Category: Gardening

Letter Re: The Bosnian Experience

Mr. Rawles, I want to thank you for having this site and presenting people with opportunity two obtain useful information that could save their lives one day. I have been dedicated reader of your blogs for some time and now think that is my time to contribute some information instead of just reading it. I have survived through collapse of former Yugoslavia and the years of war that followed after. I will try to cover as much of different topics that pertain to every day survival. No matter on how much the person is prepared, it might not be enough. …


Letter Re: The List of Lists

Jim: I’m writing this to thank you for your blog, novel and preparedness course. Reading those has revitalized my prepping efforts, which had gone dormant since Y2K fizzled. Since then, I had the nagging feeling that I should be preparing, but I wasn’t–until I stumbled across your novel in a local bookstore. Then I got back on track. (BTW, it was mis-shelved in with the “how-to” books! Or maybe it wasn’t mis-shelved, since its a novel that doesn’t fit any mold!) And it wasn’t until I read through your “Rawles Gets You Ready” course that I had any real sense …


Survival Preparation on Low or Fixed Incomes, by Shawna M.

So you’re convinced that the free ride is over, that things are getting worse, and when the worst happens, you want to be prepared. But you have a problem—you don’t have a lot of money for prepping and day to day living. Maybe you only make minimum wage. Maybe you make a little more than that, but you’ve got a lot of bills. Maybe you live on a fixed income, or have irregular self-employment. Regardless, don’t assume because you can’t afford expensive classes or pricey gear that WTSHTF, you’ll be unable to fend for yourself and your family. My husband …


How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer, by Jeff M.

Throughout the last few centuries, mankind has been building and building up, combining raw materials and energy to create… stuff. This stuff is scattered all over urban population centers, and many of it can be used for basic life-sustaining purposes. I thought I’d write in and share some information I’ve gathered over the years in my work and in my hobbies, as it relates to sustaining life if you’re trapped in an urban area. I’m enumerating the primitive uses of some very basic components for those interested, this wasn’t meant as a guide for building any of this stuff, further …


Letter Re: Thoughts on Preparedness in a Diverse Community

I just met this past weekend with a group of ” preparedness folk.” They are on a farm about 30 miles from here. I have become interested in the subject after reading One Second After (a New York Times best seller, highly recommended!) and some writings by James Wesley, Rawles. I was surprised at who they were and the mindset I encountered. A few observations: 1) The root idea is that whether or not some disaster hits, we are far too dependent on a very fragile and tenuous energy and distribution grid. Raising your own chickens, goats, vegetables, rabbits, turkeys, …


Letter Re: Survival Notes from the Dominican Republic

Jim, I’ve recently read several of your books and found them both interesting and educational. I would like to offer some personal insights based on my experiences from living in a small rural town one of the larger Caribbean islands. Most of my notes are cheap solutions used by people in developing nations all over the world. There may be better ways, but these work and cost next to nothing. Water: There is something especially disturbing about opening the faucet and hearing a sucking air sound. Not being able to shower, flush, or wash dishes is the worst. One or …


Square Foot Gardening, by N.C. Gardener

Everyone that has food storage should have a garden to supplement it.  For people that don’t have the acreage or live in cities a Square Foot Garden (SFG) is perfect. We need the nutrients and variety that can be provided with fresh fruits and vegetables.   Think how nice it would be to have a tomato sandwich with lettuce or make a small batch of fresh salsa.  Tomatoes, cilantro, salt and onions makes cornmeal go from cornbread to chips and salsa. The SFG web site has all the information you need to build and care for your garden. I also recommend …


Hard Love Preparedness Upbringing, by FBP

As a child, I was orphaned by age 10. I went from living in wealthy lifestyle with maids and yard handyman, with ponies and pet monkeys in Miami, Florida, to living in rural mid-West with my Grandparents. This was truly a culture shock. It has been with prepping that I have truly appreciated the time spent with my Grandparents. From them learned about gardening, canning, freezing, sewing, and mind expanding experiences from visiting relatives on the farm (acres and acres of corn, and livestock!) I remember Grandma’s bootstrapping on everything. She’d lived through the depression and WWII with its rationing. …


Letter Re: Getting Self-Sufficient in Wyoming

Dear Mr. Rawles, I was recently given your novel “Patriots” by a like-minded friend in Wyoming. I read it once for pleasure, then twice with a highlighter, notepad, and Google. It’s a wonderful resource, and I’m looking forward to the new book [“How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”]. Reading “Patriots” left me proud to be an American, and revitalized something I felt I had been losing in the recent years. This is a wonderful country, and I have faith that there are still a bunch of decent God-fearing people who will stand up for …


Is Prepping an Insurmountable Task?–The Beginner’s Primer, by Gary T.

Once you realize the importance of being prepared for coming hard times, you may ask yourself, “How can I possibly prepare for any scenario?  This is an insurmountable undertaking.”  The more you ponder this, the more the reality of this seems to be confirmed.  Let not your heart be troubled.  As with almost any endeavor, the road to success begins with the first step and continues one step at a time.  Consistent, prioritized, careful preparation over a period of time, preparation built around what your personal situation (budget, job, family, medical needs, etc.) will allow, can get you in a …


The Disaster Garden–What’s Not in the Can, by C. the Old Farmer

“I’m going to garden if the Spinach hits the Fan…I’ve got my seeds in long term storage,” my prepper friend sighed with an attitude of  that’s taken care of now, thank goodness!  I asked if he had a garden.  “No, but I’m ready to start one if I have to.” As a homestead gardener of over 30 years from a long line of homestead gardeners, here is some practical advice culled from my years of experience growing food.  There is no instant garden by digging up the back yard.  I wish it were so!  Lawn grass is one of the …


Four Letters Re: Prepare to Garden Like Your Life Depends on It, by Prepared in Maine

Dear Editor I would suggest The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible by Edward C. Smith and The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control edited by Barbara W. Ellis and Fern Marshall Bradley. These books both recommend Neem Seed Oil for insect control. [After looking locally.] I found that one must order it online. Regards, – Glennis Mr Rawles, In my humble opinion, many blog readers haven’t got a clue about gardening/farming without artificial/soil depleting chemicals. The reason “commercial” farmers must use these items is due to their monoculture crops grown in the same thousand + acre plots year after …


Letter Re: Prepare to Garden Like Your Life Depends on It, by Prepared in Maine

Mr. Editor,: If one was truly going to “Prepare to Garden Like Your Life Depends on It” I would never rely 100% on organic farming unless it was as a last resort Personally I wouldn’t rely on it anymore then compost and manure, if it was free and available (Do you deliver?) I work in agriculture and during growing season, I see organic crop failures, and these are professional farmers. Could you afford to loose 25-80% of your crop, or how about 100 percent? Organic growers are operating at a huge disadvantage using “organic pesticides” with many that just don’t …


Prepare to Garden Like Your Life Depends on It, by Prepared in Maine

So you plan on growing your own food in times of need. Here are some facts to bear in mind: 1) your garden is not just what you have in your tilled yard, greenhouse and cold frame; 2) prepare yourself physically for this way of life and diet; 3) organic gardening/farming will be the only kind of farming in the future; and 4) go native. Local food gathering and native plants are an essential aspect of a long-term, sustainable food supply. What grows in your area that can be eaten or used as a medicine? The most common edible plants …


Letter Re: A Nation of Improvisers–More About Everyday Life in Communist Cuba

First our prayers are with your family in these dire times. The first thing about surviving in Cuba was that we did not see it as “surviving”, it was more like living, we did not know anything else, as the media in Cuba is tightly controlled. I remember as a child we did not have glue so we made glue out of Styrofoam and gasoline, just mix them up in a glass container that you could close to preserve and that’s it (if you go a little crazy on the gas it would be too liquid and take forever to …