Is Our Economy Going To Crash?

[Britesea]

@Britesea, can you explain a little more how the Excalibur design lends itself to conversion to solar power if electricity isn't available. I don't think I followed you from the picture you posted.

The picture shows some cans in a glass fronted box- painted black to increase heat. The air flow comes in at the bottom and rises to the top due to convection. At the top, the heated air flows into a box and circulates around the trays. I believe that by simply making a different front closure to the Excalibur, you could create a path for the heated air to go into the Excalibur box instead of the pictured one. If one could add a small solar-powered fan at the back, it would work even more efficiently.

 

[MoonShadows]

@Britesea, OK...now I got ya! Yup, that would work.

Our Excalibur was delivered yesterday. We went to the farmers' market today to buy some fruits to dehydrate. Also, bought the attachment for our vacuum sealer so we can store the dehydrated food in Ball canning jars and increase the shelf life.

 

[baymule]

@MoonShadows get some half gallon canning jars for food storage. I have ...... I think.....18 of them and I love them! You can dehydrate potatoes, hash browns seem to do best. Use a mandolin slicer to hash brown your potatoes, drop in a pot of water to keep them from turning black. Get the blancher pot going, blanch the potatoes, cool in cold water, then drain. Pat dry with paper towels and put in the dehydrator. To use, just take out what you want, cover with hot water for 15 minutes, drain and cook.

 

[MoonShadows]

Sounds good @baymule. I will try that.

 

[Britesea]

I've had a few of my vacuum-sealed jars lose their seal after a few months. Anybody else have that problem, or knows what I might be doing wrong? I even tried using brand new lids; I was told that wasn't necessary but when I got my first failure I switched to new lids, but it hasn't helped. Right now I'm using the sealable bags instead.

 

[baymule]

@Britesea I haven't tried to use the vacuum sealer on jars. When I dehydrated tomatoes this season, I packed them in half pint jars and put them in the oven at 300 degrees for 15 minutes. I turned off the oven, opened the door and let them cool. That popped a seal on them.

 

[MoonShadows]

Dehydrated apples, plums, strawberries, peaches and bananas yesterday. Don't know how many I'll get sealed up though...every time I walk by the dehydrator, I pop a couple into my mouth!

 

[Jshubin]

I am not a pessimistic person and I would like populations of the world to become wiser, modest and sustainable but....

There is a good chance the economy could collapse, it has fallen many times throughout history in every civilization that I know of. Ultimately humanity has survived through these events even when the social fabric tears. I want to make sure my family and I survive. It is selfish but I am more animalistic in my motivations. I am not religious. I want to ensure my genetics continue on through my offspring. I believe in survival of the fittest and prepping for such events will ensure we are fit to survive.

Human overpopulation is the worst it has ever been and economies are supporting all these people (including me). If the economic situation turns upsidedown many people will become hungry and desperate. I dont want this to happen to us and I want to be able to defend against any desperate aggression (or even help someone who is desperate). So I am doing what it takes to be more self-sufficient and helping my family/friends do the same.

**Self-sufficient in my opinion could mean a community of people, not just myself. It could be a family unit or even my neighbors or the entire town working together to support eachother. I think humans have an optimal community size and I believe it is somewhere between 30-150 people, much like a village.

 

[Jshubin]

http://www.reuters.com/news/picture/venezuelans-turn-to-city-farming?articleId=USRTSL1AU

Venezuelan economy is crashing and they are going through food crisis.

 

[baymule]

Venezuela has already crashed and this paints a nice picture.....that could be the USA. I wonder just how many people now on food stamps would get all excited about growing their own food? Ever try to talk some one on food stamps into planting a garden? I get the look that plainly says I have two heads and sixteen eyes, probably a forked tail as well.....

It was on MSM not too long ago that Venezuelans are crossing the border into Columbia to buy food, standing in longs lines to do so. It's making Columbians mad, because it's driving up food prices for them.