest freezer/s
Freeze drier
When I read "food security", my first thought was perennial foods on my property, plus seeds for sowing annual crops. That by far is my "Number One". But as I read your post more thoroughly, I understand that you're talking about food preservation tools? What a great topic! It got me thinking about my own list:
Greenhouse--where I am, I don't have a greenhouse. I've had mixed success with row covers. We have a long enough growing season that I can start most of my early seeds indoors. I harden them off as the weather warms.
Dehydrator--in my case, I have two electric ones. Our climate is very humid, so I don't think solar dehydrators would be beneficial. I do often put trays of herbs and tender veggies on the dashboard of my van on hot days. Works great!
Root cellar--I've never had one. I've made do with our workshop. Not ideal, but serves our purposes for the time being.
Butcher setup--we aren't zoned for livestock, so the only butchering we've done here at our current homestead is chicken and line-caught fish. Easy enough to do outside. If we were gifted with venison, we'd probably be a sight to our neighbors getting it hung. (Meh...they already think we're crazy...but we'd offer them a few steaks to maintain good relations, LOL)
Intensive outdoor canning--I have two pressure canners, plus a couple of water bath canners. They are easy enough to move to our large 2-burner outdoor propane stove. We also have a propane turkey fryer.
Chest freezer--we don't currently own one. We've considered getting another one. Our concern is that during an extended power outage, I'd have to utilize my previously mentioned outdoor canning in a big hurry!
Freeze drier--a girl can dream, right?!
A skill I'm still developing that I think is important to food security is seed saving. I'm focusing my efforts on crops that easily self-sow, but I need to hone my skills for crops I need to start manually.