Category: Gardening

Letter Re: Gaining Situational Awareness and Old-Time Knowledge

Jim, Situational Awareness has a number of definitions, from the rather complex to the “simple”. They include: The process of recognizing a threat at an early stage and taking measures to avoid it. (Being observant of one’s surroundings and dangerous situations is more an attitude or mindset than it is a hard skill.) The ability to maintain a constant, clear mental picture of relevant information and the tactical situation including friendly and threat situations as well as terrain. Knowing what is going on so you can figure out what to do. What you need to know not to be surprised. …


Letter Re: Denominating in Time Versus Dollars

James, Today I picked up 200 pounds of pearled barley from my local health food store that had ordered it for me. As I loaded it into my living room so I could mylar seal it, I flashed on what it would have represented in terms of time (man hours) in an earlier age. To get that 200 pounds of barley, I would have had to: 1) Have land 2) Have seed 3) Till, irrigate and plant the land 4) Protect the crop from birds and thieves 5) Harvest, thresh and transport the grain The number of man hours required …


Two Letters Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Jim, For starters I would like to say that Jim you are dead-on with your Delta Junction recommendation. I live near Delta. And it is some of the finest farm land in the world. everything grows amazing here. Some of the information in the previous letters is wrong and I would like to clarify them . The growing season may be a little shorter in days of light, but in total hours of light it is much longer than other places. It gets light here in May and gets dark at night again in late August. Some vegetables will grow …


Letter Re: Bloom Where You’re Planted

Thank You Mr. Rawles, My husband and I are new readers of SurvivalBlog; we have been so encouraged/convicted/moved/enlightened/blessed by your wisdom. Gertrude’s “Bloom Where You’re Planted” article, for me, was amazing. It’s the “if she can do it, anyone can do it’ – I am encouraged. I don’t really have words for what I’m trying to say, just that I don’t feel so overwhelmed now after reading her words. We are just in the baby beginning stages of preparedness. My amazing husband is leading us in the most right direction, and is a very steady purposeful man. I trust him …


Letter Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Mr. Rawles, Although being an avid reader, this is the first time I have written your site. The letters posted on your site today respecting Alaska as a retreat locale raised a few possible issues in my mind. First of all, let me say that Alaska is my favorite place in the world, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. However, as a retreat locale, one may want to think twice unless the situation forces their location there. Also, it is important to remember that the conditions and terrain in Alaska are very wide ranging, depending where you are. …


Bloom Where You’re Planted, by Gertrude

I write this to encourage everyone to begin preparing right now, whatever your financial situation and physical location in life. We are one of the many families that don’t live in a sparsely populated western state and don’t have a retreat that is fully stocked, off-grid and off-the beaten path. But we are very aware of the precarious situation that our country is in and we are trying as best we can to be prepared. Doing a little bit consistently every day will add up very quickly and you will be better prepared every day as you go along. Doing …


Two Letters Re: Alaska as a Retreat Locale

Jim: As an Alaskan survivalist I concur with everything Brad in Texas had to say. Alaska has many distinct advantages as a retreat location. However, it also has some major disadvantages. First and foremost is the amount of work involved. You must have a way to get fuel for heating. If you can’t use vehicles and chain saws, most of your summer will likely be taken up getting ready for winter. The same applies to food. You would have to grow enough vegetables during the short summer to last seven or eight months. Thankfully, game is available all year, so …


Update to Survival Gardening: Growing Food During a Second Great Depression, by H.I.C.

While re-reading my recent post concerning survival gardening, I realized that I have completely forgotten to point out some important info. While living through a crisis you are going to need to eat more calories than normal [to provide adequate nutrition with the extra exertion, stress, and physical labor], perhaps twice as much. I am planning on 4,000 calories per day. Fresh fruit and vegetables are important as a source of vitamins, however most green veggies do not contain enough calories to keep you going. During a crisis you are going to need several sources of protein, oils, and starch. …


The Community Retreat, by Kathy Harrison

Establishing a retreat seems to be the dream of many survivalists but realistically, evacuating to a retreat is not a proposition that is readily available to very many. There are generally problems with finances as well as family commitments to contend with. Many folks, like me, have spent years in establishing perennial food plants, compost piles, garden plots, building small businesses and, most importantly, forging important community ties that would not be easily broken. Therefore, we would be well advised to explore how to approach ways to turn our own residences into retreat communities. The location of the community is …


Lessons from Peru on Third World Living, by Tantalum Tom

I hope this can be useful to people who want a perspective into the Third World way of life. I recently had the chance to interview two people from Peru. One is a man who grew up in the Andes with no electricity, dirt floors, etc. who worked his way to becoming a geography and history teacher. The other is a former Peruvian Special Forces soldier of 15 years. My mother in law’s input is also dispersed throughout this article. Although I have little respect for modern reporters, I found out how difficult it can be to interview someone. When …


Letter Re: Survival Gardening: Growing Food During a Second Great Depression

Hi Jim, Regarding the recent article on Survival Gardening, another useful reference is [the book] Gardening When it Counts; Growing Food in Hard Times, by Steve Solomon, 2005, New Society Publishers. This wonderful book is very practical and comprehensive. It contains ratings regarding how difficult particular vegetables are to grow. Root systems, seed quality and selection, homemade organic fertilizer, tool selection and care, composting, irrigation, and pests and diseases are among the many topics covered. The author has decades of experience in growing his own nutritious food, and it shows. Reading this book can help one to avoid many gardening …


Letter Re: Victorian Era Farm Skills in the UK

James, Thanks for your continued efforts in continuing to bring the right thinking to a troubled world. I have one heads up and one question that you might be able to help with. 1. Heads up : For UK-based readers (and those who have access to UK IP address) you might like to point out to them a series currently running on BBC 2 : Victorian Farm To quote from the BBC site: “Historical observational documentary series following a team who live the life of Victorian farmers for a year. Wearing period clothes and using only the materials that would …


Survival Gardening: Growing Food During A Second Great Depression, by H.I.C.

By God’s grace I was born and raised on a small family farm. During the 1960s and 1970s we were trying to pay off a 340 acre corn and soybean farm in northwestern Iowa and we were flat stinking broke. So we raised nearly all of the food to support our family. This required a large garden (80ft x 120 ft), an even larger truck patch (48 ft x 1,200 ft), a small fruit orchard (12 trees), livestock (caves, sheep, hogs, and 300 laying hens). With some of the best and most productive farm land in the entire world, with …


Letter Re: Preparedness Wisdom from The Foxfire Book Series

Dear Jim, I just got my new (old) set of The Foxfire Books. I sat down and began to cruise through the pages of the first one. What a wealth of information! Then it happened. I turned over page 370 and there was a picture of Hillard Green. He is almost 80, (the book was published in 1972) and here is what it says, unbelievable: Excerpt from the facing page: “The last time we visited him, he was busy peeling tomatoes he had just gathered and scalded. He waved us in, put a fresh plug of tobacco in his cheek, …


Letter Re: Precipitation and Growing Season as Retreat Locale Criteria

Sir, Regarding your Retreat Areas recommendations: I grew up on a small multi-crop and livestock farm in north western Iowa, with 24 inches of precipitation and 180 frost free days. I have been living in California Eastern Sierra since 1982 , but soon will be leaving. I respectfully submit that your assessment of the agricultural capability of many of the low precipitation/low humidity areas of the western US is vastly overestimated. Western states such as Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico are not farmable by amateurs using conventional means available during any TEOTWAWKI scenario. Obtaining water rights and controlling large …