April 9, 2008
Cabin Fever / Thoughts on Self Sufficiency
Posted by Kathie under Frugality, Gardening, Goals, Kitchen Adventures, Montana, Simple LivingLast week one of our local grocery chains had their biannual case lot sale. The sale is exactly what it sounds like, good deals on entire cases of goods, traditionally its things like canned veggies, bottled water, sugar, all purpose flour, canned chili, ramen noodles, etc. Looking at our depleted pantry we decided to take advantage of a few of the deals - mostly we bought canned green beans, corn, peas, and mushrooms. We also got some 4 gallons of distilled water for $2.50 (I only use distilled water for ironing and my new iron really puts out the steam hence the water needs refilled often). We don’t buy things like canned chili or cases of condensed cream of mushroom soup.
The deal on canned veggies was good and a case of each gets us a long way until we can start harvesting some of our own again. I do always feel a little guilty about stocking up on these non-local, non-organic goods, however my pocket book thanks me and it is always good to know that we have a well stocked pantry, just in case. The purchase did remind me of how much further we have to go in producing and canning more of our own and/or locally grown goods.
Our growing season is so short here, and I’m learning to do with it what I can, but oh I’m so jealous of all of you who are already planting outside. We’re still getting snow. Jeff and I canned a good bit of stuff last summer (check out my pantry building page), but we have a long way to go to get us through an entire Montana winter. I need more jars, too (honestly I can’t believe I’m saying that - I can’t imagine how many jars a large family must need). I’ll be on the lookout for those as soon as yard sale season begins in another month. I like to can more than freeze simply because freezing requires a stable power source, and I’m not sure we’ll always have that, freezing also requires a lot of freezer space, obviously and that isn’t something I want to invest in (see my thoughts on not always having power). I don’t dry enough foods and that is something I may start dabbling in again this summer.
This winter just seems especially long to me, and I’m experiencing my own version of cabin fever. Cabin fever seems to be expressing itself in the fear of not being self-sufficient enough alongside the urge to just start digging in the dirt and getting my hands dirty. The upside is the daylight hours are getting longer and longer (that is something that is so sublime about Montana summers). Even more on the upside is that seeds are started indoors and soon, I’ll be canning again.
PS: I’m starting to think folks who practice home canning have their own seasons - preparing to can, canning, and eating the canned goods.
April 9, 2008 at 6:21 pm
I now have a second tier of planting area, but I don’t know what I’ll put on it. Maybe tomatoes. I guess I don’t fully appreciate my mediterranean climate. I have lettuce seedlings almost ready to start harvesting.
About being home–I’m a homebody and I love to sit with my laptop nearby to IM with my dd and my knitting in my lap and a cuppaby my side. Right now home is a bit torn up what with no hot water heater and floors drying out. But it’s still HOME.
April 10, 2008 at 9:14 am
I haven’t canned very much in several years, but have plans to have a larger garden (hubby wants to get involved again for the first time in years) and to can more this year. Like you, I also want to dry more. I grow so many herbs and use them fresh when I can, but never dry enough to get me through the late autumn/winter/early spring. I think as soon as they are fresh and green, I will begin to dry a little bit each week. I’ll look here for inspiration on canning!
April 10, 2008 at 11:44 am
LOL, I think you are right on the canning ’seasons’ thing!! I am always calculating how much I can grow and how much I will have to buy from the Amish.
I have tons and tons of jars bought whenever I see them at the thrifts or yard sales and yet I always seem to be short a few. I have even bought cases of them new. Each year I can more and more and the need for more jars grow. I can’t imagine the number one would need if that was the only food source and the family was large either.
I wouldn’t feel guilty about the supplemental canned goods. Even the homesteaders of history relied on general goods now and then. I think the problem is when you are unaware of your food’s origins and rely completely on the unsustainable system.
April 13, 2008 at 10:13 am
I read a book called See You in a Hundred Years which was written by a couple who, for a year, lived only with what was available one hundred years ago (ergo the title), and one of the things they realized at the end of the year was exactly what you just said…there were definate seasons to the work cycle in producing their own food stores. They worked really hard preparing the garden during the first part, and keeping things alive long so they could bear fruit, then when the harvest came in they were canning…and canning..and canning. They nearly worked themselves to the bone, and wondered if they could survive all the work. They also learned to work together. But preparing foods for the rest of the year occupied most of that season. Then, at the completion of their harvest, they found that the long winter was sort of a reward..holing up inside together not having all the rigors they’d had during the growing and harvest seasons, and enjoying the food they’d “put by” by canning, etc. Of course, long winters tend to force people in most climates to nest till they’re cabin fevered out and can’t WAIT for that spring thaw and some more digging in the dirt! Most of us at some point have been so far removed from that cycle that rediscovering it lends almost a natural “rhythm” to the year. I’ve found the closer I get to that, the more I enjoy the simple things and the way the year unfolds. Hope someday to be putting up most of our food that way
April 13, 2008 at 1:12 pm
I’m also experimenting with how to grow and preserve enough food to last us the winter. Canning, drying, and freezing are the methods I usually use, but I want to learn more about lacto-fermenting and root cellaring. My question right now is how to create a root cellar in my residential suburban home? We also just built a cold frame to extend our season.
Canning is one way to preserve the harvest, but there are so many other creative ways to do it. It is hard work to grow and preserve a garden, but it is also a flow (moving with the different vegetables through the season), a thing to incorporate a small amount of in each day, and a project to be creative with.
And by the way, it is TIME to start planting here in Montana!!!