Just 4 days ago, when I mentioned my neighbours trying to get the best price for domestic heating oil, it was 89.90p per litre. The next day, it rose to 93.49p. Today, it is 105.5p per litre with VAT to be added on top of that!
Petrol last week when we went shopping on Friday, was 147.7p per litre. Today it is between 151p and 157p (supermarket prices) depending on where you go, locally. I know my son is paying way more than that, per litre, where he lives.
Lidl today had quite a few empty shelves but both Morrison's and Sainsburys were quite well stocked. It isn't just about being well stocked though, is it? It is how much food will cost when those high fuel prices impinge both on the cost of transport and storage, especially frozen and refrigerated food. As harvesting progresses throughout the year, lots of produce is kept in low temperature storage facilities.
Wheat and other cereal crops were poor or indeed failed last year in certain parts of the world. Now add the loss of Ukraine exports, Russian sanctions and at least Hungary closing down their cereal exports. You would have to be blind to what will happen to those prices.
I felt for a woman interviewed outside a supermarket in America. She was being told about this and the worldwide shortage of fertiliser about to affect this and potentially next years crops and how bad the farmers were doing due to rising costs. She wasn't worried about the farmers as "I get all my food from the supermarkets". It does beggar belief that she didn't realise that the supermarkets get their food from farmers. Many people though today, seem to be totally disconnected from where their food actually comes from, so maybe her answer wasn't so surprising.
American prepping channels have been warning about these failures and the fertiliser shortages for several months now. Yet today is the first mention I have found on our business pages. If you garden to grow your own vegetables, I would recommend growing heirloom varieties rather than F1 as you can save the seed for future years.
Recommendations from those preppers are to grow just 5 or so foods that will keep you going through the winter months, rather than many different types of food. My garden is no longer that big but I will certainly aim to grow more this year. We do well with soft fruit (apart from a gooseberry failure last year). Indeed we still have loads of rhubarb and brambles left. Apples were bad last year but pears were okay. I can't store things long term in something like a root cellar so most is frozen or eaten fresh. Eating them fresh means the money I would have spent on those items, can be used buying food to store.
I no longer care whether people think I am mad. Don't you think if citizens had had the chance to store food long before WWII, they would have done so? Once the situation got too real and very close, prepping/hoarding was banned.
Questions to myself are - do I have enough for me and mine if things took a turn for the worse? How would we cook things, efficiently, if no gas/electric/oil was available? How would we stay warm?
It's all certainly food for thought (definitely NOT intended to be a pun) isn't it. Earlier I was seriously considering just stopping my Challenge, but I really do not know what to do for the best.
ReplyDeleteYes, Alan half filled his car ready to head down South last night and half a tank of diesel cost him over £70, thank goodness it's a business expense is all I can say.
Indeed on both counts. Thank heavens for the business account. I don’t know if what I am doing is right or not but feel the need to prepare.
DeleteIt's very worrying. I've gone through our budget today. I've cancelled our National Trust membership and our boiler/central heating cover. This will go towards our gas/electric from April -£252 a month. There's nothing else we can cancel.
ReplyDeleteWe are still locked into a cheap rate. Glad we took a 2 year rather than a one year rate, which was more expensive. Goodness knows what we will pay once it ends.
DeleteLiving in the US I can believe what that woman said. Just read we will finally stop buy oil from Russia. What is wrong with my country? We can only do the best we can I guess.
ReplyDeleteWe were about to close one of our nuclear power stations in favour of green energy but maybe that won’t happen now.
DeleteI'm planning on growing as much as I can possibly fit into my garden this year. I'll be dehydrating, bottling, pickling, fermenting and freezing anything we don't eat fresh.
ReplyDeleteSounds a great idea. Hope we all have a good growing season.
DeleteI’m from California and am concerned about Europe’s skyrocking petro/food prices as it is coming our way as well.
ReplyDeleteI’m not a prepped however we have about a 3 month supply of emergency food thanks to my husband. At least it’s something. Also we are starting to plan our vegetable garden - I admit I love flowers (especially sunflowers) but food is more important and with our never ending drought and water rationing for us as well as our farmers, we’ll plant just a few vegetables and if it gets real bad, we can trade with others who have want we want.
My husband found this awesome TV series, on Accorn that perhaps you already know - Wartime Farm. Wow, we’re really gleaning a lot of good ideas.
You are not alone!
Yes, I have watched it, good isn’t it.
DeleteYes. I am HOOKED
DeleteDebby look into wartime kitchen and garden and tales from the green valley. Both excellent.
DeleteWe have just paid £748 to fill our oil tank, during lockdown when the prices dropped we paid £250. This is certainly not sustainable in the long term. We are certainly looking at growing more this year and looking at ways to reduce the budget.
ReplyDeleteAll of us with any sense will do the same. Others can’t and some will hope the government will bail them out.
DeleteEvery time we go shopping we are amazed at just how much the prices have risen yet again. We weren't going to grow as much veg this year, but are now rethinking that - I think we'll have to!
ReplyDeleteMight be advisable if you can.
DeleteI've had 2 x £12 off £60 shops from Sainsbury's recently, so although I wouldn't normally spend that much money,and certainly not twice in quick succession, I used them to restock my brexit boxes that I had been running down ( ready to restock afresh) by using things up, and setting KL up in her new home. They price match Aldi on quite a few staple goods, so I got a lot of those, along with things we like from there such as their own brand almond milk. I had an email today to say that my gas and electricity direct debits are set to rise next month, but not by the horrendous amounts other people have mentioned, just £38 in total. Our amounts used will fall anyway with KL moving out, so I'm hopeful things will balance out. She managed to secure a 2 year deal with a very reasonable direct debit, and is good at turning stuff off/ putting on another layer. Although we won't be growing the usual variety of produce at the plots this year, what we do grow will still form the basis of every main meal through the Summer months, and the potatoes will last until Spring 2023.
ReplyDeleteSounds very good re the allotment plans. Good that KL got a good deal. I have been buying some extra flour, wrapping in cling film and putting it in the freezer. I am thinking of buying a vacuum sealer to store items better and for longer.
DeleteI had to laugh at the lady at the supermarket. Long story short, my mother in law raised chickens and always gave us eggs. My sister in law wouldn't take any because she said supermarket eggs were better. I told her that she should give her head a shake cause the stores got their eggs from chicken farmers.
ReplyDeletePrices are going to go crazy with all that is happening in the world.
God bless.
When our little school was open, children were disgusted that eggs came out of a chickens bum, well close to it.
DeleteUse compost and composted manure for your gardens...it’s free and you don’t need to buy in commercial fertilizer....farmers here are finally going back to it again...
ReplyDeleteGrand idea but if the farmers start using more there might not be enough for us.
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