Category: Gardening

Net Producer-Net Consumer Equations for Self-Sufficiency: Getting Out of the Pit

In a recent phone conversation with one of my consulting clients, I was asked why I placed such a large emphasis on living in the country, at a relatively self-sufficient retreat. I’ve already discussed at length the security advantages of isolation from major population centers in the blog, but I realized that I’ve never fully articulated the importance of self-sufficiency, at a fundamental level. In a societal collapse, where you are in “You’re on Your Own” (YOYO) mode, it will be very important to be a net producer of water, food, and energy. This will mean the difference between being …


Three Rules for Persuading the Sheeple, by Tall Sally

This article could also be titled: “How to Convince Friends and Family to Prepare for Economic Collapse.” One of the greatest problems for the prepper is getting family and friends on board without alienating them or terrifying them into inaction. With this article, I hope to use my experience to show you how to gently and persuasively warn friends and family about the coming economic crisis. I have used this approach with several people and found it to be successful. I am writing this article now because I believe that now is the time to approach your sheeple about prepping …


Two Letters Re: Last Minute G.O.O.D. Versus Well-Considered Early Relocation

Jim: The figure [cited by “Feral Farmer”] of 100 square miles per hunter-gatherer can’t be correct. North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers (9,540,000 square miles). So, at 100 square mile per hunter gatherer, would only support 95,400 natives. Considering that large chunks of the Arctic and desert are minimal in their resources, not to mention Greenland, this figure (100 sq mi) can’t be correct. Here are a couple of online references: Agricultural practices and policies for carbon sequestration in soil By John M. Kimble, Rattan Lal, Ronald F. Follett and, Food, Energy, and Society By David …


Ug-99 and The Ugly Times Ahead–There’ll Be Fungus Among Us

My consulting clients often ask me me for predictions. “What’s your timeframe, Mister Rawles?” I hear that in almost every consulting call. My clients ask: “When will the US economy crater?” I tell them that is impossible to predict, because there are so many variables and interdependencies, and because the markets are so heavily manipulated. They also ask me: Is the H1N1 Flu sure to mutate in to a more virulent strain, and if so, when?” I answer: “That is impossible to predict.” I’m also often quizzed about the Ug-99 wheat fungus (aka “Durable Wheat Rust”, or simply “the stem …


Letter Re: Last Minute G.O.O.D. Versus Well-Considered Early Relocation

Dear Editor: John M.’s letter was excellent, polite, and to the point. The following are my rules for townies: 1. If your water comes out of a faucet or a bottle, and you can not safely walk to a permanent backup source in less than 10 minutes every day, then you will die. 2. If you do not raise your own food, or personally know the family that you bought it from, you will either die, or be forever controlled by someone with a clipboard and a list, and you will wish you were dead. 3. If you live in …


Letter Re: Last Minute G.O.O.D. Versus Well-Considered Early Relocation

James – We think along similar lines, as my wife and I relocated to Central Idaho in 1995, raising and homeschooling our four children here. We’re electrically functioning off the grid, engage in animal husbandry, grow what vegetables we can, and stock up on essentials we cannot produce and always meticulously rotate the stock. And we hunt, big time. I read the entry on your site today about the fellow who intends to travel ore than a thousand miles in a blink of an eye, and use this blur to make a life-changing decision based on distorted glances at sixty …


Seven Letters Re: Advice on Deep Water Wells in a Grid-Down Era

Hi James, There is a mission-oriented web site with a tutorial on making valve leathers at this site. There is other useful water well-related information on the site, too. Where John C. is living, if the static level is 400 ft., then he will be looking at needing a fairly deep well. If he gets by with less than drilling a 500 foot well I’d be surprised. Water wells here locally have a 350-400 foot static level and run 700-800 feet deep. The depth, quantity, and quality of water you find all depends on the area you live in, the …


Letter Re: Advice on Deep Water Wells in a Grid-Down Era

James, I know that I have seen posts about deep water wells, but when I search I really don’t see that many applicable posts. I am looking at a property where water [static level] is about 400 feet down. In a “grid-up” scenario, this isn’t really a problem, but I am looking for “grid-down” options for using a well at this depth. Not knowing much about the specifics of wells, I am not having much luck searching with Google, either. Would you be able to cover some deep well basics and some options for grid down/solar/backup pumping, specifically for deep …


Letter Re: Sprouting is Key to Good Nutrition in TEOTWAWKI

James, I am a fan of sprouting, but I have to disagree with Roxanne on a few points: The idea that the human body needs external enzymes from raw food and that we will ‘run out of them if we eat cooked food’ is a food myth that traces it’s origin to the natural hygienists of the last century, along with the idea that you can live forever if your colon is clean. Humans have been cooking food since we discovered fire. Our pancreases are bigger and we do suffer plenty of diseases wild animals don’t and yes, eating some …


Sprouting is Key to Good Nutrition in TEOTWAWKI

If you were to take an inventory of all your preparedness supplies, would you feel quite confident that you are in fact “ready”? Your supplies might include a good, well thought out long-term, food storage program, complete with a variety of dehydrated and freeze-dried legumes, grains, vegetable, fruits, dairy and meats. If you’ve gotten this far, you are to be commended for taking two giant steps toward emergency preparedness. But have you also considered the very process by which these foods are preserved to give you the benefit of long-term food storage? Did you know that both the dehydrating and …


Letter Re: Growing Food on a City Lot

Sir: On my quarter-acre lot in California’s San Joaquin Valley, I have about 50 small fruit trees (citrus, apples, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, and cherries) grape vines, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, squash, cantalopes, watermelons, tomatoes, eggplants, rhubarb, Armenian cucumbers, potatoes, carrots, basil, parsley, tarragon, and a kiwi vine. (And there is plenty of space left over for the house, garage, ornamental landscaping, and plain old lawn, although more of that lawn is going away next year, to be replaced with more fruit trees.) Now, I didn’t do it myself; I paid my gardener quite a bit of money to build …


Letter Re: Growing Food on a City Lot

JWR: While we all dream that perfect place in the country it is important to emphasize how much that can be accomplished on a small city lot. My home sits on about 6,000 square feet of land, a small suburban house in a cookie-cutter neighborhood . The house and garage and drive way take up about half of the lot . Of what’s left, I’m slowly converting the ornamental landscape to organic food production. My current garden consists of 48 tomato plants (4 varieties) 2 beds of sweet corn, 2 rows of cucumbers staggered 2 month s apart for continuous …


Letter Re: Walking Tractors and Similar Powered Farming Implements

James I have gardened a lot. The topic of tractors is one that you need to think about before you purchase one. If you have one acre to plow a Ford 8 or 9n is to big to utilize in fact I would not think about a riding tractor unless the plot size reaches three acres or more. There are tractors that will plow that you walk behind and then utilize a tiller. SurvivalBlog reader LRM is right in the fact that a tiller can be hard to use if you do not prepare the ground before you crank the …


Two Letters Re: Walking Tractors and Similar Powered Farming Implements

Hi; The ongoing discussion about tractors is interesting. I was recently able to purchase a fully restored 1952 Ford 8N for $3,500. The tires, front end bushings, everything is new, and the motor is rebuilt. This is a deal of a lifetime to be sure. But, there are plenty of other good deals out there, this is the time to look. Check with farmers to see if they have an extra tractor to sell. Many farms own multiple tractors and if they need money you might get lucky. And if you get real lucky you might find an old one …


Two Letters Re: Walking Tractors and Similar Powered Farming Implements

James, I just wanted to respond to the recent article on small tractors. In 1981 my wife and I bought 12 acres and started market gardening, selling produce locally. I grew about 3 acres of produce each year and put up hay for animals. Our first big investment at the time was a BCS 725 machine with the tiller and sickle-bar mower attachments. We used that machine, and used it hard. Today it’s 2009 and I just finished cutting hay and putting in my green bean patch, using that 725. It’s still on the original engine, which has never been …