[Darsemnos]

How much grain should one store? As of right now, it is just me. I plan on buying primarily whole oats, and also buying a manual grain mill. Something like http://www.armchair.com/store/gourmet/baking/grainmill.html.

I know I will need other foods than grain, but this is going to be a staple.

Also, how does one store grain in the long term. I'd like this to be able to be stored for 5-10 years if necessary. Though I am assuming it might be needed much sooner.

5 gallon buckets seem ideal for mobility and convenient size. But I also know you need to do some more with the bucket to make it last a long time. I just don't know what.

 

[WhiteLightning]

how many people are you planning on supplying the grain for? just yourself? your family? your community?

 

[Darsemnos]

Just me for now. I don't have any family in the area. And I don't plan on keeping any for anyone else just yet. Perhaps I'll establish a surplus later, but getting enough for myself is a necessary starting point. It seems pretty urgent too.

 

[Cannonman]

Secondly, how much do you use now?

 

[Darsemnos]

Not as much as I would then.

When I eat it it's usually a half cup or a cup. A cup dry is a lot of oatmeal.

But if it were my main source of nourishment, it would probably up to a lb a day. That would provide:
1766 calories
76 grams protein
31 grams fat
300 grams carbs
245 mg calcium
21 mg iron
804 mg magnesium
2374 mg phosphorus
1948 mg potassium
9 mg sodium
18 mg zinc
3 mg copper
22 mg manganese
3.5 mg thiamin
0.6 mg riboflavin
4.3 mg niacin
6mg pantothenic acid
0.5 vitamin b-6
254 mcg folate

I know it's not good to only eat one food, but if one absolutely had too, oats seem very nutritious.

 

[Darsemnos]

Data comes from http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

It's a good resource.

 

[BakCompat]

these are not my videos, but this guy covers one method which many people use.

 

[soldier506]

If you plan on storing grain for any length of time, ensure it stays cool and dry . I have had oats in the bin for 8 years and only spoiled around the door . Some grains like wheat can get bugs in them called rusty grain beadles. Also a good idea to try to prevent mice from getting into the grain.

I assume you are only going to have a small amount on hand for personal consumption. You mentioned oats, so you will be making rolled oats for oatmeal. Since this will be small amounts. keep the grain in sacks . These sacks allow the grain to breath . The grain needs air or it will eventually spoil . Place the sacks inside a building to prevent them from getting wet . On the downside, mice like getting into sacks. I can tell you that for large volumes of grain for long term, grain will keep way better in a wooden bin verses a steele one. Steel forms condensation in hot sun . It will start to spoil around the corners /door,etc.

 

[Peter Goodchild]

I grow corn (old-fashioned types, non-hybrid, not sweet) and dry them, then grind them for flour. However, for very LONG term storage, I mean a year or more, you'd do better to buy white rice -- not corn -- in bulk. Store it in rodent-proof containers. It isn't as nutricious as brown rice or other whole grains, but the trouble with whole grains is that they contain oil, which will eventually go rancid. White rice should be storable for decades. Get it now, in as large a quantity as possible. The prices for grains are going up faster than for any other foods. And as a friend of mine said, if you think white rice is a boring meal, wait until a year of famine, when you're really hungry, try some of that rice you've stored, and see how "boring" it is then.

 

[Darsemnos]

If you plan on storing grain for any length of time, ensure it stays cool and dry . I have had oats in the bin for 8 years and only spoiled around the door . Some grains like wheat can get bugs in them called rusty grain beadles. Also a good idea to try to prevent mice from getting into the grain.

I assume you are only going to have a small amount on hand for personal consumption. You mentioned oats, so you will be making rolled oats for oatmeal. Since this will be small amounts. keep the grain in sacks . These sacks allow the grain to breath . The grain needs air or it will eventually spoil . Place the sacks inside a building to prevent them from getting wet . On the downside, mice like getting into sacks. I can tell you that for large volumes of grain for long term, grain will keep way better in a wooden bin verses a steele one. Steel forms condensation in hot sun . It will start to spoil around the corners /door,etc.

Won't keeping the grain in sacks cause it to spoil due to oxidation?

 

[Lowdown3]

Won't keeping the grain in sacks cause it to spoil due to oxidation?

Yes it will. That same Youtuber that put up that video linked above also has a video showing RESULTS of old food put up WITHOUT mylar and o2 absorbers. It's quite eye opening to see the results of not using the correct methods.

You also run the risks of getting the grain wet. I lost 200 lbs of rice one time. A water container failed and it soaked two 100 lb. bags. This was back in the 'long long ago' when you actually could buy 100 lb. bags from Sam's. Back then it was about $17. for 100 lbs.

Gotta miss the old days huh?
Lowdown3

 

[haha49]

ya.. the only thing about doing it in the barrel is thats a huge quanity.. for 1 person i would package it the same but make maby 2 or 3 bags instead that way you can eat some and store the rest or just grab a bag of it and its ready to go..

alot of dried food lasts a long time why grind your wheat into flour when you can just store it already way easyer to do.. and unless you have a decent sized peice of land to grow it on you probly will only have it for as long as it lasts..

oats, rice. soya beans. wheat, flour (just grinded up wheat), pasta noodles (dry hard kind that you add water and boil that would give you a veriedy now rember just because you have that doesnt mean your going to injoy eating it plain with no flavor store spices as well as i have some that are at least 5 years old and thats just in the regular container

learn how to make unkrainon food.. like progies.. all it is is basicly potatoe and is very little amount of food to make a decent meal

you can also can food like peachs they taste so good compared to the ones that come in the can if you do it your self softer taster and more suger..

o ya store up on suger salt peper stuff like that as well

look at what you currently eat and like to eat stock up on some of that as well even if it doesnt last as long you just have to eat it frist like the food that will spoil like milk.. thats the frist thing you drink so you dont end up wasteing it...

 

[Lastboyscout]

Thanks for the videos. Had a pretty good idea that was how it was done, but helpful to see it actually done. Question: Where can i find bags of feed wheat like they had in the video?

 

[Lowdown3]

Most feed stores in rural areas will carry "feed wheat." The difference between what is marketed as "feed wheat" and what is marketed as normal wheat is the amount of CLEANING that's done to the wheat.

In general feed wheat is just double cleaned. Your going to find a bit more chaff and grain dust than you would in wheat you might buy say at Waltons.

Now some folks will tell you that "feed" wheat isn't safe for humans, everything from nanobots to super secret gubmint biological weapons are harbored in it, etc. Understand that it's a PERSONAL DECISION (i.e, it's up to YOU alone) weather or not to use it.

My recommendation- buy a bag. You will be able to smell pesticides in it if they used any, trust me on this, had to toss several bags that had pesticides in them. Also, consider waiting till the FALL OR WINTER before purchasing. Most feed stores storage areas aren't air conditioned and the chances are much higher in the summer of getting bugs in your wheat, BTDT fed the chickens with it. Wait until it gets cooler or preferably till the first freeze, then buy your stuff. My family has used a considerable amount of wheat like this with no problems.

But there's always someone on the net that's gonna tell you that getting within 10 feet of feed wheat is going to make you a sterile zombie with cancer that grows a third arm out your head. Ironic that so many people think nothing of the crap, chemicals and pollutants they put in there body via cigarettes, liquor, soft drinks and processed food, but God forbid don't eat feed wheat, it might have dust in it!!! Lol.

Again, the feed wheat issue is a personal choice, it's up to you and you alone.


On the "pack smaller quantities" issue- folks that are new to food storage, especially actually using there LTS food storage need to realize that all of your food does not go POOOF! the minute you open the mylar bag. Quite the contrary, with your whole grains, legumes, rice, etc. it will keep just fine with an open mylar for YEARS if you keep the lid on. I know this from experience, we eat food storage on a daily basis and have since 2000. 95% of what we eat is either LT storage food (most of our rotation right now is from 91-95 era) and fresh food grown/raised at our homestead.

To be honest, the pack everything into 1 gallon mylar bags LOOKS like a good idea and in theory it is. But honestly, I think it's a waste of money and packaging. Course later it will also cause more TRASH which creates a problem in and among itself. Understand that I'm NOT talking about 3 or 4 buckets worth, I'm talking about the amount of food a family of 4 or 5 would need for a few years.

When you need to get food from your pails with mylars, cut the top of the mylar just enough to get a measuring cut in there. Scoop out what you need and if your not going to be getting into it every day, roll the mylar back on to itself and put the lid back on. Nothing is going to go "POOOF" and there won't be an empty bucket when you go back to it in 3 weeks, 3 months or likely 3 years.

Now hydroscopic items like dry milk, cheese, egg or butter powder, yes you need to be very concerned about that. I recommend those be purchased pre-packaged in #10 cans for simplicity and convenience.

Lowdown3

 

[Maurepas]

I go at it from a different direction, first establishing a target number of total calories.
You need:
a)# of people
b)# calories each will consume per day
c)# days

a*b*c=total calories needed

for example:
2 people
3000 calories (you pick your estimate)
90 days (however many you want)
540,000 total calories needed

Then you need to know how many calories you have stored.

I have a spreadsheet with all my preps. It only took a couple of hours one weekend to plug in the calories counts for each type of stored food. Now I only have to change the count when I add to or rotate out. So at any given time I know how many days of food I have.
There are much more complicated spreadsheets available but mine works for me. And I just make sure I have a good variety of proteins, starches, veggies and fruit.

I've attached two files. One is a complex but very detailed spread sheet provided by one of our members and the other is more simplistic. You could use either or use them for ideas in putting together your own. It can be as simple or complex as you would like to make it.

 

[230gr]

Grain 620 lb each adult person for 1 year is one recommendation. This will provide 1900 of your 2500 cal daily requirement (3000 + if your are doing physical labor). I have a sizable quantity of oats stored but wheat is sill my primary. For the best mix of amino acids, you will want a verity of grains supplemented with beans.
The storage is in Mylar bags, with oxygen absorbers protected by a plastic pail at 70oF and is very conservative. You can easily double the storage life. I do agree with your assuming it might be needed much sooner.

soft grain storage life of 8 years
millet, pearled 10 lb per person
barley-pearl (40 lb per person)
oats, rolled reg. 20 lb per person
corn meal 10 lb per person

storage life for white rice of 8-10 years
rice, long white 40 lb per person

storage life of 15-20 years
wheat, whole 350 lb per person
popcorn, yellow 20 lb per person

The Soft Grains
Barley, Hulled or Pearled Oat, Groats, Rolled Oats, Quinoa & Rye
Soft Grains have softer outer shells which don't protect the seed interior as well as hard shelled seeds
and therefore won't store as long. Hermetically sealed in the absence of oxygen, plan on a storage life of 8 years at a stable temperature of 70 degrees F. They should keep proportionately longer if stored at cooler temperatures

The Hard Grains
Buckwheat, Corn, Dry, Flax, Kamut, Millet, Durum wheat, Hard red wheat, Hard white wheat, Soft wheat, Special bake wheat, Spelt, & Triticale
The Hard Grains all store well because of their hard outer shell which is nature's near perfect container.
Remove that container and the contents rapidly deteriorate. Wheat, probably nature's longest storing
seed, has been known to be edible after scores of years

http://waltonfeed.com/grain/life.html#hard