With the potato shortage in the news I just ordered a case of potato flakes from LDS. Cheapest I could find. I've ordered many things from them in the past and have never been disappointed. The only down side is their cans have no plastic lids and replacement lids for #10 cans are had to find. LDS no longer sells them.
Judy
I've noticed that the potatoes that I buy at Sam's and Walmart have gone way down in quality. I buy a 15 lb. bag every two weeks. They have always lasted, but now they rot before I can use them all. I've stocked up on canned potatoes, potatoes flaked and diced in # 10 cans, box potatoes, and those packets of mashed potatoes. I wish we could grow potatoes here, but we've never had any success.
I've noticed that the potatoes that I buy at Sam's and Walmart have gone way down in quality. I buy a 15 lb. bag every two weeks. They have always lasted, but now they rot before I can use them all. I've stocked up on canned potatoes, potatoes flaked and diced in # 10 cans, box potatoes, and those packets of mashed potatoes. I wish we could grow potatoes here, but we've never had any success.
We really don't eat much in the way of potatoes, but the potato flakes will add calories and bulk to other foods. I have some spinach powder that I sneak into DH's foods, he'd die if he knew. I've add a couple of T's of potato flakes to some of the soups I make for myself and can't even taste them.
Prepping isn't just about food these days. such true words Kathy. So many areas we need to know what we are doing. DH is showing me how to run the electric log splitter (I know electric won't work with a grid down situation, but it was much cheaper than the gas powdered one and it works for us now.) Neither one of us can pull the string to start the gas powdered chain saws, we have both an electric one and a battery powdered one. He did buy a new ax the other day, he broke the handle on his older one.
Judy
We really don't eat much in the way of potatoes, but the potato flakes will add calories and bulk to other foods. I have some spinach powder that I sneak into DH's foods, he'd die if he knew. I've add a couple of T's of potato flakes to some of the soups I make for myself and can't even taste them.
Prepping isn't just about food these days. such true words Kathy. So many areas we need to know what we are doing. DH is showing me how to run the electric log splitter (I know electric won't work with a grid down situation, but it was much cheaper than the gas powdered one and it works for us now.) Neither one of us can pull the string to start the gas powdered chain saws, we have both an electric one and a battery powdered one. He did buy a new ax the other day, he broke the handle on his older one.
Judy
Grow them in a container. If we can grow them in the Tampa Bay region, I'm pretty sure you can do the same thing in the Mississippi regions. Trick is to keep them watered without watering too much and them rotting. And to keep the frelling possums, coons, and armadillos out of them. And the squirrels from digging them up. And the nematodes … oh heck, just grow 'em in big pots or half barrels or industrial strength garbage bags. My sons done pretty well with those methods.
Cary loves his potatoes. He would eat them 3 times a day if I made them for him. We tried for years to grow them ourselves. Nothing ever worked. We grew them in regular garden space, raised beds, stacked tires, and different containers. The last year we tried was in a raised bed. The plants were so healthy looking. We just knew we were going to have a good crop. As we began digging them, I noticed that each and every potato had been eaten on by something. Eaten while they were underground! Lost the whole crop because of that. We never could figure out what had eaten them. The potatoes were covered in little tiny white insect like creatures that apparently live underground in the soil. That was two years ago, and we haven't tried since. Now, I can't even buy potatoes at the grocery store without them rotting, before I use them up in just two weeks time.
There are bags made specifically for growing potatoes and I've seen from https://www.survivalplus.com/a-garden-in-a-basket/. It was alson an article in Mother Earth News from Kurt Saxon. I just might try this myself this spring. Seems cheap enough.
Judy
There are bags made specifically for growing potatoes and I've seen from https://www.survivalplus.com/a-garden-in-a-basket/. It was alson an article in Mother Earth News from Kurt Saxon. I just might try this myself this spring. Seems cheap enough.
Judy
You've got those planters looking really good, 20Gauge! A lot of time, effort, and money, I'm sure are going into building them. They should be permanent, though.
Cary is in the process of taking down all of our raised beds. Probably will take him all winter to get them all. We built ours out of treated lumber, and they have begun to rot after all these years. Instead of replacing the beds, we'll have our whole backyard to have a garden. Gives us more growing space. That's if we have a garden anymore. Age and health are big factors for us both.
Here is a picture of the new planter. I have it covered with a tarp so that the weeds will get killed off before I add the frame and stone.
The other picture is of the last one I completed. We planted the tabasco plant about 6 weeks ago. It is already nearly 3ft tall and is beginning to flower. This was not expected to say the least.
What do you fill those planters with? I've been thinking that -- as bad as my back has been -- I need to go to a raised bed with sides like that. I was thinking of building wood beds on legs, but I know they wouldn't last very long. Cement blocks would be much better.
Kathleen
This is why we are building the planters in the form they have. As we will have a concrete walkway in between each, we can use ladders and if needed walkers safely. The whole design is to allow us to continue gardening long after we can no longer bend over to till the ground as before.
It is a combination of several ideas, greenhouse, no till gardening, using planter beds, overwintering, etc.
IF and it is a big IF this works, we will have 30+ years of gardening. Side note, each planter costs about $500. As it now stands, each one has paid for itself in less than two years.
I have included a picture of the turkeys we have in the yard the other day. Just for fun!! LOL
I swear those turkeys look like what i see on a regular basis at our BOL. Of course it is up in north Florida and is more similar to Georgia than our AO is which is tropical. I love it when the turkeys are out and about. I catch them congregated up in trees sometimes too. I keep forgetting the wild ones can fly a bit just like the chickens my grandmother had in KY that would roost in trees over a hen house any day. LOL
I figured that all meat prices would be going up with the pig shortages, so I planned to stock up on canned dog food. I wanted 6 flats, they only had 4. Bought all the Spam they had and stocked up on PB. I was really late doing my normal Oct. Stocking trip, but it was just too hot. I still have to go to Walmart for the rest of it, maybe tomorrow, if it's not pouring rain.
Does anybody besides me think they have switched to pop top lids on things so that they won't store as long?
I also got a bale of hay this morning. I love my hay people, I really do! They gave me one of the extra large bales they usually keep for their own use. I can't get it off the truck though...
The blocks are laid on to a foundation. Then loose laid, even out and straightened. I then fill every other cell with concrete and push a pvc pole into it to tie it together. The other cell is just ruble. I build a frame of pvc and chicken wire to keep deer out. The bottom 12 inches is gravel, the rest is good soil.
I will run water into the planter from underneath and then place a shut off valve. The irrigation is just 40 sch pvc with really small holes. Works real good. Large holes allow to much water out so the distribution is not even at the ends.
I lastly top the blocks with a 50 50 mortar and sand topper. Just trowel it to your liking.
Note I learned to use 6 by 8 by 16 blocks. Saves concrete as 1 60lb bag can do 2 cells
The blocks are laid on to a foundation. Then loose laid, even out and straightened. I then fill every other cell with concrete and push a pvc pole into it to tie it together. The other cell is just ruble. I build a frame of pvc and chicken wire to keep deer out. The bottom 12 inches is gravel, the rest is good soil.
I will run water into the planter from underneath and then place a shut off valve. The irrigation is just 40 sch pvc with really small holes. Works real good. Large holes allow to much water out so the distribution is not even at the ends.
I lastly top the blocks with a 50 50 mortar and sand topper. Just trowel it to your liking.
Note I learned to use 6 by 8 by 16 blocks. Saves concrete as 1 60lb bag can do 2 cells
I always lock that bottom row of blocks to the foundation >>> a drilled hole into the foundation and then a piece of 3/8 rebar driven in - fillin that cell with a bit of concrete around the rebar ....
I just lay the first row on the wet concrete. It works perfectly. It is not a retaining wall or under any great stress. Then again I am not in an earthquake area.
looks like you have the corner blocks laced - that'll help with the pressure - above ground containers like yours are under alot of pressure to expand - usually what happens to the wood construction types ....
Yesterday two boxes from Amazon arrived, both with canned goods. One box was okay but the canned chicken in it was wrapped in a case so damage would have been difficult, although there was a small bottle of tea tree oil that had half leaked out. The other box had no packing either but the cans were loose and half of them were dented. CS initially said I would have to return the damaged cans and I said that was rediculous (sp) that I have prime, she put me on hold and came back and said they would refund the entire order but would not replace them, that I could reorder. They are replacing the tee tree oil. I did tell her that these boxes must have been packed by the robots.
This combined with all the problems I've had with deliveries from Walmart that part of the time never show up I'm considering not online ordering canned goods. Its so convinent (sp) when the orders come intact, but frustrating when half the order is damaged.
Judy