Category Archives: Prepping

Daily Doings

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In the week since my last post I have celebrated another year around the sun. My birthday was fairly low-key but enjoyable. GMan and I had dinner at the local hotel and I was overwhelmed by the many celebratory messages from family and friends both near and far.

The soundtrack to our lives for the past several weeks has been the heavy machinery working on completely resurfacing a couple of kilometres of our road. It is the main truck route which bypasses the historic centre of town and some sections were in very poor condition so the upgrade is welcome. It should be finished within the next week or so.

These are a couple of views at the moment. It is all wet as the water truck had just been past. They are working hard to minimise the impact of dust on adjacent properties.

As you can see from the photos we are enjoying some glorious autumn weather but we know that winter is not too far away.

Hence, one of my activities today was to cook up a big pot of leek and potato soup. I bought a 5kg bag of local potatoes from the farm gate about 10 days ago so the soup was a perfect way to use quite a few of them. I bought 3 large leeks a few days ago.

Here they are sliced up and ready.

I like to have a stock of premade soup in the freezer as it is perfect for a quick lunch or evening meal in the cooler weather. I have a bunch of celery which will also be turned into soup. That could be a job for tomorrow.

Backyard Business

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When we moved to this house almost 3 years ago we downsized the land area from 1.5 acres to a 991 square metre block. While we did not utilise all of our land previously it was still a significant change. We have a long driveway as well as a shed so the usable space is not massive.

Nevertheless, we have more than enough space to grow some of our own food.

Yesterday I collected 17 passionfruit. The fruit are super sweet. This was in addition to a couple of similar hauls over the past few weeks and there are still dozens more on the vine. I scooped out the pulp and will freeze it.

Here is the result.

The passionfruit vine was here when we moved in but it did not amount to much. There were no fruit the first year and a few last year. The vine seems to have thrived in the past year despite no attention from us. We are now reaping the rewards.

The somewhat unexpected bounty of passionfruit led me to thinking about how much food you can produce in a relatively modest space.

This year I planted one Roma tomato plant which has been a raging success with over 20kg of tomatoes from this single plant. I managed to nurse it through the 40C+ heat in January and we are certainly nearing the end of the crop. The trellised archway provided the perfect support and allowed for plenty of airflow.

Of course, there were cherry tomatoes by the bucketful. Some have become passata, others tomato paste and there are multiple bags of them in the freezer which will go into winter casseroles or be turned into sauce.

The other summer success story has been the capsicums (bell peppers). I have had a couple of previous attempts over the years which have yielded small, green capsicums but nothing of note. These have been nothing short of amazing. I have harvested multiple large, fully red fruit and there are at least a dozen on the bushes. The main threat is the cooler autumn weather and the risk of the first frost which will finish them off in the blink of an eyelid. I am watching the forecasts closely and mentally designing a portable greenhouse to protect them for as long as I can.

You can see a red and a green capsicum in the foreground of the photo.

This morning I picked a bowl full of birdseye chillies. I removed the stalks and cut them in half lengthwise and here they are ready to go in the dehydrator. Once they are dried I will grind them to add to the jar of chilli powder.

We are not super-serious gardeners and put in only a minimum amount of effort yet we have been able to grow a variety of food across 2 distinct growing seasons – summer and winter. We have not grown all of these every year but this is a list of what we have grown here and gives an idea of the possibilities.

Grapefruit Cabbage Basil
Lemons Capsicum Chillies
Nashi pears Cauliflower Chives
Nectarines Cucumber Garlic
Oranges Eggplant Mint
Passionfruit Lettuce Olives
Raspberries Silverbeet (Chard) Rosemary
Rhubarb Snow Peas
Strawberries Spinach
Zucchini

According to AI this is our climate. It is absolutely accurate.

  • Climate Zone: Zone 6 (Mild Temperate).
  • Conditions: Mild temperate with distinct seasons, characterized by hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.
  • Temperatures: Summer high temperatures often around 30°C, with increasing days over 40°C, and winter temperatures with regular morning frosts and occasionally falling below zero.
  • Rainfall: Relatively low rainfall, generally under 600mm annually.

I hope to be a bit more consistent with my gardening efforts and expand the range, specifically to include beans, peas and possibly other things too.

Plans, Not Panic

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This is not an overtly political post, however, there is no doubt that the geopolitical events currently unfolding in the Middle East are going to have an impact on us all in one way or another.

I am interested to hear about what preparation and strategies you have in place. Have you considered how you will manage if fuel becomes limited, rationed or simply unavailable? What about food? Frozen goods, shelf stable supplies and home-grown produce?

Here are a couple of views of my pantry.

Luckily, it is autumn and the freezer is almost groaning with produce we have gathered and stored in various ways. I also did a big shop of bulk dry goods just a few weeks ago so the pantry is generally well-stocked.

The other thing to consider at all times but it is particularly relevant now is to make sure that food is not wasted. Leftovers can be turned into a whole new meal and some creative thinking might be required if ingredients run low. There are many websites that offer ideas of substitutions that can be made for specific ingredients.

This afternoon I saw a message to a local group asking if anyone was travelling to the next town (about 15km away) this evening and who might be interested in carpooling. This gladdens my heart immensely as it means people are thinking ahead about what they can do to make a difference as well as looking out for others in their community.

We have a small blessing as we are driving a hire car after my crash last month and it is a hybrid so less fuel required. We are also trying to minimise our travel and combine errands where possible. There is plenty to keep us occupied close to home and we are very fortunate to be able to catch the train to Melbourne if we wish with only a relatively short drive to the railway station in the next town.

I do have flights booked to travel interstate in about 6 weeks so I am hoping I am still able to do that. Yesterday, I received an email from Jetstar advising that my flight had been changed by about 10 hours – early morning instead of late afternoon. I expect that is as a result of the later flight possibly being cancelled. It is not a problem for me but the impacts are already starting to show.

I am mindful that the lack of fuel will have massive potential impacts in the farm and transport sectors so it is important that we all take whatever steps we can to minimise our personal usage. We should also try to be responsible for ourselves and look out for those less capable in our communities.

Rearranged and Ready

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While we were away on holidays in northern Europe there was a catastrophic bushfire which began less than 20km from our home. That was far too close for comfort. When we arrived home a couple of weeks later we decided to upgrade our vague evacuation plan. You can read about our initial response in this post from late January.

We have had some rain and are experiencing much more moderate temperatures so the bushfire threat is significantly reduced.

Anyway, yesterday I decided that I really needed to tidy up the 3rd bedroom. When we gathered up everything in case of another catastrophic fire risk we had it all stashed in that room.

I carefully resorted everything and decided on an arrangement that would allow us to keep things we use in their regular locations for the 9-10 months of the year when the risk of an emergency evacuation is minimal.

I have 2 emergency boxes stocked with detailed lists attached and a third box in which to collect a few other things in order to leave immediately if required. There is also a bag with 2 woolen blankets. These do get used on beds during the winters months but this is where I will store them during the summer and they form part of the emergency kit. I have lists of everything. These are all stored in the top of the linen cupboard which is located centrally in the house. It is funny that I still refer to it as a linen cupboard as there is more of other stuff than linen in it.

A close-up view.

I hope I never have to put this plan into action but I feel that I am as prepared as possible should the worst case scenario ever eventuate.

Harvest Happenings

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Even with a relatively small garden the late summer and early autumn harvests are enough to keep idle hands occupied.

We have 2 varieties of Nashi pear trees espaliered and we have had them netted for the past 3 months to allow the fruit to grow and ripen unhindered by our feathered friends.

Today we picked all of the fruit from one tree. 70 Nashi pears.

GMan has been busy for several hours peeling, cutting and slicing. We cooked them in batches in the microwave and they are now cooling before we freeze them. We use the lightly stewed fruit on our breakfast cereal.

The fruit from the other tree will need to be picked before too long. Meanwhile the tomato harvest continues. This all from a single plant. We have enjoyed generous serves of tomato in lots of meals over the past few weeks. I think I will need to dice and freeze some of them for use in casseroles and other cooking during the winter.

Additionally, the cherry tomato plants are now ripening so I am simply destalking and rinsing them and freezing in 1kg bags. I can see some sauce making in the not too distant future.

I’m Back

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After 5 weeks on holidays we have returned home. The change in weather has been quite a shock to the system. After 5 weeks in Europe where the temperatures were mostly below freezing we have come back to a heatwave in the middle of an Australian summer.

The risk of bushfire is ever-present in these conditions and unfortunately disaster befell a small community quite close to where we live while we were away. This weekend and next week are extreme fire danger conditions with a total fire ban across the entire state where we live.

While I had a pretty fair idea of my evacuation strategy, we decided to be a bit more proactive with our plans.

This is what we did:

Identify what we would take if we needed to leave
Prioritise immediate ‘grab and go’ stuff
Add things if time permitted
Locate as much as possible together in an easily accessible spot
Create checklists so that you are not relying on memory in a time of high stress

Ready to go.

Checklists

There are a few things that we would need to add but most of what we would take is set aside in the spare bedroom. It will remain like this for the next couple of months. Even after that most of it will not all be dismantled but stored in the top of the linen cupboard and reviewed well before next summer.

The other question is when do you leave and where do you go. The general guidance from the authorities here in Australia that it is best to leave early. As for where, it really depends on where the risk is coming from. It is important to be prepared to amend your plans as required.

In line with the theme of this blog, my task today was made considerably easier because my home is mostly decluttered and organised. I know what we have and where it is located.

Are you in a fire-prone area? What about other natural disasters? Do you have an evacuation plan?

Tinned Tomatoes

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You may remember this post from about a month ago. I bought 3 rather large tins of crushed tomatoes. I made sure that I had a plan for how to use/store nearly 3kg of crushed tomatoes once the can was opened. This is important to make sure that nothing goes to waste.

I opened one a couple of days ago and used 2 cups of it in a dish I was making. The remainder are now frozen in quantities which are a similar size to a regular 400g can of tomatoes.

Buying Basil

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Basil grows easily here during the summer and sometimes I am organised enough to make and freeze some pesto for use throughout the year.

However, I bought a large (800g) can of basil pesto a few weeks ago when I spotted it at Cheaper Buy Miles when were in Melbourne. There are several of these stores, predominantly in inner suburbs of Melbourne, where you can buy an amazing array of short-dated items.

Here is an image from their website.

You never know quite what you will find so it is quite an adventure. They often have a good selection of gluten-free and vegan foods, too.

Anyway, back to the basil pesto. I bought a 800g tin for $6 and based on the average price per 100g of basil pesto at Woolworths it is worth about $20!!

Of course, it can be quite daunting as to what to do with this kind of bulk quantity. I used some to make a creamy basil pesto and mushroom pasta dish for dinner the other night then I portioned the rest up in ice-cube trays and froze it.

I now have a bag of frozen cubes of basil pesto which will thaw quickly and easily for a multitude of uses.

Labour Intensive

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The last week of May ran away while I wasn’t looking so welcome to a new month and the first official day of winter here in the southern hemisphere.

Towards the end of last year I picked a good crop of garlic that I grew. In fact, I harvested 1.7kg of garlic. I have replanted some, given some away and used it as required for the past 6 months. There was still a substantial quantity left so I decided to make my own garlic salt.

I spent a good few hours carefully peeling and thinly slicing the cloves.

Here they are laid out on the racks and ready to go in the dehydrator.

15 hours later the pieces were dry and crunchy. Here is some of the results.

I then ground the dried garlic pieces to a powder and mixed them with an equal weight of salt.

This is the 300g of garlic salt which I now have ready to use in cooking as needed.

Although it was a fairly time-consuming project, I feel that this was definitely worthwhile.

Ready to Roast

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It almost 2 years since I wrote this post with a recipe for pumpkin soup. After a long, hot summer we are finally experiencing some slightly cooler days.

Like all of my cooking escapades there is plenty of room for variation. A couple of days ago GMan was baking a couple of loaves of sourdough bread so I decided to make use of the oven being on to roast the pumpkin while the oven was heating up to the temperature required for the bread.

Pumpkin wedges brushed with a mix of balsamic syrup and olive oil.

After roasting the skin peels off easily.

A pot of deliciousness.

We had soup for dinner and there were another 10 serves to go in the freezer for future meals.

It was a productive kitchen day as I had also made a new batch of spreadable butter, deyhdrated the pumpkin seeds and some root ginger which had been in the freezer for a couple of years and GMan made the bread.