Category: Gardening

Two Letters Re: Living Off The Land

James: I just finished “Tree Crops” by J. Russell Smith which just became one of my favorite books. In it he briefly mentioned edible nuts from pine trees. I did a scroogle search and found a great place in Canada that sells these types of pines. My favorite so far is the Korean Pine. Everybody grows pines for blocking winter wind and for privacy so why not pick a breed that gives you food? They grow in areas as cold as Zone 1 so this would be great for a lot of the northern retreats. One last thought is that …


Letter Re: Living Off The Land

Mr. Rawles, My Survival Group was having a discussion the other night, and we got to talking about “What if / Worst case” stuff. One of the situations involved the old “Lost in the wilderness with nothing but your knife and your lighter”. (you do carry a pocket knife and a lighter with you, right?) That got us to thinking…what would you eat? Most of us tended to think of ways to snare small game, but then we got to talking about wild plants. Before long, it became clear that not only is foraging for wild plant potentially more efficient …


Letter Re: Tree Planting Hardiness Zones Map for the US

Sir: I guess this has been out for a year but it’s new to me that the Arbor Day Foundation has come out with a new Hardiness Zone map. I live in northern Ohio so I moved from a 5 to a 6 zone. Global warming? This makes a big difference in the fruit trees I can plant. Some areas have moved up two zones! In the past I was considering putting in a few acres of Paulownia trees for future timber but the nursery recommended only Zones 6 and above for timber production. This is a big deal for …


Letter Re: Eating The Food That You Store

Sir: I currently store many foods which I routinely eat, none of which has the long shelf life of many of the ‘survival staples’. I’m ready and willing to buy several thousand dollars’ worth of hard wheat and other canned supplies, but I have one problem: I don’t know if I will actually eat them! Is there anyone out there that has a sampler pack, that allows one to try various offerings to make sure that we and our families will eat those staples? Thanks for all your hard work in helping us prepare! Warm Regards, – Rich S. JWR …


Letter Re: Running Chainsaws on Ethanol & Home Alcohol Production Stills

Sir: About your comments [on Thursday] and others in regard to kerosene use in a gasoline engine: From anything I’ve experienced, you are correct about it not being as simple as some have posted. Engines that were built for “all fuel” use – including distillate and kerosene, had very low compression ratios – usually around 5 to 1. Low compression makes a low-power, inefficient engine. The carburetors were jetted differently, a twin fuel tank setup used, a selector-valve installed for quick fuel changeover, and a closeable air-shutter on the radiator to keep the engine hot. You started the engine on …


Letter Re: Estimate on the Likelihood of an Economic Depression or Full-Scale Collapse?

Jim, What a lot of folks don’t think about is that during the last depression, almost 80% of the population was still connected to a family farm. They also knew how to can meats and vegetables and had all of the equipment to do so. It was a way of life for them. Today less than 1% is connected to a family/small farm. That is daunting. Even if some of the population knows how to can and has a small garden, How many of them have 500-600 jars, lids and rings? Got lots of Salt, a working smokehouse that doesn’t …


Letter Re: Doing Versus Studying–Wherever You Live

I agree 100% with Fanderal in his recent article on “Doing Versus Studying”. I grew up helping with gardening and canning as a boy in southern Indiana. There is a tremendous difference between having helped (“Hold the bucket, son.”) and picking up the knife and beginning the slaughter of a 300 pound hog. I have spent the last 20 years raising my family in suburbia and have very fond memories of growing up in the country. Memories are not a substitute for practical hands on experience. The Millennium bug got me thinking about “What If” while the 9/11 events were …


The Refrigerator Box Method for Easy Survival Gardening, by Dixie

Let’s say that TEOTWAWKI comes, and you are ready! You have your sealed can full of heirloom seeds, and you’re going to start a garden right away. Well, if you haven’t been gardening and practicing the skills necessary and learning how to deal with your climate and soil, you may have difficulty producing the food your family needs. It is really imperative that you begin now to grow the things you’ll need in a crunch. You don’t have to grow as much as you would conceivably need when grocery stores are not an option, but the skills for each particular …


Letter Re: Suburban Survival

Hi Jim and Family, I truly enjoy reading your survival blog and learn from it daily and weekly. However I believe you are skipping over a topic that would benefit your readers….most of your readers. I would think that most of your readers who check out and read your site on a daily basis do not have a remote retreat in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, or Wyoming. Most of your readers I’m sure live like me in American Suburbs, trapped and looking for a way to get out but in the mean time prepping for what we all know is …


Doing Versus Studying–Wherever You Live, By Fanderal

As many of us are trapped in the city, at least for now, while we work and save for the day we can escape. We spend much of our off hours learning about the things we will need to know once we make the move. The thing is though, that learning about something, is not the same as learning that thing. We can’t learn what good soil feels like by reading about it, we can’t know what soil feels like when it has enough moisture, and what it feels like when it needs water, until we actually garden. Nor can …


Letter Re: Safe Businesses in an Economic Depression?

Mr. Rawles: I’m convinced that given the bursting of the Debt Bubble, the American economy is about to take The Big Swim, a lot like it did back in the 1930s. If this does happen, what sort of businesses will be safe? Do you know what sorts of businesses bucked the down-trend in the 1930s? Thanks, – Chester JWR Replies: According to statistics published some 20 years ago by Dr.Ravi Batra, the safest businesses and industries during the worst years of the Great Depression (1929-1933) were: Repair shops Educational services (A lot of young men that couldn’t find work borrowed …


Book Excerpt–Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse

Geographically distinct units were formed from the Northwest Militia, as planned, late in the April of the fifth year. To avoid confusion amongst the local citizenry that they protected, they designated those at the original retreat as “Todd Gray’s Company” and those at Kevin Lendel’s house as “Michael Nelson’s Company.” The responsibility for patrolling was divided along a line east-west between the retreats. Todd Gray’s Company was to patrol the northern half of the sector, while Michael Nelson’s Company patrolled the southern half. Separate CB channels were assigned to each Company for locals to use to contact either Company. On …


Letter Re: Comments from a Like-Minded Virginia Prepper

Sir: I found your blog about a month ago. I received a copy of your novel “Patriots” from Fred’s M14 Stocks and have probably read the thing about 20 times. It sits by the bed. I sometimes just pick it up, open and begin reading. Good stuff. I am a former police officer (10 years) with sniper training, construction company owner( I have built everything except a church) CPA with many years public accounting and have military experience (like you in Military Intelligence. I was what is now known as a 98C [- Signals Intelligence Analyst]). I shoot a lot …


Three Letters Re: Providing Crucial Fats and Oils in Your Diet

Mr. Rawles: Firstly, I must say I have found your site informative and have implemented many of the ideas/suggestions listed on it. Regarding the most recent post regarding crucial fats in the diet, I must say it was informative but I felt it left out a very viable source of animal fat: The Groundhog. While it may be a rodent, it only eats plants and an occasional insect. The meat is good but greasy since groundhogs actually hibernate. This means later on in the year they will have stored up a large amount of fat which would be of very …


Two Letters Re: Providing Crucial Fats and Oils in Your Diet

Dear Mr. Rawles – I need some advice on storing fats and oils. I have read that the shelf life these essentials can be extended by keeping them in an air tight container, and avoiding exposure to heat and light, but even then the shelf life of these products is no more than a year or so. Shortening, which used to have a shelf life of up to ten years, is no longer sold in metal cans, giving it a much shorter shelf life. How are others dealing with this problem? Also, I have thought about other sources of oils …