frustratedearthmother
Sustainability Master
Woo hoo - what a great find!
Official SS Poll: What do you do to eliminate bills / cut down expenses?
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HomesteaderWife
Almost Self-Reliant
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2015
- Messages
- 179
- Reaction score
- 255
- Points
- 187
We really enjoy raising a garden each year, then canning and freezing the extras! It's also great to have your chickens and ducks for eggs- we love them so much.
lcertuche
Almost Self-Reliant
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2016
- Messages
- 980
- Reaction score
- 626
- Points
- 163
On way home, I stopped at our "Habitat" resale store. Occasionally some good stuff happens, not always BUT with wind I knew I was slowed for farm work. Take a look.
Glory be!! I find a dehydrator for $8.Not fancy, not all the bells and whistles but, looks to never have been used. It's box shows signs of sitting near a window for a long time judging from the sun fade on one side. Been wanting one but, $300 for an Excaliber was just not for me. I mean, I don't know if I will even WANT to use it often. This is a Ronco and a 3 tray model (no longer made, just 5 tray ones) and inside there were 4 trays. Heck the extra tray was $9.95 on the website. So, I download the book for the 5 tray -- same unit -- and I'm ready to roll, er to dry. If I like the effort, I can move on up to the bigger & better ones. Until then, el cheapo runs.
Also got 15 wide mouth pint canning jars, with rings for 25cent each. I buy when I find them.
OK, now I need to find something to dehydrate. There are some potatoes in the kitchen (they were free!) I'll whip out that mandolin slicer and make chips.
Wow, great score. I have a 4 rack Ronco dehydrator and it does a super job. I have been dehydrating all those bell peppers the church gave me. I love dehydrated foods. It takes up so little room and rehydrates wonderfully for most things. Some things like peppers and tomatoes I will grind into powder. Such concentrated flavor to add to recipes.
Mini Horses
Sustainability Master
Good to know they work well. That's what this one is.
So far, I haven't had time to even try this one. Hope to do so tomorrow as I will be home most of the day, at least enough to check on it occasionally. I have potatoes, a pineapple, apples and couple other things to try. Next Friday I'll be bringing home strawberries from a food demo and want to try those. This may work nicely.
A friend has 2 huge (!) fig trees and I love, love, love dried figs. Sure plan to have a lot of tem. She doesn't even like them, all mine.
How do you check temperature on yours? Or do you? It is adjusted by the vents on top/bottom but, any tips. I'm thinking a thermometer and just work with various vent sets. It can be used for making yogurt but, no directions, so I know temp needs to be roughly 110. I bet you could raise bred -- with some practice. This is where the expensive ones are nice.
So far, I haven't had time to even try this one. Hope to do so tomorrow as I will be home most of the day, at least enough to check on it occasionally. I have potatoes, a pineapple, apples and couple other things to try. Next Friday I'll be bringing home strawberries from a food demo and want to try those. This may work nicely.
A friend has 2 huge (!) fig trees and I love, love, love dried figs. Sure plan to have a lot of tem. She doesn't even like them, all mine.
How do you check temperature on yours? Or do you? It is adjusted by the vents on top/bottom but, any tips. I'm thinking a thermometer and just work with various vent sets. It can be used for making yogurt but, no directions, so I know temp needs to be roughly 110. I bet you could raise bred -- with some practice. This is where the expensive ones are nice.
lcertuche
Almost Self-Reliant
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2016
- Messages
- 980
- Reaction score
- 626
- Points
- 163
I have a dial with approximate temps. I usually set it for around 140. I just check it after a few hours and when it is crunchy I let it cool down and put it in jars. I used to do it at a lower temp and may go back to that but right now I'm trying to dehydrate almost a crate of bell peppers. I did chop them and put in the freezer so I can do it before they all spoil. The only difference between the frozen and fresh is that the frozen leaves a sticky residue on the bottom of the dehydrator.
lcertuche
Almost Self-Reliant
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2016
- Messages
- 980
- Reaction score
- 626
- Points
- 163
Fruits and vegetables in season is usually a good deal anytime of year.
Wannabefree
Little Miss Sunshine
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2010
- Messages
- 13,397
- Reaction score
- 712
- Points
- 417
I rented my house out and became somewhat of a drifter the last couple years because one person doesn't need 3br 2 baths.....although now I'm regretting it a bit because I'm staying with family till it sells...but I'm saving a bundle!!!
sumi
Rest in Peace 1980-2020
Taxes are a brat. In England you have to pay tax on unused bedrooms. Seriously? And they are talking about bringing the window tax back: http://www.independent.ie/life/home-garden/homes/why-not-bring-back-window-tax-too-26518630.html
Desperate times?
Desperate times?
