Category: Contest

My Prepping Journey, by Big John

My Prepping Journey began in 1967 when I moved to San Francisco. Spots on the radio urged us to prepare for an earthquake, The Big One. So one day while I was grocery shopping, I threw a flashlight in my cart and then put it in my trunk. On another trip I threw a cardboard box into my trunk. In the ensuing months, I added some bottles of water, a knife, some Power Bars, and cans of soup. I later learned that the heat of the trunk would destroy the soup, so I replaced it with beef jerky and peanuts. …


Writing Contest Prize Winners Announced — Round 123

We’ve announced the winners of Round 123 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest, which ended yesterday. Note to the top three prize winners: Please contact me and let me know your UPS and USPS address(es), for your prizes. Thanks. – JWR The top three prize winners will each receive some great prize packages. The winners for Round 123 are… First Prize Winner: First Prize goes to Lodge Pole, for Raising, Hunting, and Harvesting Animals. It was posted Feburary 11-16, 2026. See: (See: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, and Part 6.)  He will receive as prizes: A …


How to Source “Real Food” if You Can’t Grow it Yourself, by SaraSue

I’m sure most everyone is familiar now with the seemingly sudden change in the Food Pyramid.  The Food Pyramid has essentially been flipped on its head.  Whereas, grains were considered a “foundational” food, meats (proteins), vegetables, and dairy are now considered to be foundational.  I am very pleased to see this change at the federal government level because it’s going to impact all federal programs for the better, in my opinion, such as feeding children, the less fortunate, healthcare, and nutrition guidelines. Have you ever (unkindly) thought “they could afford to lose some weight” when witnessing someone purchasing groceries with …


Beyond Organic: Biological Systems Gardening for Food Security – Part 5, by Hobbit Farmer

(Continued from Part 4. This concludes the article.) Where do I start if I’m new? Okay, this all sounds great but maybe you’re feeling overwhelmed. Where do you start if you are starting from scratch? Or maybe you have a large garden but aren’t sure you want to convert the whole thing over to this approach. I’m going to give you my method for establishing a garden bed on new ground, which I have used successfully in multiple beds on my property including my entire greenhouse.


Beyond Organic: Biological Systems Gardening for Food Security – Part 4, by Hobbit Farmer

(Continued from Part 3.) Mineralize the Soil Many of our soils are depleted of trace elements and micronutrients from past agricultural use. If your land was ever farmed, it’s probably got some deficiencies. While a soil test is probably a good idea so you can see the bigger picture of certain elements you might need to add, you can also address the deficiencies with broad spectrum amendments. Because they are in mineral form they don’t tend to leach from the soil, so they are available for the soil life to break them down and transport to your plants when they …


Beyond Organic: Biological Systems Gardening for Food Security – Part 3, by Hobbit Farmer

(Continued from Part 2.) The microbes in the soil are master mineral miners using various acids, such as carbonic acid, to break down minerals into soluble forms that are bioavailable to the plants. The plants in turn exude sugars to feed and power the microbes during the mining operation. If you live east of the Mississippi or in commercial agricultural areas where we’ve been unsustainably exploiting the soil nutrients for decades or even centuries, there is a pretty good chance your soil is deficient in micronutrients, especially anion molecules like boron, sulfur, and molybdenum that tend to leach from the …


Beyond Organic: Biological Systems Gardening for Food Security – Part 2, by Hobbit Farmer

(Continued from Part 1.) Principle #1: You Are a Microbe Farmer Do you want to sustainably grow healthy, nutritious, produce? Congratulations . You are now a microbe farmer! The first principle of biodynamic gardening is you are no longer growing plants, you are raising trillions upon trillions of microbes. If you can create an environment that supports a healthy soil ecosystem full of bacteria, fungi, and other soil organisms then ANY plants adapted to that environment will thrive. The Bionutrient Food Association (BFA) spent 3 years surveying nutrient quality across 21 crops. They compared the soil samples with the crops …


Beyond Organic: Biological Systems Gardening for Food Security – Part 1, by Hobbit Farmer

Many articles in SurvivalBlog discuss reaching the point of a new normal after TEOTWAWKI when society starts to rebuild and little communities pull together. However, the majority of articles focus on getting through the event itself and not how you are going to live beyond the event. To be successful in the post-TEOTWAWKI economy you will need to have the means to produce. Without petroleum-powered combines, chemical fertilizers, centralized distribution systems, and confined animal feeding operations the food system will fall apart. It’s all powered by (relatively) cheap fuel and transport. Your food sources will be mostly reduced to whatever …


Alternative Fuels and Lighting For When The SHTF, by Tractorguy

Something that we always stress to fellow preppers, is that “when the SHTF, what you have is all you will have,” stressing the importance of permanently sustainable and renewable things like wood heat, electricity from solar panels, etc. Once you have that covered, however, it is worthwhile to consider that some of the disaster scenarios we may have to cope with may be temporary – whether a weather event such as a snowstorm or tornado, or something medium-term like an EMP event affecting a smaller town where the residents are likely to pull together and survive. A limited-supply fuel may …


Necessity is the Mother of Improvisation – Part 2, by 3AD Scout

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) At one auction, I found some very odd tools for some type of woodwork.  Upon research they were used by wheelwrights to make wooden wagon wheels.  I have an interest in several old trades but wheel making is not one of them.  On a trip to Holmes County, Ohio (in Amish country) I took those old wheelwright tools and traded them for some other tools (blacksmithing and chisels) that I did want at the Colonial Homestead Store, in Millersburg.  This store offers old but usable tools from many old trades.  Just walking …


Necessity is the Mother of Improvisation – Part 1, by 3AD Scout

We have all seen the post-apocalyptic movies where improvise armored vehicles with machine guns roam the landscape.  These Hollywood creations make for great entertainment but are such cobbled together machines just fantasy?  The civil war in Somalia introduced the world to “Technicals”, or utilizing civilian vehicles, like decades old Datsun and Totota Hilux pickup trucks, as a platform to mount heavy machine guns, like the Soviet era DShK 12.7mm.  Thirty years later and such vehicles are now being used on the battlefields of Ukraine.  Not only has Ukraine made improvised war wagons out of civilian pickup trucks but they have …


What I’m Growing This Year – Part 2, by SaraSue

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Meat, Dairy, and Eggs My first cow to calve this year is due in a couple of weeks, and being that she is a first time heifer, she could calve any time now.  So, I’m trying to finish up house projects, cleaning the farmhouse top to bottom. and get the garden going before I need to ensure a healthy calf, and train its mother to the milking machine.  I’ll be honest.  I’m apprehensive about training this particular heifer.  She’s a big Guernsey, taller than me, and has long “kickers”/legs, and she’s a little skittish.  Some heifers settle …


What I’m Growing This Year – Part 1, by SaraSue

Time to start the garden and not spend time watching world news.  I can’t change a thing that is happening, but I can grow food and pray.  I must stay focused on the farm and move forward rather than spend time fretting and scanning “the news”.  Fear can be paralyzing.  Growing food and praying are the most important things I can do, at this time, in this place. Unless we get a surprise Spring cold snap, which is likely, the weather should be fairly mild temperature wise, from here on out for my location in Tennessee.  Our long range weather forecast looks mild (in …


Home Pressure Canning, by Mrs. Alaska

The following describes my approach at pressure canning meat and dairy products, with some comments on fruit, vegetables, and other preservation methods Pressure canning cookbooks, like Ball’s Blue Book, include recipes for making and canning meat broths, but, in my experience, most do not for meat itself. Similarly, they lack recipes for canning most dairy items. However, families have canned both for generations. Below, I share my positive experience of canning meats, cheese, and butter, for shelf-stable pantry items, based on the advice of friends whose families have done so for decades, and from my own experiences over many years …


An Update on the Elenco AM/FM Radio Kit, by Mike in Alaska

Recently I wrote about the Elenco AM/FM radio kit and was pulled away from the build before I could do a full alignment of the radio. The kit was finished but my work took me out of town, and I wasn’t able to do a full and complete alignment of the kit per the builders manual. I should add that I am employed full-time as an electronics engineer and have been involved in electronics repair, design, and building for over 50 years. And as an amateur radio hobbiest, my experience goes further back than that timeline. My “shop” is equipped …