Hi Everyone,
NOTES:
* Equipment for preserving food is not outrageously expensive. If you want to “can” vegetables, you need a pressure canner. This one will work fine.
Presto 01781 23-Quart Pressure Canner and Cooker: Home & Kitchen about $150
You can also dehydrate A LOT of food. You want a dehydrator that blows from the back, NOT one that blows from the bottom up.
Cabela’s has one for $150. Cabela’s 10-Tray Deluxe Dehydrator | Cabela’s
Finally, you will want a vacuum sealer to preserve your food.
I got a FoodSaver at Walmart for about $75.
I decided what I wanted, saved up, and bought them one at a time over several months.
* Worried about the power going out? Need a cheap stove to cook on? Check these out: 13 DIY Emergency Stove Tutorials | Urban Survival Site
* Did you forget to put your crock-pot dinner in? Now you want to just put it in the oven? Or….. how can you convert an oven recipe so that it can go in the crockpot?
**** 1-1.5 hours on high or 4-6 hours on low equals 30 minutes in the oven.
**** 2-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low equals 45 minutes in the oven
****4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low equals 1-1 1/2 hours in the oven.
A slow cooker makes its own moisture and does not reduce a liquid like a regular oven might. Not all recipes convert well. Pasta does NOT cook well in a slow cooker.
GARDEN HAPPENINGS
** Here is what I got from USU Extension for the month of May.
It’s time for your May gardening checklist. Below are some highlights, and the full May gardening checklist can be
found here.
- Plant warm-season vegetables and annual flowers once the threat of the last frost has passed. Click here for a listing of the average last and first frost dates.
- Thin out overcrowded seedlings using a pair of scissors, trying to avoid disturbing the young roots.
- Protect fruit blossoms and tender garden plants from late freezing temperatures. Click here for critical temperatures in fruit.
- Turfgrass needs minimal irrigation each week.
- Control broadleaf weeds in the lawn when temperatures are between 60-80°F. Follow the label and stop use of broadleaf herbicides once the temperature is above 85°F.
- Apply a slow-release lawn fertilizer to provide a long-lasting effect throughout the summer months.
- If pest problems are surfacing. Our Integrated Pest Management team keeps you up-to-date on when, how, and where to treat pests of all kinds.
New to gardening? Consider taking an online gardening course and use promo code “Grow5” for $5 off!
The USU Extension Gardening Team
THIS WEEK’S PURCHASE: flour
Why do we care about Ukraine? It so happens that Ukraine is the world’s largest wheat producer. This war will decrease their output by about 1/3. Add to that bizarre weather patterns of drought and floods and a historic fertilizer crisis, and no wonder that even the government is predicting a food crisis. In 2020, it was soap products and toilet paper. Now it has begun with baby formula and diesel fuel.
In light of all that, you may want to get a little flour. You might also want to stock up on things made with flour like pasta, and/or things you need to make bread like yeast.
MISC PURCHASE: fruit punch/lemonade
Heading into summer, this is always handy to have. AND….. in an emergency (and heaven forbid there is no Diet
Pepsi), I may want to sweeten my water with some flavoring. I like the large containers that run $7 – $10. May get one or two Tang, for a little Vitamin C.
FOOD STORAGE RECIPES
Hamburger Pie
from Wendi DeWitt
1 pint bottled beef
1 can corn
1 can green beans
1 can tomato soup
1 TB dried onions
Mix everything in a casserole dish and heat on the stove or in a solar oven.
At the same time, heat
3 c. water and
1 1/2 c. potato pearls (add water only type)
When the mix is hot, and the water is hot, add the potatoes to the hot water and put on top of the meat mixture.
Bean Burritos and Spanish Rice
1 can refried beans
Cheese if you have it
Flour Tortillas Recipe
3 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
Mix dry ingredients.
3/4 c. shortening – cut in with fork or pastry cutter until crumbly.
Add 3/4 c. very hot water and mix until the dough comes together. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic. In a bowl, cover with a slightly damp dishtowel and let sit for an hour. Divide dough into 5-6 equal pieces and roll into a ball. (If you are making soft taco-size tortillas, divide them into 10-11 pieces).
Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll balls into a thin, round tortilla. Warm on a dry skillet for about 1 minute. Flip and cook on the other side.
Spanish Rice
1/3 c. oil – heat in large frying pan on med heat.
1 1/2 c. white rice – Add and cook until golden brown.
1 chicken flavored bouillon cube (1 tsp)
4 1/2 c. water – add to rice
1/2 c. tomato sauce (I usually use catsup)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic
dash cumin
dash pepper
Stir and cover the pan. Let simmer on VERY low for 40 min-1 hour.
Marti
First, the plant “stretches”. This is referred to as “bolting”. This lettuce is starting to bolt.
This is just one of a few diseases that tomatoes are susceptible to. (Ugh, I hate ending sentences in prepositions.) “It is Septoria leaf spot, a fungal disease that affects the leaves, typically toward the bottom of the plant.” The disease spreads from wind or splashing water. It is HIGHLY contagious!!! It can be prevented (oops, too late!) and somewhat controlled. 1. Pick off the affected leaves. This is what I’ve been doing because only a few plants are infected (that I can see). 2. Try to keep the leaves dry by watering at the bottom. Trickle irrigation is best (yeah, I don’t have that). 3. Avoid watering in the evening so the leaves will “go to bed” dry. 4. Make sure there is room between plants so air can move in the foliage. I am NOT good at this. I want to squeeze as many plants as I can into a certain space. Luckily I’ve planted in pots and bags, so I’ll go out and see what I can space apart. 
** I took my own advice and bought three 15-lb bags of potatoes. I did one bag in jars and got 18 jars, and had enough diced potatoes for another 3-4 jars. But my canner only holds nine jars, and I didn’t want to do another batch. So I decided to dehydrate the rest, along with the other two 15-pound bags.
We would only have to go a week or two without trash services, and we would be in trouble. I can’t begin to imagine how much trash a city produces a week. You can easily store a few hundred trash bags on a shelf in the garage. Start slow and get one extra-large box. Then another one next week. Also, think about getting some small trash bags (like you would put in the bathroom trash can). If you have no water, that means no sanitation. You might have to dispose of your sanitation necessities daily. Small trash bags will work. If you use kitty litter in them, you can get by using them several times before having to dispose of them. 
I found two earwigs on two different plants, so I sprinkled everything with Sluggo Plus. (It’s good for slugs, earwigs, and roly-polies).
dehydrated hash browns in little milk carton containers from Costco. Each little container had a 2-3 person serving. We took them camping and they worked perfectly! 
I decided to take my own advice and just bought potatoes at Costco. 15 lb. for $10
* People are always talking about 
We are a divided household. Craig likes smooth. For me, the more nuts the better. So, I store both. But because nuts have oil, they WILL go rancid. Try to keep in a cool location, and ROTATE!!! I just bought two jars last week. I think I have 1-2 additional jars. We don’t go through it fast, although Craig likes PB on his pancakes and waffles. I have had to throw it away in the past when I waited too long to use it. 
store. If the seeds are in a gooey part of the vegetable (tomatoes), then just soak them in water for 2-3 days, drain them, and dry them on paper towels. Tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and many other seeds can be saved this way. 
The best gardening thing I ever did was to buy a “Leafy Greens” course. Since that time, I have had a continual lettuce garden going. Here is today’s harvest. The milk is for comparison so you can see I’ve used my LARGEST bowl for the lettuce. I get this much lettuce EVERY week. I give lots away and have a friend who buys a big bag every 2-3 weeks.
You can see that we drilled holes in the plastic for drainage, and the water just goes right through the felt. Then I filled the tub with dirt and transplanted all the little lettuce plants.
this one has baby sprouts coming up. The secret to ALWAYS having lettuce is to rotate the tubs. I have 8 tubs. Every three weeks, I pull out the oldest lettuce and replant new. I haven’t bought lettuce for about 2 1/2 years. Eating different colors gives you different nutrients. I LOVE knowing I have something fresh to eat EVERY day!!! 
plenty of pasta, even though the price has gone up about 10%. Just take $20 and get 15-18 pounds of pasta (whatever you eat the most). Date it and then find a way to store it. I always vacuum seal mine because well….. I have a vacuum sealer, and pasta tends to get pantry moths if I don’t. You can seal it in mylar bags, or buckets with tight lids. If it’s small pasta like small macaroni or shells, you could even put it in empty, clean 2-liter bottles.
This comes from SOS Foundation 
Those white squiggles in the leaf are caused by a leaf miner. They get in between the layers of the leaf. As a result, sprays don’t really work on them. You have to pinch off the leaf, then take it far away from your garden. I usually bring it in the house and throw it in the kitchen trash because I know it will be bagged up and taken out in a day or two. If you leave them in your garden, the leaf miner will lay eggs, which will hatch and cause more damage. They really like my tomatoes, but I watch for them on all the vegetables.
that’s a temporary fix. Here is a good idea. 
They are “grow bags”, made out of heavy material. I really liked the 7-gallon size, and I also bought some 10-gallon bags. 
After a year of growing food, the looked like this:
So, I emptied a big container, filled it with water and 1 c. bleach, and set the bags to soak. 
There is a little sun bleach, but they look so much better. They are now ready for new plants. The cost of pots is outrageous! And the plastic ones are only good for one or two years, then they start breaking. I’m VERY happy with my grow bags. 
I hope you have at least begun to store some food. I worry about what is coming. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints USED to call this part of provident living: Emergency Preparedness. Do you know that name has been changed? It is now called Emergency Response. The time for preparing is almost over. Here is a copy of my chart 
toiletries, soap, flashlight, matches, 3 days food, knife, mess kit, washrag and soap, TP, emergency blanket, notepad and pencils, scriptures, playing cards, small cooking stove, trash bags, feminine items, water filter bottles, Silcock key, cash, family photos, first aid kits
opener, vitamins, seeds, alcohol, medical gloves, face masks, batteries, trash bags, tin foil, plastic wrap, water, toilet paper, lip balm, hand lotion, over-the-counter medicines
* This is an 8-part series from the BBC on how daily life in Britain during WWII. This particular episode talks about how people grew food and cooked. 
This is our last week to focus on rice. It’s something that will last for 30+ years and is easy to rotate into your regular menus. You can usually buy a 20-pound bag for under $10. Rice is a haven for pantry moths, so you HAVE to store it properly for the long term: either in 2-liter bottles, buckets, or Mylar bags, or just vacuum sealed (I have some of all those things!). Plus, it’s gluten-free. 
I’m not saying you need to learn how to do this. Back in the ’70s, we didn’t have the option of freeze-dried foods or canned chicken. But it IS an option if canning meat or purchasing meat is not in your budget – AND you just happen to have an overabundance of wheat stored. 