Category: Gardening

Indoor Winter Vegetable Gardens, by Kate in Colorado

Indoor Winter Vegetable Gardens, by Kate in Colorado The first cool night of the almost changing season gave the squash plants a shiver and they curled their big leaves upon themselves as if to find protection.  I wait for this moment in the eternal gardening cycle to begin preparing my plants and myself for the “indoor” gardening season. You see, I don’t let the thought of thirty degree days or fear of the blowing snow that is Colorado keep me from enjoying the, excuse the pun, fruits of my gardening labor. With the looming price hike in food and the …


Letter Re: Why a Practice Garden?

Hi James, Concerning garden soils. Most of the bags sold as topsoil are really not top soil. Top soil occupies only on the top 6 to 12 inches of soil at best. It is called the ‘A’ horizon. What customers are getting is the deep ‘B’ horizon soils usually free of any rocks. ‘B’ horizon soils are found immediately under the ‘A’ horizon and can be any where from 20 inches to 10 feet deep. Mostly they are 2 to 6 feet deep depending on the parent material from which they have developed. Steer manure from a feedlot is most …


Letter Re: Why a Practice Garden?

Mr. Rawles, Tom C. wrote: “This plot of land 10 feet x 12 feet.” That is 120 square feet. That sounds like a nice patch for half a years supply of storage onions if you know what you are doing, or more swiss chard and radishes that your family will know what to do with, given that you water and succession plant. Lets start at the start with soil preparation. How wet or dry is the existing soil? Get out the shovel and turn over a small bit of your prospective patch. Is it hard as concrete or dry and …


Long-Term Preparedness and the Eight Mechanical Arts, by J.D.

It’s one thing to prepare for an unexpected event that you can ride out in the course of a week or two; secure, defensible shelter that functions without the grid, a store of food and water, and stockpiles of essentials such as ammo and medical supplies may be more than enough to last until the disaster passes and social order is restored. But what about long-term survival in the face of TEOTWAWKI?  I’ve always found it instructive to study how we lived before 20th-century innovations such as electricity and refrigeration and potable water piped right into the kitchen. It wasn’t …


Why a Practice Garden?, by Tom C.

Why should you practice growing vegetables now instead of before you may actually need them?  Well. As I found out, plopping some seeds and seedlings into the ground and then expecting a bounty was nothing more than a self delusional exercise this year.      I called this my practice garden from the start with the intention of learning some skills for planting food bearing plants to either supplement or replacing grocery store produce should the supply lines be disrupted or severed completely.  Ultimately my goal is to produce enough to eat, store and seed for the next planting; a complete …


The Second Wave: Survivalist Turned MZBs, by Dave in Florida

For many years I have been working towards self-reliance. I like to use the older term self-reliant simply because I feel “survivalist” doesn’t describe the lifestyle properly. I don’t intend to just “survive” but “thrive” – would that make me a “thrivalist?” Yes, I know that was a bit corny. In all seriousness, let’s assume you are an average Joe living in perilous times. What I have to say is speaking to a revelation I have had over the recent years based on my over confidence and belief that somehow I was different than the average Joe just because I …


Letter Re: Hiding Livestock and Gardens

Hi, I just wanted to bring up something after reading article about hiding gardens and animals in rural areas, recently linked in SurvivalBlog. Something that people might want to consider, that we have done. We chose to build a barn rather than a house. And I know you can quite often find properties that already have a barn or large outbuilding. We have a 46′ x 60′ pole barn. Within that we framed in about 900+ square feet for our home. The rest is divided up between stalls, a run in area for large animals, and a shop. One of …


Letter Re: Purslane: Portulaca Oleracea

Jim: Today, I’m writing about Purslane, also known by farm folk as “Pigweed”, (because pigs just love it). It’s one of the earlier wild herbs, (wild edible) found in springtime , but thrives throughout early and mid-summer. By most people, It’s considered a nuisance weed that pops up everywhere in late spring. It grows well in disturbed soils, and can be found mostly in old garden plots, meadows fields and along trails, stone walls and fence rows. It’s a small inconspicuous looking weed [see photos] that grows to about 6 inches to a foot tall, sometimes lying down to assume …


Food for Long-Term Survival, by Sheila C.

Many food strategies have been discussed in preparation for a TEOTWAWKI scenario: beans, rice, MREs, coupon-based purchases and heirloom vegetable seeds, just to name a few. However, there are certain limitations to a food-storage-only strategy. MREs, for instance, are quite expensive and only provide one meal at a time. They would be great for an emergency G.O.O.D. situation, but not long-term sustainable when you are packing everything you have in the world on your back. And beans and rice are wonderful staple foods, but what do you do when you run out of them… or worst case scenario happens and …


Community Crisis Planning for Societal Collapse, by J.I.R.

I believe that in a severe crisis, most of the problems are going to have to be solved at the local level. State and federal government are too big and dependent on technology to survive a severe crisis once the grid drops and all services start to erode. Local governments, too, are ill prepared to assume this crushing responsibility, but they are much more resilient because their scope of control is smaller. Most of them have never even considered what they would do. This article is a discussion piece to stimulate thought on the subject of small community recovery after …


Livestock Breeding and Plant Propagation, by Mike O.

Propagation is a great and cheap method of producing offspring in both plants and animals.  Propagation is usually thought of in the context of plant, so let’s briefly cover animals first.  I read recently with sadness about readers on survivalblog having problems with their rabbits being good mothers.  This is the first characteristic I look for in a new breed of livestock.  Modern breeds of cattle and poultry, in particular have been specialized for particular traits and mothering ability has taken a back seat.  This is one reason I prefer heritage breeds listed through the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy.  These …


Letter Re: Medicinal Herb Gardening-Making Herbal Balms

After reading “Medicinal Herb Gardening” by Mrs. Celena J. I was prompted to write more about making medicinal herbal balms and ointments. They are easily made once you get the hang of it and different ingredients can be used for different applications. My two favorites are Healing Muscle Balm and Rose Balm for the lips and skin. My family and friends also love these two combinations and have found them very effective. Healing Muscle Balm is a combination of infused oils of Arnica, Meadowsweet, and Comfrey leaf. These particular herbs help with reducing the inflammation and alleviating the pain of …


Two Letters Re: Medicinal Herb Gardening

Hello, I’ve been using herbal remedies for over 20 years and wanted to add a few notes to Mrs. Celena J.’s Article: Spearmint and Peppermint are excellent for nausea and gas. Goldenseal is a natural source of insulin and should be used cautiously with hypoglcemics and insulin dependant diabetics. Its also one of the strongest natural antibiotics known to man, and the root is stronger than the plant. Garlic is also a very strong and versatile antibiotic when used fresh. It kills both bacterial and fungal infections and can be used internally and externally as needed. This was my herb …


Medicinal Herb Gardening by Mrs. Celena J.

Earlier this year, I received a free packet of Echinacea (Purple Coneflower) from wintersown.org (by the way, if you’re into gardening check them out; they’ll send you 10 packets of free seeds for the cost of a SASE).  When I saw the seed packet, I remembered that Echinacea is used to reduce the duration of colds and flu.  I began seriously considering and researching medicinal plant gardening.  Having such a garden would be so useful in surviving numerous catastrophes, not to mention the possible money saver it could be during a recession that’s going to last who-knows-how-long!  Of course, not …


Agroforestry (Forest Gardening), by Prepared in Maine

I’m going to say something shocking: gardening with annuals is expensive in terms of inputs: time, seeds, fertilizer, and land. You many exceptional but I’d bet that many would starve or be forced to leave home if you had rely on gardening (whether due to inexperience, crop failure, or lack of resources). Some articles here have touched on agroforestry concepts, but I hope this brings these together for mutual benefit. What the heck is agroforestry? Agroforestry (or Forest Gardening) is gardening in three dimensions using perennial plants that provide food and useful materials for humans (fiber, medicinals, dyes, edible leaves, …