March in Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran

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Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, by Steven Cochran of Gainseville Coins, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers. What Did Gold Do in March? Gold started March on pretty good footing, having gained over 3% in February. However, better than expected economic data in the early part of the month soon sent the dollar and stocks soaring and gold falling below $1200 an ounce on expectations that the Fed would certainly hike interest …


Letter Re: The Human-Powered Veggie Garden, by J.A.

Hugh, I would offer these suggestions to enhance the ease of preparation of the garden area. First, double digging the ground is a tried and true method, but it can be labor intensive. This can present a challenge to older persons or anyone with physical limitations. An alternative would be to use the layered or “lasagna” approach to change the sod into a garden. The book Lasagna Gardening by Patricia Lanza covers this in detail, but a brief summary is to cover the grass with wet newspapers or cardboard and then build up layers of compostable material, allowing enough time …


Cache and Carry, by Highlander

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Like many of you, I consider having buried caches a critical part of being prepared. However, I don’t have the land or finances necessary to bury multiple 55-gallon drums full of food, guns, and ammo miles from my house, and in a time-sensitive situation spending an hour or two digging up a huge cache may not be possible. I’m not saying that larger caches are a bad idea (I have a few spread around), but like all of my other preparations, having a multi-layered approach makes the most sense for me. I live in a rural-suburban area, with 1-2 acre …


Letters Re: The Human-Powered Veggie Garden

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HJL, Try straw bale gardening. It’s a lot less work and very productive. I had more tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers than I could handle in my first season. It also takes up less space and saves the back pain of bending over so far or kneeling to weed or trim et cetera. You can garden on your patio or roof, or just about anywhere. I’m 68, and I’ll never use another method of gardening. Note! Use straw bales, not hay! – GSS o o o HJL, Respectfully, double digging is a bad idea. It will destroy the soil structure. It …


Recipe of the Week: Country Biscuits and Busy Morning Pancakes, by K.R.

This recipe was economical, as the pre-made biscuit mix was not available in many of the countries we sailed to during our 7-year circumnavigation. Basic Baking Mix Ingredients: 9 cups flour 4 teaspoons salt 1/3 cup baking powder 1 3/4 cups vegetable shortening Directions: Combine first four ingredients; stir to mix well. Cut in shortening with clean fingers until mixture resembles loose crumbs. Do not pack down when measuring. Use dry measuring cup when measuring, scraping excel off with a knife. Keeps about four to six months in an airtight container at room temperature. Country Biscuits Ingredients: 2 cups Basic …


Letters Re: My Family Preparedness Plan, by R.S.

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R.S., Wow. I found this to be a grim and sobering article but one of the most sound that I have read to date. I don’t think anyone could cover all the myriads of possible scenarios, but this gives a great launching point for most I can imagine. Thank you for your time in writing such a good article. – J.W. o o o HJL, Most deaths in a post-EMP or post-solar-flare/grid-down situation will be from the combination of starvation and disease. Starvation can be prevented by storing sufficient food to last until the next crop comes in. Disease can …


Letter Re: Diabetes Management

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Hugh, I read your recent article on diabetes management with much interest, as I am a 64 year old diabetic myself. The problem with being insulin-dependent is access to insulin after things crash. Walmart (of all places) sells Relion Diabetes management products, which include insulin over the counter with no prescription needed. Relion makes different insulins that are equal to the same insulins that sell for over $250 per bottle at the pharmacy. Their insulins are very reasonable at $28.44 per 10ml vial. I went to my local Walmart in Michigan, and sure enough I was able to buy Relion …


Product Review: Flamethrower from FlamethrowerPlans.com, by Mike Williamson

Flamethrowers are primarily a tool and, accordingly, are not regulated under federal law as a weapon. As they do not fire a projectile from a fixed cartridge, they are not restricted under BATFE regulations. The FlamethrowerPlans.com flamethrower will be recognized by some as kitbashed from various industrial components. This, however, does not make it any less effective. You can buy the plans (as the site indicates), components, or a finished unit. I opted for the finished unit. The package is surprisingly compact considering the contents. There is the fuel tank, projector, hose, and pressure hardware. The instructions are very clear …


The Human-Powered Veggie Garden- Part 2, by J.A.

Deep Digging and Rock Removal The second round of digging is the hardest work of the whole project. The process is much like the first round, except the goal is to be able to bury the whole head of your shovel in loose soil when you are done. This time, if you hit a rock in the process of achieving that, it has to go. As you back up, some of the rocks will expose an edge you can get under with the shovel. This is where buying good tools, and sharpening your shovel is really going to pay off. …


The Human-Powered Veggie Garden- Part 1, by J.A.

A small amount of land, in some cases as little as half an acre if managed correctly, could supply a bountiful vegetable garden even without the luxuries of fossil fuel-driven technology or animal power. The key to the survival of an individual or a family who is either under-prepared or through the course of events is somehow unable to use any fossil fuel-driven technology or animal power is being able to quickly produce edible crops on the ground that they have using nothing but hand tools. The methods necessary to do this are inexpensive to implement, physically rewarding, and beneficial …


My Family Preparedness Plan- Part 2, by R.S.

Grid Down (continued) Given the specific differences in this scenario, the steps would vary post-event. This event will be different in its onset. With an EMP event, panic will set in much more quickly. When everything ceases functioning simultaneously, even if people don’t know what’s happened, they are going to know something has happened, and mobs don’t usually react with calm reasoning. If the power goes out, even a widespread outage, it isn’t a huge cause for alarm initially because people are used to power outages. Thus, you’ll have a bit more time to get things in order. What to …


Letter Re: Austere Dentistry

HJL, Thanks for pointing this issue out. In retrospect I should have developed purchasing in greater detail in the article. Additionally, this article has been sitting around for a while on my hard drive before being sent in, and at the time of writing purchase restrictions were not that common. On Amazon, search Zinc oxide and eugenol, and you will find vendors who will sell ZOE without restrictions. When I searched today, I found brand name Temerx as well as generic ZOE. On EBay, despite the disclaimer about sales only to dentists, I have rarely been challenged by U.S. vendors. …


My Family Preparedness Plan- Part 1, by R.S.

We live in an uncertain world. Riots have popped up in cities across the United States under the guise of righteous protests of elections or officer-involved shootings. Terrorists have taken to the streets in attacks both large and small. Hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes have wiped out entire cities. Our economy is under siege from within and without. Ebola, Zika, West Nile, and H1N1 have dominated headlines, though admittedly done little damage. The ability and precedent for grid failure are ever present. And finally, and maybe most nefariously, our very own government waits in the wings for any one of these …


Letter Re: Article V Convention

JWR & HJL: After reading the article Bloomberg’s Anti-National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Bill Editorial Shoots Itself in the Foot – DSV, with reference to ten years from now, I was reminded of an article concerning the proposed Article V Convention. This I believe is one of the most, if not the most, important matter we need to keep ourselves aware of and do all in our power to defeat it before the required number of states can be met. This is an outstanding website with untold valuable information concerning our country and Constitution. I believe your readers would benefit from …


Recipe of the Week: Pork with Cherries, by MHL

This recipe is my version of an old traditional French recipe, Porc aux Pruneaux, which I altered several years ago after a bumper crop of cherries. This is one of the treats of November after a hog is slaughtered and there’s lots of fresh pork on hand. Ingredients: 2 pounds pork shoulder or boneless rib meat, cut into bite sized chunks 1 large onion, cut into large dice 3 cups chicken stock OR 3 cups water & one bullion cube OR just 3 cups water 1/2 cup white wine, if available (increase water by 1/2 cup if not using) 1 …